Portage (Mich.) Central tight end Charlie Jilek signed with the Texas Longhorns on Wednesday after flipping from the Minnesota Golden Gophers in mid-November.Welcome to the Forty, @charlie_jilek 🤘#AllGas26 | #NSD26pic.twitter.com/WEpLiJk85r— Texas Football (@TexasFootball) December 3, 2025The 6’5, 230-pounder helped salvage a difficult recruiting cycle for position coach Jeff Banks, who was unable to land his top targets at the position and suffered the rare decommitment of a silent pledge when Corona (Calif.) Centennial’s Keawe Brown opted to pursue other options in late July before committing to Boise State in September.At the time, Brown was the only tight end offered by the Longhorns in the 2026 class who hadn’t made a public announcement to another program, a group that included No. 2 tight end Kaiden Pothro, a Georgia pledge, and jumbo athlete Heze Kent, committed to Florida, the only two players at the position who took official visits to the Forty Acres.A basketball standout for Portage Central, Jilek also played linebacker, recording 100 tackles, eight tackles for loss, three sacks, an interception, and a forced fumble as a junior, drawing interest from schools at both positions.#Texas flips Portage, Minnesota TE Charlie Jilek from the Golden Gophers. Jilek was committed to UCF as a TE, then Minnesota as a LB. Physicality is the name of the game for the 6–5 prospect. OTF: https://t.co/3IPq7i1P31pic.twitter.com/2ATrzyDgb3— CJ Vogel (@CJVogel_OTF) November 14, 2025After taking two tight ends in the 2025 recruiting class, the program’s commitment to landing high school prospects made Jilek a necessity for the Horns, and one who made his decision after receiving his offer from Texas and quickly pledging without a visit, which happened for the win over Texas A&M.Jilek reported 10 total offers — Arkansas State, Ball State, Central Michigan, Cornell, Eastern Michigan, Ohio, San Diego State, UCF, and Western Michigan. An initial pledge to UCF following an offer from the Knights in April lasted until receiving an October offer from the Golden Gophers, making the commitment to the Longhorns the third quick decision made by Jilek during his recruitment.A consensus three-star prospect, the Michigan product is ranked as the No. 1,482 player nationally and the No. 102 athlete, according to the 247Sports Composite rankings.So Banks and the rest of the Texas staff are clearly hoping that their evaluation and eventual development of Jilek looks like Gunnar Helm, the lowest-rated non-specialist in the 2021 recruiting class for the Horns.
