Texas Football: 3 players that will benefit most from early move to the SEC
Sydir Mitchell, DL
A good litmus test to understanding just how well a defensive linemen projects to play in the SEC over the long term is the evaluation from head coach Kirby Smart and the Georgia Bulldogs. The reigning back-to-back National Champion Georgia has become a defensive linemen factory in the last few years.
When you consider that Georgia was fighting through the whistle in Mitchell’s recruitment, you can tell that Smart and his staff think he is the real deal. That bodes well in terms of knowing what Texas is getting in Mitchell to anchor the defensive line upon the move to the SEC next year.
It doesn’t take long when watching Mitchell’s film to understand that his natural strength and surprising foot speed make him a real force to be reckoned with in the trenches. Mitchell has really good quickness off the line of scrimmage and uses his natural power to shed blocks quickly and disrupt plays in the opposing team’s backfield.
The insane 6-foot-5 and 340-pound Mitchell gives defensive line coach Bo Davis and the Longhorns the type of “big human” mold that they want in the trenches as this defensive front transitions from the Big 12 to the SEC in the next 18 or 20 months. What sets Mitchell apart, though, is his lengthy 6-foot-9 wingspan, nearly a 27-inch standing vertical jump (per On3), and the type of foot speed/quickness that you could see out of a 290 or 300-pound defensive tackle.
Mitchell will ultimately be able to get Pete Kwiatkowski and the Longhorns one step closer to being able to play that pure 2-4-5 style defense that the third-year defensive play caller is probably moving to in the next couple of years. Texas will have a true nose tackle that will be able to take up a ton of space up front and move some bodies at the line of scrimmage.
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If Mitchell is able to contribute to Texas’ rotation of interior defensive linemen this fall, that will be more than enough to prove to me that he is ready to really break out in the SEC in 2024 and beyond.