Texas Football: Position-by-position grades for the 2023 class post-NSD
Defensive line
# of signees: 1
Defensive line was the strongest position group on this side of the ball for the Longhorns at the conclusion of the first signing day. After losing a commitment from the longtime four-star Houston C.E. King defensive lineman pledge Dylan Spencer earlier this week to the Texas Tech Red Raiders, Texas was down to just one signee at the position in the 2023 class.
Sydir Mitchell, 4-Star DL (Bergen Catholic, New Jersey)
Regardless of what happened in the weeks leading up to the first signing day, the most impactful addition by way of the high school recruits in the Longhorns 2023 class is the touted and towering four-star Oradell Bergen Catholic (NJ) nose tackle Sydir Mitchell. The 6-foot-5 and 340-pound Mitchell was a big-time target of the Georgia Bulldogs.
And that goes to show just how good of a job defensive line coach Bo Davis and the Longhorns did with Mitchell to pry him away from a school that is an absolute DL factory in Georgia.
Depending on what happens with Texas recruiting defensive linemen out of the transfer portal in the next few months, Mitchell should be in a spot to contribute early in the rotation along the front seven. Mitchell already has the frame and physicality needed to anchor this defensive line during his true freshman campaign.
I still feel like the defensive line is a bit of an incomplete grade for the Longhorns in the 2023 class. Since Texas missed on a few key targets at the position and the remaining additions in the 2023 class are probably coming out of the portal, the grade isn’t up to par with the rest of the groups in this list.