Before Max Merril picked up a scholarship offer from Texas, he had a pretty good idea the Longhorns would be strong contenders should an offer come his way. One that offer was made official on Monday, Merril began to make quick work towards finalizing his college decision.
Moments ago, the Strake Jesuit product announced he had made his choice, and it was the Texas Longhorns that had won out.
A 6-5, 280-pound offensive tackle prospect, Merril becomes the Longhorns’ third offensive line pledge in the 2021 class, joining Hayden Conner and Michael Myslinski.
Merril’s commitment was a family decision, and he said those closest to him were thrilled when he got the Texas offer. The combination of location, football tradition and academics was enough to win everyone over quickly.
“They really loved it. My mom loved it, my dad loved it,” Merril said. “Just that really super high level of football they play at Texas. Plus the high level of academics that UT has (had) them really liking the Texas offer.”
Merril had accumulated more than 40 scholarship offers over the course of his recruiting process. He’d been able to do a couple on-campus visits to places like Indiana and Colorado, but with the ongoing dead period having been pushed into January, he’d also become adept at evaluating programs remotely. Because of that, he was able to make a quick decision on the Texas offer.
“With COVID, I’ve had a lot of time to think. We’ve weighed a lot of options,” Merril said. “We’ve gotten pretty quick with it at this point.”
A three-star prospect, Merril is also a strong student. Before the Texas commitment, he was strongly considering programs like Vanderbilt, Indiana, Duke and Arizona State. In the end, there was just too much to like about the UT offer, and Merril has officially added his name to the UT commitment list.
“It’s an excellent football program, excellent school,” he said. “You have to make mom happy, make sure the next 40 years are covered. Mom, she likes that. And I have friends up there.”
Blessed with a combination of good size and athleticism, Merril feels he can be an asset to the Texas team once he gets settled into the program.
“I believe that I can really compete,” he said. “As soon as I get that proper nutrition and training, I think people are going to be in for a treat.”
Merril becomes Texas’ 18th commitment in the 2021 recruiting class. The Longhorns currently rank 14th in the Rivals.com team rankings.
