Cedric Baxter Jr. has committed to playing his college football at Texas. It’s another great get for the Longhorns, who leapfrog Georgia and Ohio State in the 2023 recruiting class rankings for 247Sports thanks to this news. Other top college programs that had hats on the table included Miami, Florida, UCF, and Texas A&M.
This addition improves Texas’ recruiting score for the year to 285.93, which puts them third in the country, trailing only Alabama and Notre Dame. Baxter is the fifth top-50 prospect to join the school, highlighted by the nation’s No. 1 overall recruit, quarterback Arch Manning.
A four-star recruit himself, Baxter (6-foot-1, 215 pounds) says he made his decision weeks ago but only made the announcement moments ago in a ceremony at his high school in Orlando. He went down the line, touting the virtues of each of the college programs he was considering. When it came to Texas, Baxter referenced head coach Steve Sarkisian’s experience at Alabama and his knowing how to win.
At the big reveal, Baxter put on a cowboy hat and made it official.
Some of the more lofty player comps that Baxter has gotten include Najee Harris and Le’Veon Bell. Here is a look at his highlight reel from his breakout 2021 season.
Baxter played his first three years at Edgewater in Orlando but only became a full-time starter last season. He totaled 1,651 rushing yards on 199 attempts (averaging 8.3 yards per carry) and scored 22 rushing touchdowns.
He is ranked the No. 31 overall recruit and the second-best running back in the country behind Rueben Owens II, according to 247Sports.
