4 Texas underclassmen with most to prove in summer workouts

Sydir Mitchell, DT

Defensive line got the bulk of the attention of any position group on the defensive side of the ball for the Longhorns during spring camp. Texas had a lot to replace at defensive tackle after losing its two top producers to the NFL Draft, T'Vondre Sweat and Byron Murphy II, this offseason.

The losses of top defensive tackles to the NFL Draft like Murphy and Sweat,, meant the Longhorns had to find other younger defensive linemen to step up this spring. One young defensive tackle the Longhorns and new DL coach Kenny Baker were counting on to make a big leap during spring ball was redshirt freshman Sydir Mitchell.

The towering 6-foot-6 and 370-pound defensive tackle from New Jersey, Mitchell had high expectations to become that big two-gapper who could play over the football for the Longhorns in his second year on campus. But the issues with Mitchell's weight and conditioning marred any other progress he made early in offseason workouts and spring camp.

To a certain extent, it feels like now or never for Mitchell to start making that leap to become an impact interior defensive lineman who can give the Longhorns quality snaps at zero tech. Summer workouts is one of the last opportunities Mitchell has to get his body right and make sure he's carrying good weight before the season starts this fall.

Texas's options at nose tackle are pretty limited, especially when you're talking about someone of Mitchell's size and physical profile. If he does get in better shape and lose some weight entering preseason camp, Mitchell should be a prominent part of this interior defensive line rotation at nose in the SEC for this season.

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