The Texas football program rarely offers scholarships to high school sophomores, but then players such as running back Raycine Guillory rarely come around.

After visiting the Texas campus along with dozens of other recruits during the Longhorns' annual Junior Day on Saturday, Guillory became the first member of the 2026 class to commit to Texas. A 5-foot-10, 180-pound speedster from the Fort Worth area, Guillory also has offers from a growing list of schools, including Georgia, USC, Texas A&M and Oklahoma.

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The commitment continues to show the recruiting impact of UT running backs coach Tashard Choice, who spearheaded the courting of Guillory. Since head coach Steve Sarkisian hired Choice after the 2021 season, Texas has signed CJ Baxter and Tre Wisner as well as 2024 class members Christian Clark and Jerrick Gibson. All are either four- or five-star recruits, and Guillory is likely to garner similar numbers of stars from recruiting services once he receives his first ranking at some point this offseason.

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A native of Mansfield, southeast of Fort Worth, Guillory ran for 769 yards and nine touchdowns as a freshman for Mansfield Lake Ridge. The Class 6A school sits on some of the most fertile recruiting grounds in the nation as the area also includes DeSoto and Duncanville high schools.

Last season Guillory transferred to Aledo, a Class 5A Division I powerhouse west of Fort Worth that has won a state-record 12 state titles, and had 1,236 yards on 146 carries with 17 touchdowns in 11 games.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: RB Raycine Guillory becomes first 2026 pledge for Texas football