Texas Longhorns reportedly trailing Ohio State Buckeyes in battle for elite 2026 5-star recruit
The Texas Longhorns are in the mix for 2026 five-star safety Blaine Bradford, but they're trailing a couple of big time programs in this recruiting battle. Bradford, 6-foot-1/207 lbs from Baton Rouge, LA, is rated in 247Sports' composite rankings as the No. 1 safety in the nation and the No. 2 player in the state […]
The Texas Longhorns are in the mix for 2026 five-star safety Blaine Bradford, but they're trailing a couple of big time programs in this recruiting battle.
Bradford, 6-foot-1/207 lbs from Baton Rouge, LA, is rated in 247Sports' composite rankings as the No. 1 safety in the nation and the No. 2 player in the state of Louisiana. He's also rated as the No. 16 overall player in the 2026 recruiting class.
LSU, Ohio State, and Texas are the top three schools for Bradford — he plans to commit to one of those programs later this summer.
The Louisiana native told On3's Chad Simmons this week that Texas is currently behind LSU and Ohio State in his recruitment.
"Texas is probably last on my list because they just picked things back up in my recruiting cycle," said Bradford.
While the Longhorns are currently running behind LSU and Ohio State, Bradford made it clear that Texas has "a shot". The Longhorns could make a big move in Bradford's recruitment after he takes his official visits.
"I like them (Texas) a lot. LSU and Ohio State have been very consistent, but Texas has come back in, so my visits there will be very important….they have a shot," added Bradford in his comments to On3.
Bradford, who also plays baseball, has been described by 247Sports scouting analyst Gabe Brooks as a player who "projects to the high-major level as a potential multi-year starter with a promising future".
One thing that's working against Texas in this battle is that Bradford is set to take his official visit to Austin on June 13 before heading to Ohio State the following weekend and then heading to LSU the next weekend. It could be tough for Texas to emerge as the winner in this recruiting battle with the trips to Columbus and Baton Rouge fresh on Bradford's mind before he makes his decision in late June/July.
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