Better late than never, 5-star WR Ryan Wingo signs with Texas Longhorns football

Despite some anxious moments on Wednesday, five-star wide receiver Ryan Wingo signed his letter of intent with Texas. Wingo made the Texas coaching staff wait later than all but one of the 22 Longhorns pledges, but he posted on social media, "Done deal just before noon.

Wingo, a St. Louis native, had been a Missouri commitment before Texas flipped the 6-foot-2, 200-pounder in October. He's ranked as the No. 7 receiver prospect in the country, according to 247Sports' composite ratings.

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Wingo could have an immediate impact on the field next season, especially considering the likelihood that current Texas receivers Xavier Worthy and Adonai Mitchell will be high picks in the upcoming NFL draft and Jordan Whittington will depart after five seasons.

That trio has 162 of the 172 catches by UT receivers this season. The Longhorns also lost insurance policies at the position when little-used veterans Casey Cain and Isaiah Neyor jumped into the portal. Transfer Matthew Golden and current freshmen Johntay Cook II and DeAndre Moore Jr. are also expected to garner plenty of snaps at receiver next season.

There are 32 five-star prospects in the 2024 class, per 247Sports' composite rankings. Heading into Wednesday, that's the second-most five-star commitments in the country, behind only Ohio State's five. Alabama and Georgia each have three.

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Currently, Texas' class ranks No. 5 nationally. The Longhorns are behind No. 1 Georgia (27 pledges), No. 2 Ohio State (22), No. 3 Alabama (22) and No. 4 Florida State (23) heading into the early national signing day. Daingerfield cornerback Aeryn Hampton is the only pledges to not yet email in a letter of intent to Texas. Hampton is reportedly considering a late push from Alabama and is expected to sign an NLI today.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Five-star WR Ryan Wingo signs with Texas Longhorns football