Holiday Bowl 2011: Elite Recruits Potentially Swayed by Texas Victory

A win over California in the Holiday Bowl isn’t what Texas had in mind as a goal at the beginning of this season, but thinking big picture, the triumph will pay off big time.  The Longhorns' down year definitely didn’t translate to a poor recruiting class as Rivals ranks Mack Brown’s 2012 recruiting class No. 1 in the entire country.

If the Longhorns were upset by Cal on Wednesday night, that might have just been a turn-off for their remaining top recruits.  If you can attend anywhere in the nation, why go to a school that just lost in the Holiday Bowl?  But they didn’t lose, though, cruising to a 21-10 victory.

Here are the best of the best recruits that could be swayed by the Longhorns’ victory.

All rankings were taken from Rivals.com.

3. Landon Collins

Safety Landon Collins out of Louisiana is the 15^th best player in the country and the second-best at his position.  According to ESPN’s Jamie Newberg, the 5-star recruit has narrowed down his potential landing spots to LSU, Alabama, Texas and Tennessee. 

The Tigers and Crimson Tide may just be playing for his services in the BCS National Championship game, so for the Longhorns' sake, hopefully neither school overly impresses Collins.

2. Nelson Agholor

At 6’2”, 180 pounds, Nelson Agholor out of Tampa, Florida is one of the top playmakers still unsigned.  The wideout is ranked third among receivers and 12^th overall.  According to ESPN’s Corey Long, Agholor can make two more official visits after traveling to Oklahoma, Florida and Notre Dame, so that leaves USC, Florida State, Auburn, Georgia and Texas all still fighting for his signature.

1. Dorial Green-Beckman

DGB is not only the top wide receiver in the nation, he’s the most highly sought-after prospect period.  Just imagine the 6’6”, 220-pound monster lined up across from Agholor for the next three years at least.  According to Otis Kirk of ArkansasSports360.com, Texas is the only school Green-Beckman has visited so far.

David Daniels is a featured columnist at Bleacher Report and a syndicated writer. Follow him on Twitter.