The Texas Longhorns have brought yet another playmaker into the fold.
The newest commitment is Houston (Texas) Dekaney four-star tight end Nick Townsend.
The 6-foot-3, 225-pound pass catcher is ranked as the No. 172 overall prospect in the 2025 Rivals250 rankings.
Townsend is the second tight end in the Longhorn's 2025 class, joining four-star tight end Emaree Winston.
Townsend chose the Texas Longhorns over Texas A&M, Alabama, and USC. The No. 6 tight end took official visits to each of these programs, speaking highly on all of them along the way.
Ahead of his commitment decision, Townsend spoke with Rivals' OrangeBloods.com about the Longhorns and why they have been one of his favorites.
“Just coach (Steve) Sarkisian, he’s very down to earth, very relatable. Honestly his life story is crazy. They’d let me play on both sides of the ball. If one doesn’t work, I can move to the other side. And they play in the SEC now."
The class that Townsend is joining in Austin is one that is rising up the ranks. With his addition, Texas moves from No. 27 up to No. 20 in the recruiting team rankings. He is the 15th commitment in the class, the 10th ranked as four-stars or better.
What Texas is getting in Townsend
This is an ultra athletic playmaker Texas is adding to an already loaded crop of pass catchers. Townsend is labeled as a tight end, but very rarely will you ever see him in-line, working as a blocker, although he is effective. The Houston Dekaney four-star is the epitome of a jumbo wide receiver, especially with his speed.
Townsend lines up in a variety of positions, including outside, in the slot, H-Back, and even at wildcat quarterback. And that's just on the offensive side of the ball. He is also a strongly productive defensive playmaker, lining up at linebacker and defensive end.
Route running is a plus attribute for Townsend, who will surely add to his ability at the college level. But he has already shown the ability to run a number of different routes on the route tree, especially given that he lines up from so many different spots. Maybe the best attribute of Townsend is his run after the catch ability, which is aided by legit speed for his size. He also uses his size to fight through tackles and get down the field.
Townsend had his first production as a sophomore, where he had eight receptions for 129 yards and two touchdowns. He followed that up with 18 receptions for 431 yards and seven touchdowns in his junior season. You can expect his usage and production to be much higher in the Texas offensive system in the future.
