3 immediate impact 2023 summer commits for Texas football

As we draw closer to the start of fall camp around the college football landscape, the news cycle surrounding the 2023 Texas football recruiting class will likely slow down in the next few weeks. As head coach Steve Sarkisian and his staff prepare for the start of fall camp, on Aug. 4, and the beginning of the 2022 regular season, more focus will be put on the current team’s progress than the news on the recruiting trail.

Sark and the Longhorns are on quite a run on the recruiting trail of late for the 2023 class, though. The good work that the Longhorns did on the recruiting trail for the 2023 class this summer means that the coaching staff doesn’t have to spend as much time working on this cycle as they would otherwise.

An insane wave of momentum for the Longhorns 2023 class since June 23 brought this group up to 19 commits as of the evening of July 21. What sparked this wave of momentum for the Longhorns in the 2023 class was the commitment of the elite five-star Isidore Newman quarterback Arch Manning.

Since landing a commitment from Arch on June 23, Texas has roughly tripled the size of this 2023 class and has added another trio of five-star commits.

We haven’t got much time in the last few weeks to really reflect on what the Longhorns have building in the 2023 class and what that could mean in the near future.

The 2023 Texas football commits capable of making an immediate impact next year

Here’s a look at three summer commits for the Longhorns that could have an immediate impact.

Sydir Mitchell, DL

While most of the proficiency in the Longhorns 2023 class appears to come on the offensive side of the ball, the defense is forming something special here too. One of the recent Texas defensive commits in the 2023 class that is helping to form a solid group on this side of the ball is the touted and towering 6-foot-4 and 345-pound defensive lineman Sydir Mitchell.

Texas landed a commitment from Mitchell back on July 3, giving Pete Kwiatkowski and Bo Davis that big body that can anchor the defensive front at the nose tackle position. It’s hard to overstate how important the commitment of Mitchell could be for the Longhorns 2023 class.

While Mitchell isn’t rated among the top 200 high school prospects in the nation for this cycle, his impact on this program is likely to well exceed his standing with the major recruiting services.

And with some of the roster turnover that Texas is facing along the defensive line heading into next offseason, Mitchell could really get a shot to make an early impact out of the gates. Texas is likely losing both senior nose tackles Keondre Coburn and T’Vondre Sweat in 2023.

That will allow the quick and powerful Mitchell to challenge the likes of Vernon Broughton and Byron Murphy (depending on where he plays this fall) for a key spot on the two-deep next offseason.

What Mitchell brings to the table that could separate him from the pack is his underrated agility and length that can be a load to deal with in the trenches. Mitchell has incredible reach and strength, which will allow him to clog up the middle on run plays and get a major push when rushing the passer up the middle.

There is also something that could make Mitchell a really valuable scheme fit for Kwiatkowski and the Longhorns along the defensive front. The size and agility that Mitchell brings to the table could allow Kwiatkowski to free up the rest of his defensive front and get into his ideal 2-4-5 scheme in the near future.