Austin Attalah isn't even in high school long enough to have a driver's license yet, and he's already got Texas, Texas Tech and USC sweating out his decision. The 6'7", 290-pound offensive tackle out of San Bernardino, California told Rivals' Hayes Fawcett he's trimmed his recruitment down to those three programs, a massive get-to-know for a kid who's still two full recruiting cycles away from signing day.
For context on how big a deal this is: Attalah was rated the No. 11 overall prospect and the top offensive tackle in the country when the first-ever 2028 Rivals300 dropped, and he's since carried elite four-star to five-star buzz throughout his recruitment. He's reportedly racked up close to 30 offers already, from the usual blue-blood suspects like Ohio State, Oregon, Oklahoma, Alabama, Florida and Notre Dame. Getting all of that down to a three-team list this early is a serious signal about who's actually winning the room.
USC and Texas have reportedly been the two front-runners in the chase for months, with the Trojans and Longhorns each treating Attalah as a priority target at the tackle spot. Texas Tech's presence on the list is the bigger surprise -- the Red Raiders have been throwing money and swagger at the transfer portal and high school recruiting alike under their current regime, and landing a spot alongside two blue-bloods for a top-15 national recruit is a real feather for a program that's still building its ceiling.
None of this means a decision is imminent. Attalah is a 2028 prospect, meaning he's likely a rising sophomore or junior with a long runway before he actually signs anywhere -- these early cuts are more about narrowing visits and building relationships than locking in a pledge. But for a lineman built like Attalah, at that size and that ranking, every school on this list is going to keep showing up at his door until he actually puts pen to paper.