Texas lands No. 1 security in 2026 recruiting class

Eli Lederman, ESPN Staff WriterSep 12, 2024, 03:44 PM ET

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Eli Lederman covers college football and recruiting for ESPN.com. He signed up with ESPN in 2024 after covering the University of Oklahoma for Sellout Crowd and the Tulsa World.Days after routing Michigan and climbing to No. 2 in the AP survey, Texas continued its run of late-summer recruiting momentum Thursday afternoon as the Longhorns landed a dedication from four-star security Zelus Hicks, ESPN’s No. 1 safety in the class of 2026. Hicks, the 6-foot-2, 190-pound defensive back from Georgia’s Carrollton High School, is the No. 19 possibility in the ESPN Junior 300. He is Texas’ third ESPN 300 promise in the 2026 cycle, joining No. 2 pocket passer Dia Bell and four-star pass receiver Chris Stewart. Hicks held nearly 40 Division I offers and picked the Longhorns over Georgia, Ohio State and USC.Hicks’commitment comes as Texas holds its highest ranking in the AP poll considering that 2009 and shows up as the most recent recruiting victory for Steve Sarkisian & Co. in current weeks.The Longhorns tape-recorded a scorching month of August in the 2025 class, landing pledges from luxury

defender Jonah Williams (No. 8 in the ESPN 300 ), leading wide receivers Jaime Ffrench(No. 17)and Kaliq Lockett(No. 23)and four-star offensive deal with Nicolai Brooks(No. 129 )in the period of 24 days. Texas included another ESPN 300 prospect Saturday when four-star defensive tackle Myron Charles (No. 166 )turned his commitment from Florida State to the Longhorns. As of Thursday, Texas’2025 class sits at No. 7 in ESPN’s most current group rankings for the cycle.In Hicks, the Longhorns now have a defensive cornerstone in the 2026 class. A rangy, physical security, he totaled 67 tackles with a set of sacks in his sophomore season at Parkview High School in Lilburn, Georgia, last fall. Hicks transferred to Georgia high school football powerhouse Carrollton ahead of his junior season this fall, joining the program led by luxury quarterback Julian Lewis, ESPN’s No. 2 overall possibility in the 2025 class.Upon his dedication, Hicks stands as Texas’ second-ranked prospect in 2026. Bell, ESPN’s eighth-ranked 2026 prospect and the child of former NBA shooting guard Raja Bell, devoted to the Longhorns in June.

Stewart, the 6-foot, 180-pound pass catcher from Pearland, Texas, is ESPN’s 34th-ranked pass receiver in the cycle.