It’s been a wild month for five-star defensive lineman Richard Wesley. First, he committed to Oregon and famously jumped in a pool with Ducks coach Dan Lanning. But soon after, the Los Angeles native backed out of the commitment and there was a lot of speculation Texas was leading. Over the weekend, Wesley did indeed commit to Texas.
Sunday, Wesley told Jason Suchomel of OrangeBloods.com, “My recruitment is 100 percent, 1,000 percent shut down. I’m going here in January.”
Wesley flew straight from Austin to Indianapolis where he’s taking part in the elite Rivals Five-Star Challenge, a camp for 100 of the best players in the country at Lucas Oil Field.
The 6-foot-4, 250 pound EDGE talked to Rivals National recruiting director Adam Gorney about his decision. Gorney asked Wesley what convinced him Texas was the right spot.
“I knew Texas was a great school. Not only for football, but academically. They have great degrees. Great business school. Great every school. I felt like the decision was the best of both worlds. I get to play in the SEC but I also get to walk out with a great degree. God forbid, football’s not forever. So if I do get hurt, in the long run I still walk out with something good. It was all the coaches combined. But what really convinced me was from the academic standpoint.” — Richard Wesley
While academics are obviously important to the California prospect, the blue chipper tells Gorney his main goal is to win a national title at Texas.
“My goal is to win the natty. You know, I want to win a state championship this high school season. I want to win one my college season. It’s great knowing my team is going to be very elite when I get there and I’m going to continue the legacy.” — Richard Wesley
Wesley becomes one of the highest ranked prospects that has ever committed to the Longhorns. He ranks just behind Vince Young, Arch Manning, Jonathan Gray and Sergio Kindle.
Since Wesley has already committed to two schools during his recruitment, Gorney asked him if this was his final decision.
“I’m staying here. I’m staying at Texas. Hook’em! I feel like that’s the spot that I want to be at.” — Richard Wesley
Wesley says he’s glad the recruiting process is now over and he can get down to work for the upcoming high school season and beyond.
“I’m glad that everything has settled down. I can finally work this upcoming offseason for the high school season. I’m trying to come up there and really do something. I’m glad everything is cooled down. I’m glad everything is calm now and I can really get to work now.” — Richard Wesley
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This article originally appeared on Longhorns Wire: New Texas five-star DL commit Richard Wesley goes in-depth about his decision
Reporting by Trey Luerssen, Longhorns Wire / Longhorns Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
