Frisco Panther Creek standout Jalen Lott is one of the country’s top prospects in the 2026 class. He’s a Rivals100 member. He has scholarship offers from top programs all across America. He’s incredibly talented, but there are some questions with Lott’s game … most notably, on what side of the ball will he be featured at the next level.
Lott, you see, is equally dynamic as both a wide receiver or a defensive back. On offense, he’s a gamebreaker who is capable of scoring from anywhere on the field. On defense, he’s a lockdown corner who also possesses terrific ball skills. College coaches are chomping at the bit to get Lott into their program, and schools are talking to him about being a two-way standout at the next level.
On Saturday, Lott made his way to Austin to take in a Texas Longhorn junior day. While many have Lott labeled as a receiver, Texas is focusing on recruiting Lott as a defensive player first, with an opportunity to also make an impact on the offensive side of the ball.
“I was actually talking about DB (with Texas) but when Sark came over, he was talking about maybe putting in a package on offense. Starting out at DB and building up and eventually playing offense,” Lott said.
Schools like Oregon, Texas A&M, LSU and Miami are also talking to Lott about playing him on both sides of the ball. He says he’s open to doing whatever helps get him on the field at the collegiate level, but playing both receiver and defensive back is definitely appealing.
“I’d definitely be open to playing both ways,” Lott said. “There’s not really a certain classification, more playing both until I really have to make a decision. Wherever I wind up going, I’ll play whatever they put me at.”
At Texas, cornerbacks coach Terry Joseph has been Lott’s main point of contact. Those two spent ample time together at Saturday’s junior day, and Lott said having a good relationship with his potential college position coach will be a key component of his recruitment.
“Definitely just my relationship with coach Joseph,” Lott said of Saturday’s highlight. “Him being able to sit down and talk with me, take time out of his day, walk me through film, talk about where he sees me playing, that’s just great.
“It’s one of those things where I’m going to be spending my next three years with you, so having a good relationship with my coach, the person I’m going to be spending the most time with, my position coach, I feel like that’s the most important thing in my recruitment right now.”
Lott is the son of Texas Longhorn Hall of Honor member James Lott, who starred in both football and track and field for Texas in the 1980s. As such, Lott is no stranger to the Forty Acres campus, but he said he appreciates the hospitality shown by the UT staff every time he shows up, including on Saturday’s visit.
“What I remember here is the culture is like no other,” Lott said following his UT visit. “It’s one of those things where you step in, everybody greets you. It feels great. Every time I come up here it feels great. I really like it.”
Lott will be at Oklahoma this coming weekend. He plans to visit LSU, Georgia and Alabama in the spring. He currently has official visits set up to Texas (June 13) and Oregon (June 20). In between all the recruiting visits, the ultra-talented prospect said he hopes to continue to build on his 6-0, 173-pound frame.
“Definitely putting on more muscle mass. Just staying in the weight room is the biggest thing right now,” Lott said. “I feel like that’s the thing I need to work on most in my game.”
Lott ranks No. 61 on the Rivals100.
