April 20, 2024; Austin, Texas, USA: Texas Longhorns Head Coach Steve Sarkisian watches the play in the Longhorns' spring Orange and White game at Darrell K Royal Texas Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Sara Diggins-USA Today Sports via American Statesman / Sara Diggins/USA Today Sports via
Four-star defensive lineman Josiah Sharma has committed to Oregon over the likes of Washington, Alabama and Texas.
The 6'4, 320-pound defensive tackle had been a target of the Longhorns, as new defensive line coach Kenny Baker looked to add to his class of 2025 defensive line. Sharma has varying degrees of ratings across many sites, with composites rating him as a three-star, while places like On3 have him as high as the 83rd-rated player, and a top-seven defensive lineman in the class of 2025.
Sharma had been crystal-balled to Oregon three times today before his announcement, and it had looked to be in the Ducks' favor after his official visit two weeks prior.
The Sacramento product is one of the many players both the Longhorns and Ducks are fighting over in the class of 2025, as three five-stars in receiver Dakorien Moore, athlete Michael Terry III, and linebacker Jonah Williams all have the two schools as their top options.
The Longhorns were hoping to add to an already successful start to the class of 2025 on the defensive line after securing commitments from defensive end Lance Jackson and defensive lineman Brandon Brown. Sharma would've been just the second four-star defensive line recruit, alongside Jackson, to commit to Texas in the last three classes after a successful class of 2022 that featured three separate four-stars on the defensive line.
Texas has struggled to recruit the position in the past despite the level of coaching now-LSU defensive line coach Bo Davis brought, but there is still hope for Baker to turn that around. Texas has received interest from four-star talents DJ Sanders and Smith Orogbo and is still in the running for edge rushers like Florida State commit Javion Hilson, Marco Jones, and Kamauryn Morgan.