National Signing Day is Feb. 3. We’ll take a look at each recruiting class from the 12 FBS football programs in Texas as the day approaches.

Texas

Rivals.com rank: 43rd

Overview

There are five teams from Texas ranked ahead of the Longhorns on the Rivals.com team rankings. There are only four other P5 teams in the state. The Longhorns trail conference foes, and Texas A&M and Houston in the arms race known as college recruiting. Texas sits at 14 commitments, one of the main reasons for its low rank, with five four-stars and nine three-stars in the fold. Texas doesn’t have a top 10 player from Texas committed in the 2016 class.

The good news is that Charlie Strong showed in 2015 that he can finish a recruiting class. Texas could jump significantly in the rankings if some of the rumored names still considering the Longhorns take a last-second jump over to Strong’s class. On paper, this looks like a very underwhelming class for Texas’ standards. We may be singing a different tune once all the Letter of Intents are signed early in February.

Strengths

Nine of the current 14 commitments play offense. Texas’ issue since Colt McCoy left for the NFL has been quarterback. The Longhorns took a step in fixing that trend by gaining the verbal commitment of Arlington Lamar’s Shane Buechele. The 6-foot-2, 185-pound signal-caller is a four-star who committed to Strong and the Longhorns back in February of 2015. He has talented targets at wide receiver committed in Collin Johnson, Reggie Hemphill-Mapps and Davion Curtis. Johnson hails from California is one of four non-Texans in the class.

Strong also made offensive line a focal point and it paid off with four current commitments. Four-star prospects Jean Delance and Denzel Okafor lead that group. Texas went out of state for tight end, grabbing Peyton Aucoin out of Louisiana. No running backs are currently committed.

Needs

Texas still has plenty of needs in 2016. The Longhorns could use a playmaker at running back, another offensive lineman and help on the defensive side of the ball. Strong has plenty of scholarships left if guys want to jump on board late in the cycle, and he needs a few of them for the 2016 class to be looked at fondly. Texas is still rumored to be in the mix for some of the top players in the state like Patrick Hudson, Brandon Jones and Erick Fowler.

Top Player

Collin Johnson won’t be a name familiar to Texas high school football fans, but he is the most electric player in the 2016 class for Texas. The Longhorns need playmakers at wide receiver and Johnson should provide that immediately. John Burt became Texas’ No. 1 wide receiver as a true freshman and he’ll get help on the opposite side from Johnson, a 6-foot-5, 205-pound wide receiver from Valley Christian High School in San Jose, Cali. Johnson held offers from programs like Alabama, Michigan, USC and UCLA, but chose Texas. His brother, Kirk, is already on campus for the Longhorns.