Although the 2024-2025 football season has yet to subside, head coach Steve Sarkisian and the Texas Longhorns have already been scoping out the next generation of athletes for their dynasty in the making.

The Longhorns secured the No. 1 recruiting class for 2025, with 25 high school players committed as of Dec. 6 following the early signing period, including four five-stars.

But now the focus has begun to shift over to the class of 2026, and Texas looks to add even more depth and strength to eventually turn into NFL-level talent. With two 2026 commits already making their announcement, four-star quarterback Dia Bell and three-star wide receiver Chris Stewart, Sarkisian continues to make strides toward the future success of his program.

On3’s Chad Simmons revealed his predictions for where the top 2026 recruits would call home on Wednesday and discussed Texas as an option for some of the best in the nation.

Simmons feels the most confident that four-star offensive tackle John Turntine will commit to the Longhorns after visiting the Forty Acres multiple times and building relationships with the football staff. Turntine hails from North Crowley in Fort Worth, making Texas a candidate that’s close to home.

The 305-pound offensive lineman just helped his team win the Texas 6A Division 1 state championship title over none other than Austin Westlake, a former stomping ground for current Longhorn Michael Taaffe, and would certainly make for a promising addition. Other schools in contention for Turntine include SMU, Texas A&M, Oklahoma and Oregon, but On3 rates Texas as having the best chance of recruitment.

“There is real confidence in Austin that Texas feels good about their position with in-state offensive tackle target John Turnstine III,” Simmons said. “He has visited Texas numerous times, and he and his family have really connected with the staff. From Steve Sarkisian to Kyle Flood to recruiting assistants, Turntine has built some strong relationships. The North Crowley star just won a state title and he is expected to take many more visits, but Texas continues to set the pace.”

Another four-star with Texas in his sights is cornerback Davon Benjamin, who listed the Longhorns within his top eight schools on Thursday. Benjamin stands as the No. 4 safety and No. 47 player overall in the 2026 class, according to 247Sports. However, Simmons wasn’t positive that Texas would be the one to land Benjamin and predicted the dual-threat athlete to commit to Oregon out of over 30 offers. The Longhorns must compete against football powerhouses such as Georgia, Ohio State, and Miami in order to snag this star recruit.

There’s no doubt that it will be a tight race among all of the best college football programs to formulate a promising 2026 roster, and Texas has a decent head start with the commitment of Bell to help get the ball rolling.

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OKLAHOMA CITY — The search for an 8-year-old Oklahoma girl entered its third day on Thursday after her family’s vehicle got caught in a drainage ditch in Texas and was swept away by floodwaters on Christmas Eve.

Emergency personnel responded to a crash scene around 9:30 a.m. local time on Tuesday near U.S. Route 75 in Sherman, a city about 17 miles south of the Texas-Oklahoma border, according to the Sherman Police Department. Police said an SUV veered off the highway, got trapped in a drainage ditch and traveled down a nearby creek.

Six people were inside the vehicle at the time of the crash, according to police. Four family members were later rescued as authorities continued recovery efforts.

One body was recovered several hours later, police said. CBS News identified the person as the missing girl’s father, Will Robinson, who was a coach for the Durant High School Lady Lions basketball team in southern Oklahoma.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott approved the dispatch of state search-and-rescue teams to assist with search efforts, according to police. Local and state personnel searched throughout most of the night on Tuesday to locate the missing girl, police said.

Search efforts resumed early Christmas Day as personnel expanded the search area outside of Sherman and into the “lower branches of Post Oak and Choctaw creeks,” according to police. By the afternoon, searchers had covered about seven miles of the creek in the area without success and police said they were shifting their “focus into the county, targeting some possible locations where we have not looked to as yet.”

Authorities resumed their search at 7 a.m. Thursday, but police noted that inclement weather may force them to pause the search.

Storms and tornadoes? Bad weather in forecast for holiday travel.

“We will maintain observation posts at key areas throughout the inclement weather,” the Sherman Police Department said in a statement Thursday morning. “The active search will resume again the moment we are able to safely.”

Police also thanked the local community for their support but said no additional equipment, volunteers or other resources were needed in the search.

“We appreciate all the offers for assistance and are thankful for your concern and willingness to help,” the Sherman Police Department said. “There are dozens of search teams already deployed, who possess vast experience in these types of operations.”

Severe weather threatens parts of Texas

Tuesday’s accident comes amid a severe weather threat in parts of the state. The National Weather Service issued flash flood warnings for the Dallas-Fort Worth metro as thunderstorms move through the area.

“Thunderstorms continue pushing east and are now east of the US 75/I-45 corridor,” the weather service in Fort Worth warned Thursday afternoon. “Main threats with these storms continues to be small hail and heavy rain, but a tornado can’t be ruled out in the Tornado Watch area.”

The weather service also issued a tornado watch for the Houston metro area, which will until at least 7 p.m. Forecasters said in a Thursday morning forecast that the environment for tornadoes would be the most favorable around noon. 

Abbott activated state emergency response resources on Thursday in anticipation of an increased severe weather threat across the eastern half of Texas. Citing the weather service, the governor’s office said in a statement that severe thunderstorms are expected to develop across portions of north, central, east, and southeast Texas beginning Thursday.

“Risks through the weekend include large hail, damaging winds, possible tornadoes, and heavy rainfall resulting in flash flooding,” the governor’s office said. “Minor river flooding is possible over the next several days, with the threat subsiding early next week.”

Contributing: Fernando Cervantes Jr., USA TODAY