In their season opener, the Texas Longhorns didn’t get the win they sought in Columbus, Ohio.
Ballyhooed quarterback Arch Manning was flummoxed and harried by Ohio State defensive coordinator Matt Patricia’s defense, and even though he had a chance at the end of the game to tie things up, Manning and head coach Steve Sarkisian were unable to come through in a 14-7 loss.
A program like Texas is constantly under pressure to get the best players in the nation. A Top 10 recruiting class is not enough to satiate a fanbase that expects to contend yearly, so the Longhorns are being proactive on the recruiting front.
How Are the Longhorns Bolstering Their Recruiting Staff?
According to Matt Zenitz of CBS Sports, “Texas is expected to add John Herron to its recruiting staff in a scouting consultant capacity, sources tell @CBSSports. Most recently worked at Louisville. Before that, he worked at Florida and Florida State, including as assistant director of player personnel at Florida.”
Texas is expected to add John Herron to its recruiting staff in a scouting consultant capacity, sources tell @CBSSports.
Most recently worked at Louisville. Before that, he worked at Florida and Florida State, including as assistant director of player personnel at Florida. pic.twitter.com/YHBEcamIYa
— Matt Zenitz (@mzenitz) September 5, 2025
John “Hova” Herron originally made his mark in recruiting at Florida, where he was the Assistant Director of Player Personnel. He has extensive experience recruiting players in the South Florida region.
He was let go in 2017 after Dan Mullen overturned the entire department, leading to Herron moving on to Florida State for the 2018-19 season. He returned to Florida in 2019, where he was responsible for organizing recruiting events and working with the school’s social media team.
Herron was part of the recruiting staff that helped lock in the ninth-ranked recruiting class, which helped the Gators reach three New Year’s Six bowl appearances and lock in future NFL draft picks CJ Henderson, Marco Wilson, T.J. Slaton, Shaw Davis, KT Toney, James Houston, and Zach Carter. He also locked in five-star recruits Jason Marshall, Corey Collier, Lorenzo Lingard, and Justin Shorter.
Herron then became Louisville’s recruiting coordinator in 2023.
While Texas has no lack of resources or want for anything when it comes to going out and getting players, Herron’s hire is a sign that the Longhorns are planning to be more aggressive during the 2026 recruiting cycle in the face of losing out on some key prospects they targeted and lost to other teams.
When recruiting for Texas, bigger is better, so they added Herron.
