Texas has long stuck to its tradition when it comes to offering recruits early.

Nearly all recruits have to wait until February of their junior year and attend a UT junior day in order to receive their offer.

On Thursday, Texas made a big step toward changing that philosophy.

The Longhorns have accepted a commitment from 2014 athlete Lorenzo Joe (Abilene, Texas/Cooper).

Lorenzo Joe is Texas' first commitment of the class of 2014. Miller Safrit/ESPN.com

“I just got off the phone with Coach [Bo] Davis and he let me know that I can go ahead and go public and let people know I’m committed,” Joe told HornsNation.

Joe originally gave his verbal pledge to Texas after being approved for a 2014 offer at the Longhorns’ June 10 camp. At the time, UT coaches told him he’d have to wait until February for that pledge to become official.

But Thursday, Texas coaches swiftly changed course in their long-held beliefs on early offers. Even Joe was surprised when he got the call from Davis.

“It feels so good to finally tell people,” Joe said. “I don’t have to tell people my recruiting is going slow anymore.

“To finally get it off my chest now, it feels good. I’m so excited. I’m sorry I had to lie to y’all.”

Joe, a 6-foot-2, 190-pound junior-to-be, is being recruited by Texas to play wide receiver. He’ll serve as Abilene Cooper’s starting quarterback this fall.

“They came down during spring to check me out and watched my highlights and came to my school,” Joe said. “I went to their camp and tried to perform, and they liked what they saw.”

As a sophomore, Joe caught 48 passes for 762 yards and nine touchdowns and also rushed for 200 yards and two more scores. He received an offer from Texas Tech earlier this summer.

But when Texas coaches told him in June he’d get one, Joe committed without hesitation. He didn’t need a year to think it over.

“Texas was always the school growing up,” he said. “It was the right thing to do.”

Texas coaches also made an official offer Thursday to their No. 1 quarterback target, Denton (Texas) Guyer dual-threat passer Jerrod Heard. He told HornsNation he’ll wait until next summer to make a decision.