After a wild recruiting ride, Gilman quarterback Kai Locksley's signed with Texas on Wednesday, officially ending what had been a tug-of-war between the Longhorns and Florida State.
Locksley, a 6-foot-4, 205-pound Rivals.com four-star recruit, signed his national letter of intent on national signing day at Gilman flanked by six of his teammates -- Jelani Roberts and Alonzo Mayo, who are going to Northwestern; Robert Branch and Jahee Jackson, James Madison; Michael Perry, Chicago; and Amyhr Barber, who will attend Division III Williams College; as well as squash player Davis Own, who is headed to Navy.
In the past few weeks, Locksley set social media afire when he took an official visit to Texas, and the Longhorns gained ground on Florida State. He committed to the Seminoles in July, but two other highly-rated quarterbacks committed on the same day. In the Under Armour All-America game, Locksley played wide receiver and made a key catch, but he made it clear afterward that he wanted to play quarterback.
"The plan that the Texas staff had for me going into it and after signing day, they really wanted me to get acclimated fast to the system and really have a hot chance of being the guy Day 1," Locksley said. "The quarterback is a position that they're struggling at right now, and they need a guy to come bring the fire and be a leader and bring that offense back to where it was, so that opportunity and the support and the love that they showed me really helped with the commitment."
Locksley said while Florida State coaches began recruiting him as a sophomore, Texas didn't pick up the recruiting until the spring, just before he committed to Florida State.
Locksley said he plans to get on the field next year.
"Absolutely. That's part of the coaches' plans for me. They want me to get equipped to the system and the scheme and being a leader and looking to be that guy for this year and this fall at the University of Texas, so I'm basically going down there with my head down, my mouth shut and basically just trying to learn to be a quarterback at that level." said Locksley, sporting a Texas hat and tie.
The son of Maryland offensive coordinator Mike Locksley, he is rated the No. 17 dual-threat quarterback in the nation by Rivals.com. He ran for 1,050 yards and 17 touchdowns and passed for 915 yards and five touchdowns last fall as the Greyhounds shared the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Associaton A Conference title.