It’s not often you see a player de-commit from an SEC powerhouse like the Texas Longhorns within 48 hours of a visit, especially when that player is a local. However, the program was in for such a development this week. Despite having bagged two elite commitments last weekend, Steve Sarkisian and the Texas Longhorns just lost the only linebacker in their 2027 class in Cade Haug.

The 6-foot-2, 220-pound defender had pledged to UT in early February, but he officially backed out of his commitment right after taking a visit to Austin. On paper, this trip was supposed to lock things in. And based on everything we heard and saw from the team, things looked right on track.

The 3-star was treated like a 5-star. Haug posed in the iconic burnt orange uniform for photos, and had a proper sit-down with their new DC, Will Muschamp. If you were looking at social media over the weekend, you would have bet money that Haug was 100% solid on his commitment to the Longhorns.

But according to Inside Texas’ Eric Nahlin, the issue has to do with money.

“In this day and age, your first thinking should be, ‘Hey, it’s probably related to finances.’ And that’s exactly what we hear it is,” he said. “He just couldn’t agree to the terms.”

Even though he’s rated as a three-star recruit, he’s actually quite good. He has 330+ tackles in the last three years. After playing his first three years at Kingwood High School, he’s moving over to Katy High School, a big Texas football powerhouse, for his senior year to prove just how good he is. There’s a pretty good chance he might be upgraded to a 4-star.

However, there might be a chance that the Longhorns planned to use him as the second or thirs string linebacker in the future. Texas has been spending big to land some five-star recruits lately. And they simply weren’t willing to match the dollar amount Haug’s representatives were asking for.

Now that he’s back on the market, Haug’s team says his recruitment is “100% open” to anyone. He’s already got plenty of schools calling his phone, with teams like SMU, Houston, Oklahoma State, and Kentucky heavily in the mix.

Going to a major school like Katy High for his senior season means even more big-name schools are probably going to jump into the battle for his signature soon.

As for Texas, head coach Steve Sarkisian and his staff have pivoted to another talent.

Longhorns got eyes on Houston star

Within an hour or so after his de-commitment, the Longhorns had already shifted their focus to a backup plan: Jerrell Bridges.

Bridges is an athletic linebacker from Midlothian High School who is currently committed to the Houston Cougars. In a wild twist of timing, Texas actually hosted Bridges on a visit the exact same weekend Haug was in town. Because that visit went incredibly well, the Longhorns coaching staff already has significant momentum to flip him.

Since Haug was the only linebacker committed to the 2027 class, his exit leaves a temporary hole. Linebackers coach Johnny Nansen and defensive coordinator Will Muschamp are using the upcoming recruiting dead period to re-evaluate their entire regional wishlist and extend new offers to high-profile targets.

They’ll be handing out some brand-new scholarship offers over the next few weeks to see who else wants to join the party in Austin.