Texas Football: Position-by-position grades for UT's 2024 signing class
Defensive line/EDGE
D'antre Robinson, DT (4-Star, Orlando (FL) Jones)
Defensive line coach Bo Davis and the Longhorns got a productive and active "big human" in the trenches along the D-Line in the 2024 class in Florida four-star D'antre Robinson. The 6-foot-3 and 315-pound interior defensive lineman projects as a potential playmaker around the line of scrimmage for Texas as a three-tech defensive tackle by his second year on campus.
Alex January, DT (4-Star, Duncanville)
Potentially the most impact ready interior defensive lineman Davis and the Longhorns signed in the 2024 class was Duncanville four-star Alex January. The reigning back-to-back 6A1 Texas high school state champion at Duncanville was a powerful disruptor anchoring the Panthers' defensive line in the last couple of seasons.
Melvin Hills, DT (3-Star, Lafayette Christian Academy)
The most underrated defensive lineman the Longhorns signed in the 2024 class was the Louisiana three-star Melvin Hills. The 6-foot-3 and 280-pound defensive tackle broke out as an effective pass rusher and interior run defender for Lafayette Christian Academy this season, registering nearly two dozen tackles for loss and 15 sacks.
Hills needs to add some muscle mass to his frame and continue to develop his pad-level technique and pass rush moves. But Davis has developed these types of productive defensive tackles from the southeast in the last few years at Texas that you can't sleep on Hills as a long-term force in the defensive line rotation at nose or three-tech.
Grade: B+
Colin Simmons, EDGE (5-Star, Duncanville)
Five-star Duncanville edge rusher Colin Simmons is the highest-rated signee in the Longhorns 2024 class. He is the immediate impact star at the EDGE position that the Longhorns needed to get in the 2024 class upon the move to the SEC next year.
Simmons is the very definition of a stud pass-rusher. He's got all the tools necessary to be a future first day NFL Draft pick at EDGE/defensive end, including the lightning-quick first step, natural bend and flexibility, and the quickness/closing speed to get to the quarterback in a flash.
It's hard to imagine Simmons doesn't start immediately at Texas next season given his natural talent and ability to get after the quarterback.
Zina Umeozulu, EDGE (4-Star, Allen)
Another high-level talent the Longhorns signed at the EDGE position in the 2024 class is the touted four-star from Allen High School, Zina Umeozulu. The brother of second-year Texas interior offensive lineman Neto Umeozulu, Zina is a developing pass-rusher with the tools to be an impact run defender setting the edge too.