No school has been after Joseph Mbatchou harder than the Longhorns since his senior season began.
Mbatchou, a Rivals four-star defensive lineman from Loganville (Ga.) Grayson High School in Georgia, committed to Texas on Saturday. Auburn, Georgia, and Alabama were also finalists for the 6-foot-5, 285-pounder tabbed as the No. 12-ranked defensive end in the Rivals250 for this 2025 class.
Mbatchou was on campus in Austin in September and again in October for an official visit to the Georgia game. The touted defensive lineman returned to The Forty Acres again on Saturday for the Kentucky game — his third time on campus in as many months.
First-year Texas DL coach Kenny Baker has been pressing all of the right buttons with Mbatchou dating back to August.
“Coach Baker calls me a lot … all the time,” Mbatchou told Rivals. “He’s sending me a bunch of mail. He came by a few weeks ago telling me and my teammates about what it’s like at Texas.”
“Right now, Texas is probably recruiting me the hardest,” the one-time Florida verbal commitment continued. “They call me a lot, I meet with the staff on video calls, and I see them all the time.”
Texas has kept its foot on the gas with Mbatchou since putting an offer on the table at the top of his senior campaign.
After officially visiting the Longhorns in October, the four-star DL made return visits to Auburn and the Swamp.
No team has moved the needle more with the blue-chipper up front.
“They showed my family and me all the love we could want,” he told Rivals after his official visit. “It was great catching up with them — even with a tough loss. They kept their heads up and had that next-game mentality”
“It was fire — just seeing the game environment was crazy. It felt unreal,” Mbatchou said continued. “When the fans started to throw bottles onto the football to get a call overturned, that just showed the love they have for their team there.”
Baker and Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian have made Mbatchou a top priority for the span of this 2025 recruiting cycle.
“I could be a big piece in their team,” Mbatchou said of the coaches’ message for him. “I’m welcome at Texas whenever I’m ready.”
With less than two weeks to go before Signing Day, the Longhorns are ready for Mbatchou, too.
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