Texas Football: How Will Muschamp's Departure to Florida Could Impact Recruiting

The big news today in college football is that University of Texas assistant head coach and defensive coordinator Will Muschamp has accepted an offer from the University of Florida to become their next head coach, replacing Urban Meyer, who, after six seasons, decided to step down from the post for personal reasons.

While Florida's hiring of Muschamp may be seen as a boon for the Gator football program, it isn't the only program impacted by this decision.

The former Texas defensive coordinator was responsible for bringing many standouts to the Longhorns program, including Quentin Jammer, Aaron Ross, Brian Orakpo and Sergio Kindle, to name a few. 

He had also been instrumental in helping Texas sign the top linebacker in the country last season, Jordan Hicks of West Chester, Ohio, who had also been heavily recruited by Ohio State.

So, with Muschamp gone to Florida, what does that mean for Texas recruiting?  How will a program that has been able to land top-10 recruiting classes nationally year after year fare when one of their biggest pitchmen is no longer around?

The short-term answer is that Texas recruiting is bound to take a hit.  

Athletes like Hicks have went on record as saying that their relationship with the former UT defensive coordinator played a huge part in their decisions to go to Austin. It wouldn't even be surprising to see Hicks, who also had Ohio State very high on his list, reconsider his decision and maybe even contemplate transferring out of Texas.

For the long term, however, the impact his departure will have on the program remains to be seen.  Mack Brown has done a fine job of building Texas into one of the elite programs in the nation, the present season notwithstanding. 

Whether he can do it on a consistent basis without one of his top spokesmen is a question that will be on Longhorns fans' minds for years to come.