National Signing Day: Texas Football Finishes With Top-10 Class

AUSTIN, Texas — Charlie Strong and the Texas football team didn’t exactly inspire hope for Longhorns fans after a 5-7 season last year.

But Wednesday’s signing day haul could be just the injection of optimism — and talent — that Texas needs to return to the upper-echelon of college football.

Strong got National Signing Day commitments from several of the nation’s top prospects, rocketing the Longhorns up recruiting rankings Wednesday.

“The drama today, I kinda liked it,” Strong told reporters. “I think we had everyone’s attention.”

Fox Sports’ Bruce Feldman, one of the country’s most respected college football voices, called Texas “the story of Signing Day.”

“This group on paper is stacked with defensive studs and seems like a good follow-up to what proved to be a terrific first full class for Strong in 2015,” Feldman wrote.

The Longhorns’ recruiting class started the day ranked ”in the 30s” nationally by several major recruiting services, according to Feldman.

Wednesday commitments from safety Brandon Jones, defensive tackle Chris Daniels and linebacker Jeffery McCullough, among others, pushed Texas to the No. 10 class nationally, according to a USA Today average of rankings from four major recruiting services.

“I believe this class is going to help Texas win national championships,” McCulloch told ESPN, which also called Texas one of the day’s biggest winners. “We believe in Charlie Strong. He’s such a genuine person, and this group is going to help Texas do a lot of big things. Coach Strong has made us all believers.”

• See Texas’ full 2016 signing class here.