5-star OL Devon Campbell signs with Texas over OU

The Longhorns finished off a massive offensive line haul with another elite talent in the trenches.

Ahead of the early signing period, the Texas Longhorns saw a flurry of commitments on the offensive line, but had one key piece left to add — five-star Arlington Bowie offensive lineman Devon Campbell had yet to commit. Campbell, a long-time Texas lean, made things official on National Signing Day and officially announced his commitment to Texas Wednesday in a ceremony at his high school.

“Really, one of the first big schools that recruited me, consistently showed me love, and it just felt like home,” Campbell said following his decision.

Minutes later, the Longhorns announced his signing as official.

In December, following the early signing period, Campbell released a top two, featuring the Longhorns and the Oklahoma Sooners, setting up a Red River Showdown to secure the services of the top offensive lineman in the country.

Ultimately, Kyle Flood and the Longhorns managed to close out a recruitment that seemingly was trending Texas since Herb Hand offered Campbell early.

Campbell took two official visits during the June visit blitz, making his way to visit the Oklahoma Sooners and USC Trojans, but didn’t manage to make it to Austin. He traveled to Tuscaloosa to visit the Alabama Crimson Tide before finally taking his official visit to Texas in November.

When Lincoln Riley Oklahoma for USC, Campbell had the option to take second official visits with both the Trojans and the Sooners, but with offensive line coach Bill Bedenbaugh opting to stay in Norman, the big man decided against both visits.

The 6’3, 310-pound lineman from Arlington Bowie gives Texas its second five-star player in the 2022 class, joining five-star offensive tackle Kelvin Banks in the trenches. Campbell becomes the highest-ranked offensive lineman Texas has signed since Tray Allen in 2007 and marks the first time since the 2013 cycle that Texas signed multiple top-50 offensive linemen.

It’s clear that Flood and head coach Steve Sarkisian prioritized improving in the trenches quickly, indicated by both the quality and quantity of talent at the point of attack. Campbell gives Texas seven offensive linemen in the class, with Neto Umeozulu, Cole Hutson, and Connor Robertson joining him in the interior, while Banks, Malik Agbo and Cameron Williams at tackle.

With the seven defensive line and edge players on the defensive side of the ball, 14 of the 28 players Texas added this cycle would be considered trench players.

As the 2022 class comes to a close, Texas finishes No. 5 in the country and is one of just eight teams to sign multiple five-star players in this staff’s first full cycle recruiting for Texas. As the 2023 recruiting begins in earnest, the staff needs to show improvement on the field to sustain the momentum of yet another top recruiting cycle.