Texas football lands disruptive nose tackle in 4-Star DL Alex January

Texas football added its second commitment of the day to the 2024 recruiting class in the disruptive and powerful four-star Duncanville defensive lineman Alex January. The blue-chip defensive lineman out of South Dallas announced his commitment to Texas on social media on the afternoon of July 1.

January became the second blue-chip recruit to commit to the Longhorns 2024 class on the afternoon of July 1 after the touted four-star Lucas (TX) Lovejoy product Parker Livingstone pledged to Texas. January is also the first defensive lineman to commit to the Longhorns 2024 class.

Texas landed January’s commitment over other top schools, such as the LSU Tigers, Texas Tech Red Raiders, and Florida State Seminoles.

Defensive line coach Bo Davis and the Longhorns pushed hard in this recruitment throughout the offseason. January was a top in-state priority among defensive linemen in the 2024 class for the Longhorns.

Texas football gets big nose tackle in 4-Star 2024 Duncanville DL Alex January

The defensive line is a huge position of need for the Longhorns in the 2024 class. January gives the Longhorns a “big human” that fits the mold of what Davis and Pete Kwiatkowski want size-wise in the trenches.

January also gives the Longhorns another big-bodied and capable defensive/nose tackle, which will be extremely valuable to have heading into the SEC next year. Texas will continue to stock up on these “big humans” in the trenches to help them better compete on both sides of the ball in the SEC.

January is a gap-filler in the trenches

In the purest sense, January is a defensive lineman that will fill gaps in the trenches, making life difficult for opposing offensive coordinators to set the tone with the ground game against the Longhorns in the SEC.

January plays with good pad level and has a strong lower base, which helps him get the best of opposing offensive linemen at the point of attack. His pure size and strength make him extremely difficult to move off the ball in any situation.

Another strength of January’s game that makes him a disruptive lineman in the interior pass rush and run defense is his ability to make in-play adjustments and quickly get to the ball carrier. January can identify plays quickly, which is valuable in a defensive line anchor.

January will be tough to deal with in the ground game

Where January can be really disruptive at the collegiate level is in run defense. He is long and athletic, which pairs well with his raw strength to make for a really imposing force in the trenches. January’s size and skill set make him a true disruptor in the trenches in run defense.

Whether he’s eating up space by occupying double teams along the interior of the line or pushing opposing linemen into the backfield to blow up plays, January is bound to make a big impact on the Longhorns’ interior run defense.

Areas of improvement

While January is already an imposing force along the interior of the defensive line, there are some strides he needs to make before he’s ready to push for a spot in the defensive line rotation. He needs to work on his arsenal of pass-rush moves and hand usage.

Largely because he needs to improve his hand usage, January has a limited array of pass rush moves to win battles as an interior pass rusher. January could become a much more effective nose if he can add these elements to his game in the next 12-18 months.

Projection and fit at Texas

Given that January already stands at 6-foot-5 and 325-pounds, the natural fit for him at Texas would be at nose tackle. But he could also develop into more of a three-tech defensive lineman if he keeps getting stronger and faster while becoming more adept as an interior pass rusher.

January likely needs a year or two to refine the areas of improvement we mentioned earlier before he’s ready to be a true impact player along the interior defensive line.

Texas needs to add defensive linemen with the size and disruptiveness of January along the interior to truly succeed in the SEC (even though some recruiting services don’t rank him quite to the degree of his ability). This was a fantastic early evaluation by the Longhorns staff. Adding January to this class sets a big tone for defensive line recruiting in the 2024 class this summer.