5-Star PF Marcus Spears Jr. Announces Commitment Between Kentucky, Texas, More, Son of Former NFL DE

Marcus Spears Jr., the son of former NFL defensive end Marcus Spears, is going to college a year earlier than expected to play for the University of Texas.

Spears told ESPN's Paul Biancardi he is reclassifying to join the 2026 recruiting class and is committing to the Longhorns.

The 17-year-old also confirmed his college decision on Instagram with a series of photos, including himself in a Texas jersey and captioned it: "The next chapter."

Spears was the No. 2 overall recruit in the 2027 class, per 247Sports' composite rankings, behind only CJ Rosser.

The Dynamic Prep standout is now the third notable prospect originally in the 2027 class to reclassify to 2026. He joins Joaquim Boumtje-Boumtje and Nikola Kustarica.

Boumtje-Boumtje committed to Duke in April. Kustarica announced hours before Spears' commitment that he would be playing college basketball at UCLA.

Even though NBA rules allow for players one year removed from high-school graduation to declare, they also have to turn 19 in the calendar year of the draft to be eligible.

All three players will be 17 for their entire freshman seasons. Spears turned 17 on April 8. He was considering several schools along with Texas, including Kentucky, LSU and Arkansas.

LSU was his father's alma mater, with the elder Spears playing football for the Tigers from 2001 to '04. He won a national title with the 2003 team, then became a first-round pick by the Dallas Cowboys in 2005.

The younger Spears averaged 15.1 points and 7.6 rebounds per game as a junior during the 2025-26 season.

Texas entered the day with the 16th-ranked recruiting class in the country before adding Spears. He will join a freshman group that includes fellow 5-star prospect Austin Goosby.

Longhorns head coach Sean Miller is making big moves going into his second season with the program. He led them to a 21-15 record in 2025-26, beating NC State in a First Four game to make the tournmanent as a No. 11 seed.

Texas put together a nice run with wins over BYU and Gonzaga before losing to Purdue in the Sweet 16.