Texas football adds dynamic, lengthy 3-Star DL Melvin Hills

Texas football landed its 14th commitment in the 2024 recruiting class, and the second along the defensive line, on July 12 with a pledge from three-star Lafayette Christian Academy (LA) defensive lineman Melvin Hills. Texas and head coach Steve Sarkisian continue their momentum on the recruiting trail in the 2024 class this summer with the latest addition to the mix, Hills.

Defensive line coach Bo Davis and the Longhorns landed a commitment from Hills over other top schools in this recruitment, such as the Ole Miss Rebels, LSU Tigers, and Auburn Tigers. Texas prioritized this recruitment, hosting Hills for three visits since the first Junior Day of the offseason on Jan. 21.

Hills also visited Texas unofficially for the second Junior Day of the offseason on March 25. His official visit to Texas was from June 16-18.

Davis and the Longhorns made a big impression on Hills during his mid-June official visit to Austin. The strong connection with Davis and the academics at the University of Texas and the program’s direction under Sark heading into the SEC sold Hills.

Texas football adds its second DL commit to the 2024 class in 3-Star Melvin Hills

Hills was one of the top priorities among the three-technique defensive linemen in the 2024 class for the Longhorns throughout the offseason. He was a clear take for one of the four spots likely to be used in this class for Davis and the Longhorns along the defensive line.

Texas has filled two of the four scholarship spots likely to be used for defensive linemen in the 2024 class, along with the powerful four-star Duncanville nose tackle Alex January.

Davis and the Longhorns are also prioritizing fellow Louisiana native and five-star Acadiana product, Dominick McKinley, four-star IMG Academy products Jayden Jackson and TJ Lindsey, and four-star Orlando (FL) Jones product D’antre Robinson along the defensive line this summer in the 2024 class.

Texas gets a potent and dynamic 3-tech DL in Hills

The 6-foot-4 and 270-pound Louisiana defensive lineman Hills is a dynamic and potent prospect with some significant upside over the long term. During his junior season, he was productive along the defensive line at Lafayette Christian Academy, racking up nearly 90 combined tackles, 17 tackles for loss, and six sacks (per MaxPreps).

Hills is a force in the interior pass rush, utilizing a large arsenal of pass rush moves, good hands, and a quick first move to collapse the pocket.

Hills uses his quick feet and ability to quickly change directions to chase down opposing quarterbacks from the back side or get to the right spot to square them up when they’re trying to escape a collapsing pocket. And they won’t get away very often once Hills has the quarterback within his reach.

The length and instincts that Hills brings to the table make him disruptive in the pass rush in more than one way, though. Hills also uses his long arms to get his hands up in the passing lanes to get batted balls and shift the quarterback’s throwing trajectory.

He is also a plus-run defender that holds his gaps, tackles well, and changes speeds at a high level. Hills is a good athlete with long arms and a lot of strength, so he occupies his gaps well for a defensive lineman that is just 270 pounds.

Hills approaches with violent hands and decent pad level, often allowing him to get the necessary level to win matchups.

Areas of improvement

While Hills is a high-upside defensive lineman with a lot of potential to contribute as an SEC-caliber starting three-tech tackle, it will take him a few years to get there. Hills needs to add at least 20 or 25 more pounds of muscle mass to his frame to compete in the trenches in the SEC.

Hills does have the frame necessary to naturally add the required weight to compete at the collegiate level in the SEC.

It was also mentioned that Hills takes “decent pad level” approach. Hills could use slight tweaks to his approach and pad level to best utilize his natural strength and length.

Projection and fit at Texas

Hills is a developmental defensive lineman that projects as a three-tech defensive tackle at Texas if he can add the necessary weight in the coming years. It should be expected that Hills could push for a spot on the two-deep by his third year on campus at the latest.

If Hills is on the faster developmental curve in terms of adding weight and working on his fundamental approach, he could push for a spot on the two-deep by 2025.

Texas is on an absolute roll on the recruiting trail in the 2024 class this summer. Sark and the Longhorns staff have added a dozen commitments since mid-June, and are far from being done in the 2024 class for the remainder of July.