Oklahoma City defensive end Ron Tatum narrowed his list of offers to a top five last Friday and just three days later set an announcement date, but the decision was anything but easy as the three-star surprised many by picking the Texas Longhorns on Wednesday afternoon.

“Schools were texting me and calling me the last couple days, trying to get me to come to their school,” Tatum said. “It’s just been my family and the closest people to me to give me advice, but they say whatever I choose they will ride with me.”

The final five for Tatum’s decision were Alabama, Georgia, Oklahoma, TCU and Texas. Expectations once the decision date was announced were that Tatum would stay in-state, but he chose the Sooners' rival instead.

“I chose Texas because of their defense and the coaches were great when I went down there,” Tatum said. “They answered all my questions without me even asking. They guaranteed me the chance to play in the NFL.”

One of the reasons why the Texas choice was a surprise is because it has been a couple months since Tatum visited Austin. And, he had announced plans to attend the Longhorns' spring game earlier this month, but ultimately did not end up making the visit.

Tatum’s father accompanied his son on that mid-February visit to Texas, and was also impressed by the school.

“My dad, he said from the start he liked the school because of the people and how they talked to me,” Tatum said.

Tatum announced his decision at a Wednesday press conference at his school. He was ranked as the No. 21 strongside defensive end in the 2018 class after the last Rivals.com rankings in February, but has had a strong spring that included a top performance at the Dallas Rivals 3 Stripe Camp presented by adidas on April 1.