When a major program loses a key recruit, Rivals.com takes a look at how big of a blow it is to the respective school, analyzing it from a local and national level. To quantify the “sting” of each decommitment, we assign a score from 1-10, with one being no big deal and 10 being a catastrophic hit.
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THE SITUATION
Billy Bowman committed to Texas in July 2019 and it was a massive recruiting victory for the Longhorns because he’s one of the top in-state players and is now ranked as the No. 1 athlete in the 2021 class.
The Denton (Texas) Ryan standout is excellent on both sides of the ball and could have impacted Texas in so many ways. But earlier this week, the high four-star prospect backed off his pledge and reopened his recruitment.
This could be especially devastating because Oklahoma seems to be moving up quickly in his recruitment. Not only are the Sooners the Big 12’s best team but Bowman’s girlfriend, Jayda Coleman, is committed to Oklahoma to play softball.
Texas is not out of this equation, though. Bowman committed to the Longhorns for numerous reasons - and if coach Tom Herman and his staff show openness to allowing Bowman to play wide receiver in Austin, this recruitment could be a dogfight to the end between Texas and Oklahoma - and possibly others since Bowman is such a talented prospect.
LOCAL REACTION
“The timing of it was surprising because it kind of came out of the blue, but there had been smoke about Bowman looking around going back several months.
“Repeatedly, I checked in with Bowman and he also reassured me that he was solid with his commitment, but anytime you hear that many rumors, it always felt there was something worth keeping an eye on. It’s a pretty big sting factor because he’s a fantastic prospect and he’s also a ringleader for this recruiting class for Texas.
“He’s a tremendous athlete who could help Texas on either side of the ball and in special teams, so just from a talent perspective it’s a big loss. Right now, most of the signs seem to point to Oklahoma, but there is some behind-the-scenes confidence in Austin that Texas is still in play here. Bowman has expressed to people he would like the opportunity to play on offense and if he feels he can get that opportunity at Texas he will continue to look at Texas as a legitimate option.” -- Jason Suchomel, Orangebloods.com
Sting Factor: 9
NATIONAL REACTION
“This is a big one and a bad one especially since it appears Bowman could land at Oklahoma where his girlfriend plays softball. Bowman is a do-it-all prospect who could play corner or safety or even wide receiver and would impact in the return game. He’s a borderline five-star (I think he’s a five-star talent) and I can’t emphasize this loss enough. It’s bad.” -- Mike Farrell, Rivals.com National Recruiting Director
Sting factor: 10
