Wednesday is National Signing Day for the 2025 recruiting class, but the Texas football team made a splash in the 2026 class instead. Three-star offensive tackle Max Wright announced his commitment to the Longhorns as he picked Texas over Michigan, SMU and others. He holds an impressive list of offers. The 2025 recruiting cycle is wrapping up, and the 2026 cycle is beginning. Texas has an elite 2025 recruiting class and they are hoping to make the same thing happen next year.

“BREAKING: Class of 2026 OT Max Wright has Committed to Texas, he tells me for @on3recruits,” Hayes Fawcett said in a post. “The 6’7 290 OT from Melissa, TX chose the Longhorns over SMU & Michigan.”

Max Wright had a short message upon his commitment:

“Texas Raised,” he said.

Wright is a three-star recruit according to 247Sports. He is the #409 player in the 2026 class, the #33 OT and the #55 player in the state of Texas. There is still a lot of time for that ranking to change as Wright still has another season of high school football next year. Wright currently attends Melissa High School in Melissa, Texas.

“Big-framed offensive lineman with left tackle experience and the physical tools to stay outside for good,” Wright's scouting report reads. “Succeeds in a phone booth, especially in the run game, where size and strength overwhelm smaller defenders. Shows encouraging combo-blocking range/agility. Casts a wide shadow on the edge in pass protection. Still developing foot quickness to mirror higher-end edge speed.”

Right now, Wright isn't expected to be the type of player that can come in and play on day-one for the Texas football team, but he should develop into a valuable asset.

“Will unlock next tier of run-game block-finishing ability with added power and punch consistency,” the scouting report continues. “Projects as a P4/high-major tackle with high-floor functionality and high-ceiling physical tools, according to available data.”

The Texas football team is going to finish with the #1 2025 recruiting class, and they are starting things off strong in the 2026 class as well. The Longhorns have 25 commits in their 2025 class as they have landed five five-stars, 14 four-stars and six three-stars. Wright is just the third commit in the 2026 class, which currently ranks 27th in the country.

Given how early it is in the cycle, there is really no sense in paying much attention to recruiting rankings. Things are going to ramp up quite a bit over the summer, and like always, Texas will more than likely finish with one of the best classes in the country.