A major Texas Longhorns recruit is suiting up to play for them a year early. Five-star cornerback John Meredith is reclassifying from 2027 to 2026, head coach Steve Sarkisian said at SEC Media Days. That means he will be playing for next season’s Longhorns.
“I’m more than ready. Looking forward to getting to campus and am ready to compete,” Meredith said to Hayes Fawcett of On3. The 6-foot-2, 175-pound corner is ranked as the No. 2 corner and No. 12 prospect in the nation.
Part of this comes from his high school status. He tried transferring from Euless Trinity to North Crowley, but the District 11-6A executive committee ruled him ineligible to play his senior season. The ruling allows him to play a season early.
The Longhorns are expected to start a relatively young secondary after corner Jahdae Barron was drafted in the first round. Sophomores Graceson Littleton and Kade Phillips are expected to take big roles in the secondary, and Brad Spencer and Jelani McDonald are the only seniors in the secondary.
It makes all the sense for Meredith, who could have NFL potential, and he gets to train with a Texas staff that just developed Barron. “He provides great length, great speed, tremendous man-to-man ability,” Sarkisian said at SEC Media Days. “Very confident, very aggressive. All the attributes you want in a defensive back… It’s not a secret why he was a top two or three player in the country in the 2027 class. We’ll see how far we can take him.”
Meredith can also play for five seasons due to the new eligibility rule. He doesn’t have to worry about redshirting either. Overall, the move makes a lot of sense for Meredith.
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This article originally appeared on College Sports Wire: Five-star cornerback reclassifies to play for Texas in 2026
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