Texas football going after 3-Star WVU DT commit Justin Benton
The scouting work continues this fall for head coach Steve Sarkisian and his staff to get some final offers out for the 2023 Texas football recruiting class. And it really looks like Sark and his staff are doing some nice work scouting out some underrated talent on the recruiting trail in the last few months.
One of the latest offers from the Longhorns 2023 class that was handed out this week went to an underrated three-star defensive lineman that is committed to a Big 12 foe.
On Oct. 28, three-star Covington Newton (GA) defensive lineman and West Virginia Mountaineers commit Justin Benton announced on social media that he received an offer from Texas. It looks like defensive line coach Bo Davis is taking the lead on this recruitment, likely with some help from new running backs coach Tashard Choice.
Choice is well-connected around Georgia and Florida, which is the part of the country where Benton is from. Benton’s, Phillip Benton, is a former Georgia linebacker that played with the current head coach in Athens, Kirby Smart.
Texas football offers underrated 3-Star West Virginia DL commit Justin Benton
Thus, it would make sense that Choice could be involved for the Longhorns in the recruitment of Benton.
University Of Texas Offered @CoachBoUT @coachchoice @CoachSark @CoachSkelton06 @CoachCamJr pic.twitter.com/G4ZypL7N9y
— Justin Benton #JB99 🦍 (@JustinB42023) October 28, 2022
Benton has some high-profile offers at this point that signal he could be undervalued as a three-star recruit. He’s got offers from big-time programs such as the Georgia Bulldogs, Tennessee Volunteers, Florida Gators, USC Trojans, Penn State Nittany Lions, and Oregon Ducks.
Yet, head coach Neal Brown, defensive line coach Jordan Lesley, and the Mountaineers were able to win the race to land the commitment of Benton on June 18, 2022.
Arkansas Offered 🐗 🐗@CoachSkelton06 @CoachSamPittman @CoachGreen93 pic.twitter.com/efRof9KQEI
— Justin Benton #JB99 🦍 (@JustinB42023) October 25, 2022
Moreover, Texas and the Arkansas Razorbacks both offered Benton this week signaling that this recruitment isn’t over yet. The stout 6-foot-1 and 285-pound defensive lineman could see his recruitment continue to heat up a couple of months before signing day.
On film, Benton shows a quick motor off the line of scrimmage and the ability to shed blocks quickly both in run defense and as a pass rusher. He’s got good instincts to know which gap to plug after the snap and has a strong lower half to push opposing offensive linemen into the backfield to get tackles for loss.
Davis and the Longhorns are likely looking to have Benton as somewhat of an insurance policy in case they miss out on some of the other priorities among defensive linemen in the 2023 class.
Texas is pursuing the highly touted four-star Garland Naaman Forest defensive lineman Markis Deal, four-star Converse Judson defensive lineman Johnny Bowens, and the elite five-star Katy Paetow DL/Texas A&M Aggies commit David Hicks at the moment.
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Davis and the Longhorns currently hold commitments from two defensive linemen in the 2023 class. Those two defensive line commits in the Longhorns 2023 class as of Oct. 29 are four-star Bergen Catholic (NJ) product Sydir Mitchell and four-star Houston C.E. King product Dylan Spencer.
According to the 247Sports Team Composite Rankings, the 2023 Texas recruiting class ranks at No. 5 in the nation and in the top spot in the Big 12 ahead of the Oklahoma Sooners.