Texas Longhorns flip nation's No. 2 safety recruit Xavier Filsaime from Florida Gators

AUSTIN (KXAN) — As the early signing period for Division I football closes in, the Texas Longhorns flipped a 5-star recruit from a future Southeastern Conference opponent.

According to Mike Roach of 247Sports, McKinney's Xavier Filsaime switched his commitment from the Florida Gators to the Texas Longhorns on Monday, two days before the early signing period begins Wednesday.

Filsaime is considered one of the top defensive back recruits in the nation by 247Sports, ranked No. 2 in the country at safety and No. 7 overall in Texas.

Filsaime told Roach that after Gators defensive back coach Corey Raymond was fired, he started to rethink his commitment and eventually chose Texas because he wants to be closer to home and, "I know I'm going to be surrounded by guys who want to win."

Filsaime plans to enroll early at Texas and participate in bowl practices, Roach said.

The Longhorns jumped up a spot to No. 5 in the 247Sports team recruiting rankings with the addition of Filsaime. Texas has 22 players in the 2024 class who have verbally committed and Filsaime is the fourth 5-star recruit. Filsaime said he'll sign his National Letter of Intent at 3 p.m., Wednesday in the McKinney HS cafeteria.