Four-star safety Junior Tu’upo has committed to the Texas Longhorns. The 6-foot-2, 195-pound prospect from Alabaster, AL picked the Longhorns over Alabama, Auburn and Oregon. Texas now has 18 commits in the 2027 recruiting class.
Tu’upo is the No. 22 safety and the No. 254 overall prospect in the Rivals Industry Ranking. The Texas Longhorns have been on a recruiting roll, picking up commitments from Lucas Rhoa and Neimann Lawrence on Thursday and Tyler Alexander, Kyron Brown, Brian Swanson and John Meredith III in the days before that.
Alabama was long thought to be the leader in Tu’upo’s recruitment. But several visits to Austin changed the tone and trend line of the recruitment from the in-state Tide to the Longhorns.
“We weren’t really expecting much from Texas, at first,” Tu’upo told Rivals. “We were just going to see it, but they definitely surprised us. Coach Blake Gideon surprised us.”
Tu’upo’s relationship with Gideon was the biggest key to the pledge.
“Coach BG was the biggest part of it,” Tu’upo said to Rivals. “He’s always been upfront and honest with me about how he felt, how he planned to use me and what he thinks I can develop into. I really trust his word.”
This article originally appeared on Longhorns Wire: COMMITMENT: Texas Longhorns land 4-star safety Junior Tu’upo
Reporting by Trey Luerssen, Longhorns Wire / Longhorns Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Trey Luerssen, Longhorns Wire | USA TODAY Network
