Texas football’s Steve Sarkisian eyes rich recruiting opportunities in Louisiana in 2026

NEW ORLEANS — Steve Sarkisian hadn’t been on Louisiana soil more than 10 minutes Wednesday before the Texas football coach made his best recruiting pitch.

After all, he knows fertile recruiting territory when he sees it.

Does quarterback Major Applewhite ring a bell? The Baton Rouge, La., product set eight school records at Texas and threw for 8,353 yards in his career. Defensive end Malcolm Roach also came to Austin via Baton Rouge. Other Louisiana Longhorns include tight ends Stephen Clark and Derek Lewis and defensive tackle Stevie Lee.

When Sarkisian was asked if he considers New Orleans and its surrounding area almost a second home, he picked up the ball and ran with it.

“I just think the natural proximity helps us,” Sarkisian said inside a terminal at the Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport after he and the Longhorns arrived on a plane bearing a Longhorns flag outside the cockpit late in the afternoon. “We joke sometimes on our staff that we never know where East Texas ends and Louisiana begins. So from a proximity standpoint, it’s very natural for us to recruit Louisiana.”

Obviously, the Longhorns lured one of the state’s favorite sons to Austin when they signed quarterback Arch Manning, one of the biggest plums in school history.

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But Manning is just one of eight Louisianans on the Texas roster. Edge rusher Barryn Sorrell, the most prominent Louisiana player who’s currently starting for the Longhorns, is one of five from the state wearing burnt orange against Washington in Monday’s Sugar Bowl. Defensive back Derek Williams Jr., who’s suspended for the first half of the Sugar Bowl for a targeting violation in the Big 12 championship game, played his high school ball in New Iberia and rising star edge rusher J’Mond Tapp is from Donaldsville.

Plus, defensive lineman Melvin Hills, a three-star prospect from Lafayette, is part of Sarkisian’s latest national recruiting class, which stands at No. 3 heading into February’s national signing day, according to the 247Sports composite rankings.

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Three of the top 10 players in the 2026 recruiting cycle hail from Louisiana, all five-star prospects: offensive tackle Lamar Brown (No. 3 overall nationally), defensive lineman Jahkeem Stewart (No. 4) and safety Blaine Bradford (No. 10).

And Texas gets a great chance to impress them — Stewart is from New Orleans, the other two from nearby Baton Rouge — with a strong performance in this College Football Playoff semifinal game Monday night.

“We have a couple of coaches on staff who do a heck of a job recruiting the state,” Sarkisian said. “We’ve been fortunate to sign some really good players that are really good on our team right now, and hopefully that can continue. We know that this state produces a ton of talent. And so for us to be able to make some inroads here recruiting, it’s a natural.”