Predicting Texas football’s next 2023 commit after 5-Star Anthony Hill

Tausili Akana, EDGE

Among the newer developing storylines on the recruiting trail that is interesting pertaining to the Longhorns 2023 class is the status of the highly touted four-star Skyridge (UT) edge rusher/outside linebacker Tausili Akana. The Hawaii native and friend of four-star Texas linebacker commit/Kahuku (HI) product Liona Lefau still looks to be considering the Longhorns down the stretch.

For the last couple of weeks, it was presumed that head coach Brent Venables and the Oklahoma Sooners were the favorites to land Akana’s pledge. But Texas co-defensive coordinators/linebackers coaches Pete Kwiatkowski and Jeff Choate have stuck with the push behind the scenes to land a commitment from Akana.

Knowing that Akana’s sister is on the Texas volleyball team (which is about to face No. 4 Louisville in the NCAA Tournament National Championship on Dec. 17) is also something to consider in this recruitment.

It looks like the ultimate decision for Akana is going to come down to either Texas or Oklahoma. And I don’t really know who the favorite is in the race to land a commitment from the standout pass rusher at this point in time.

What is clear is that Texas does have a spot for Akana in its 2023 class, despite already holding commitments from a whopping half-dozen linebackers and/or edge rushers. Texas likes Akana for his raw ability to get after the quarterback in the pass rush.