In his Early Signing Day press conference on Wednesday, Texas Longhorns coach Steve Sarkisian said they may add another wide receiver and they did just that with the addition of Aaron Butler on Friday as the early signing period closed.
Butler was primarily considered a West Coast recruit — from Calabasas, Calif., he took his official visits with the Arizona Wildcats, the Colorado Buffaloes, and the Georgia Bulldogs ahead of the Early Signing Period. However, the Longhorns and wide receivers coach Chris Jackson extended an official offer on the second day of the Early Signing Period, putting themselves firmly in the mix for his services despite never hosting Butler for a visit in Austin.
His announced finalists were the Wildcats, the Washington Huskies, and the Longhorns when he went into his announcement Friday with Arizona hosting the final official visit from the consensus four-star prospect and Washington getting him on campus for the regular-season finale rivalry game against Washington State.
The 6’0, 170-pound receiver is a versatile weapon in the passing game, with track speed and top-end ball skills, as well as a physicality honed by his time playing on the defensive side of the ball. Initially committed to the USC Trojans to play corner and then pledged to Deion Sanders and the Colorado Buffaloes, Butler can come in and add depth and value early to Jackson’s wide receiver room as Texas looks to bolster the numbers in that group.
The No. 122 player nationally and the No. 21 wide receiver, according the 247Sports Composite rankings, Butler joins Houston transfer Matthew Golden and three other high school signees in Jackson’s wide receiver class. Overall, the Longhorns class ranks No. 3 nationally with 23 signees in addition to the two transfers.