2 Texas players included among best young players in college

Talent has never been a question for Texas football's roster under head coach Steve Sarkisian over the past few years in the Big 12 and entering the SEC for this upcoming season. Sarkisian and Texas have restored the program's status as a national contender in college football at the right time entering the inaugural year in the SEC this fall.

Texas football's young depth and talent in the spotlight this preseason

Texas has young and prominent talent highlighting the two-deep depth chart among the underclassmen on both sides of the ball in 2024. This young talent and depth for the Longhorns this preseason was spotlighted in a list from 247Sports ranking "college football's best young players" entering the upcoming season (A.K.A. the "20under20").

Two Longhorns made the list among the top 20 best players in college football for the 2024 season under 20 years of age, redshirt freshman quarterback Arch Manning and sophomore linebacker Anthony Hill Jr.

Texas's depth has never been this good under Sarkisian on both sides of the ball that two players make this type of list, and one of them isn't even a starter entering the upcoming college football campaign.

Suffice to say that Hill was a pretty obvious inclusion on a list like this, as he was one of the most impactful true freshmen in the Big 12 last fall. Hill was tied for second on the team in sacks (five) and third in tackles for loss (8.0) last season. He also won the Big 12 Co-Defensive Freshman of the Year honors and was a Freshman All-American selection by FWAA and ESPN.

The expectations for Hill are high as he enters his second season at Texas.

Manning, meanwhile, is looking to make significant strides in Texas's quarterback room as he'll be one snap away from leading this offense as Quinn Ewers' backup QB. Manning is the face of the future of the offense for Sarkisian.

I'll reiterate the point of how much quality depth and talent Sarkisian has among the underclassmen on the depth chart entering 2024. Hill and Manning are some of the top talents on each side of the ball for the Longhorns from the 2023 recruiting class.

This list from 247Sports didn't even include other worthy candidates among the best young players in the nation for top programs, including sophomore wideout Johntay Cook II and sophomore running back CJ Baxter Jr. on offense. I would also expect underclassmen for the Longhorns on the defensive side of the ball like sophomore safety Derek Williams Jr. and sophomore cornerback Malik Muhammad to be recognized as some of the best at their position in the SEC (if not the entire country) by the conclusion of the 2024 campaign.

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