BREAKING: Five-Star QB James “J.T.” Thompson, Nation’s No. 1 Recruit, Flips Commitment from Ohio State to Texas Longhorns
AUSTIN, TX — The college football recruiting world was shaken to its core Monday morning as James “J.T.” Thompson, the dual-threat quarterback prodigy from Denton, Texas, and the consensus top-ranked player in the 2025 class, announced his stunning decommitment from Ohio State and pledged his future to the University of Texas.
The decision, revealed on a live ESPN broadcast from his high school gymnasium, sends a thunderous statement about the trajectory of Steve Sarkisian’s program just months before the Longhorns officially enter the Southeastern Conference. Thompson, a 6-foot-4, 220-pound phenom with a cannon arm and elite rushing ability, had been committed to Ryan Day’s Buckeyes since last summer, seen nationally as the heir to Ohio State’s quarterback lineage.
“My heart has always been in the Lone Star State,” Thompson declared, donning a burnt orange hat as the room erupted. “Building something legendary at home, with Coach Sark and this staff, is a mission I can’t pass up. The culture they’ve built, the development I’ve seen, and the chance to lead Texas into the SEC is the challenge I was born for. This is more than a commitment; it’s a homecoming. Hook ‘Em!”
For Head Coach Steve Sarkisian, this is a program-defining, era-validating victory. Securing the nation’s premier player—and a franchise quarterback, no less—directly from a traditional recruiting powerhouse like Ohio State proves Texas can win any battle, anywhere. It is the ultimate validation of the “All Gas, No Brakes” culture and Sarkisian’s reputation as a quarterback developer, following his successful molding of Quinn Ewers into a first-round prospect.
The on-field implications are monumental and perfectly timed. Thompson, a generational talent drawing comparisons to a young Cam Newton for his size and athleticism, is the ideal cornerstone for Texas’s entry into the SEC. His commitment instantly cements the Longhorns’ 2025 recruiting class as a top-two national group and acts as an irresistible magnet for other elite offensive skill players, ensuring the offensive engine remains at a championship level for years to come.
The ramifications are national and seismic. For Ohio State, this is a devastating loss at the sport’s most critical position, a rare defeat in a high-profile recruiting war. For the incoming SEC, it serves as a brutal welcome notice: Texas is arriving not just as a participant, but as a preeminent power ready to compete for conference titles immediately. For the state of Texas, it re-establishes an impenetrable “Iron Curtain” around the nation’s most fertile recruiting ground, signaling that the top talent can no longer be poached with impunity.
In Austin, the news has ignited a frenzy, fueling belief that the Longhorns’ return to the pinnacle of college football is now inevitable. James “J.T.” Thompson is more than a recruit; he is a declaration. He represents the final piece of the blueprint—a homegrown, superstar quarterback leading a homegrown, superstar roster into the nation’s toughest conference. Steve Sarkisian didn’t just win a recruiting battle; he secured the face of Texas Football’s future, and the entire sport must now reckon with the consequences.
