Sting Factor: Jonah Wilson backs off his pledge to Texas
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 one to 10, with one being no big deal and 10 being a catastrophic hit.
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THE STORYLINE
Shortly after his official visit to Texas this summer, Jonah Wilson committed to the Longhorns.
It might have been a long time coming since the four-star receiver from Houston Dekaney had a longstanding relationship with position coach Brennan Marion, Texas was always considered one of his favorites and so his pledge was not a surprise.
Texas has also loaded up at the skill positions, from five-star quarterback Arch Manning to elite receivers Ryan Niblett and Johntay Cook. But the Longhorns could not keep Wilson locked in as the four-star backed off his pledge in recent days.
Texas A&M, Ohio State, Arkansas, LSU and Baylor were the other main contenders in Wilson’s recruitment the first time around, and many should be heavily involved again.
From the football side to the academics, everything seemed to make sense for Wilson in Austin, but it was not to be as the offensive standout is back on the market.
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LOCAL REACTION
Recruiting wide receivers is never going to be a huge concern under Steve Sarkisian, but this one does sting Texas a bit because Wilson has been off to a fantastic start to his senior season. He's a big receiver that would have been a perfect complement to the Longhorns' other receiver commitments in Cook and Niblett. Texas also doesn't have a lot of available options to replace him. - Jason Suchomel, Orangebloods.com
Sting Factor: 6
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NATIONAL REACTION
Wilson is having a very strong senior season, which only reinforces that he’s one of the best receivers in the state of Texas and would have been a fantastic addition to the Texas recruiting class. But the Longhorns already have two very talented receivers in Cook and Niblett committed and Sarkisian could be going after some others. Wilson would have been a great addition and it will especially hurt if the four-star ends up at Texas A&M, but this isn’t a back-breaker of a decommitment for the Longhorns. - Adam Gorney, Rivals national recruiting director
Sting Factor: 6