One of the Texas Longhorns’ top 2026 commits is now a five-star prospect according to one of the top recruiting services
As expected, another recruiting service has donned one of Steve Sarkisian’s top prospects as a Top 20 recruit.
Northwestern (Fla.) defensive lineman and Texas Longhorns commit James Johnson was recently awarded a fifth star Monday by Rivals. The former four-star prospect is now ranked as the No. 16 overall prospect in the country.
Johnson – who flipped from Georgia to Texas earlier this summer – is still a hot commodity on the recruiting trail. Mario Cristobal and the Miami Hurricanes are putting Steve Sarkisian and his staff’s feet to the proverbial fire. The Canes would love to keep Johnson at home and in the state of Florida.
But, Sarkisian and Texas have had a ton of success recruiting South Florida these last few cycles and as of now Johnson is still Austin bound.
A to Z Sports’ Craig Smith has the latest on Miami’s pursuit.
Johnson, who plays for Miami Northwestern, was one of a number of top-tier recruits at the game on Sunday, joining local standouts Derrek Cooper (Texas), Justice Fitzpatrick (Georgia), and Calvin Russell (Syracuse) as committed recruits that the Hurricanes are trying to flip. They got to witness a spectacle, as Miami fans rocked the stadium while the team delivered one of the biggest wins that any team will notch in the early stages of the 2025 season.
Johnson committed to Texas over Miami last month, but the Canes clearly aren’t going to let Johnson get on a plane without a fight. And Cristobal’s recruiting pitch was done in part by his players on Sunday night. The Canes’ defensive front was flat-out dominant for much of the contest, pushing around the vaunted Notre Dame offensive line and controlling the line of scrimmage. It’s further proof that Cristobal’s defensive line coaches – Damione Lewis and Pro Football Hall of Famer Jason Taylor – are doing an excellent job at developing the defensive line talent that’s coming into the program.
There’s still three months to go until signing day, and the fight to keep Johnson home should be a battle that the Miami Hurricanes now have a legitimate chance of winning during the span.
College Football
Miami Hurricanes have the attention of local five-star Texas Longhorns commit, and they have a golden opportunity to flip his pledge
Miami is working to keep a huge talent home.
Orangebloods’ Jason Suchomel recently discussed the flip rumors around James Johnson.
“Johnson said Miami continues to push ‘really hard’ and he speaks to members of the Hurricane staff nearly every day,” Suchomel said. “Texas should get Johnson in Austin for at least one fall visit (we’ve got messages out to Johnson trying to confirm his visit schedule) so that should help, but this one feels like it could go back and forth all the way until signing day.”
The aforementioned success in South Florida is no accident for Texas. I expect Steve Sarkisian and Co., to continue to push for Johnson to stick. Especially because there could be a large amount of turnover on the defensive line after the 2025 season due to the Longhorns leaning heavily on the transfer portal in the off-season.
