Analyzing 3 blue-chip DL recruits visiting Texas football in July

The dead period has arrived again around the college football recruiting landscape, meaning that Texas football and second-year head coach Steve Sarkisian could lose some steam on the trail in the next few weeks. In the last week or so, Texas is absolutely scorching on the recruiting trail.

Since June 23, Sark and the Longhorns staff have more than doubled the size of the 2023 recruiting class.

That all started on June 23, when Texas landed a gigantic commitment from the elite five-star Isidore Newman quarterback Arch Manning. Since that point, the Longhorns have added two more five-star commits and have brought the 2023 class up to 17 recruits in total.

One area that is missing for Texas in the 2023 class, though, is some depth along the interior defensive line. Defensive line coach Bo Davis did add a lot of blue-chips along the defensive front in the Longhorns 2022 signing class. But upon the move for Texas and the Oklahoma Sooners to leave the Big 12 for the SEC, more big bodies need to be added to the interior.

Breaking down how some blue-chip DL targets visiting Texas football in July fit in the 2023 class

The good news is that Texas could be on the verge of starting to round out the 2023 class along the interior with some of the top targets that will be visiting campus later this month.

With that in mind, here’s a look at an analysis of three blue-chip defensive linemen set to visit Texas in July.

Jamarious (J.B.) Brown, DL/EDGE

Someone that seemingly emerged out of nowhere on the radar for Davis and the Longhorns this summer is the touted four-star Moss Point (MS) edge rusher/defensive end Jamarious “J.B.” Brown. This blue-chip Mississippi native defensive lineman/edge rusher is actually the most recent in this position group to receive an offer from Texas, which came specifically back on June 29.

Texas is also set to host Brown on a visit to Austin on the last weekend of July for the annual Texas BBQ. There should be plenty of energy on campus that weekend, which is something that could be a major draw to Brown.

Davis and the Longhorns staff did well to get an offer out to Brown at a good time this summer. If Texas hadn’t offered Brown when they did a couple of days ago, it’s hard to imagine that getting a commitment out of him would be any sort of realistic later on this offseason.

Moreover, the 6-foot-3 and 260-pound Brown could be a versatile fit that could bring some real power and leverage as a true defensive lineman or defensive end. The best fit for Brown would likely be at defensive tackle. But he also possesses the traits necessary to compete at the jack linebacker position.

Brown is really quick for his size and he’s very effective at shedding blocks when rushing the passer, even out of the three-technique. But he can also use his power and quick first step to beat opposing pass blockers when he’s rushing off the edge standing up.

The versatility and athleticism that Brown brings to the table are also evident as he takes snaps on offense as a wildcat quarterback and a fullback. He still has that insane power and leverage blocking for the runner as a fullback.

Brown is the top-ranked prospect out of Mississippi for the 2023 recruiting cycle, and it would be a big win for the Longhorns to get this SEC-caliber commitment in their class.