Five best fits in Texas' 2023 class
One of the most punishing aspects to Texas’ steady turnover at head coach and coordinator over the last decade has been the subsequent difficulty in building cohesive teams with interlocking skill sets. The most notable example has to be Todd Orlando inheriting a roster full of Edges and converting the defensive line room into a 3-down unit just in time for Pete Kwiatkowski to take over with his double-Edge 2-4-5 defensive system.
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Between the transfer portal and quick deployment of underclassmen, Steve Sarkisian and his staff have been able to fight through some of those issues in the program. This next recruiting class, the 2023 group, will also be counted on to help fill out this roster the way Sark and co want it to look as they continue to try and build a National contender which can handle the rough and tumble world of the SEC.
Here’s the five players currently committed to join the 2023 class which best fit the vision and current strategy for winning at Texas. I did leave out Arch Manning, who’s fit and importance is obvious, we’ll circle back to him soon.
Sydir Mitchell, DT, Oradell (N.J.) Bergen Catholic
Texas’ quest for “large humans” who can control the line of scrimmage extends to both side of the line of scrimmage. The defensive scheme up front is notable for utilizing multiple Edge hybrids (2-4-5) but the upshot of using hybrids on either end of the front is the need for particularly stout players inside. Both the nose tackle and the 3-technique in the base nickel package end up playing as sturdy nose tackle types in terms of their assignments and role in the scheme.
Sydir Mitchell is 6-foot-5 and 345 pounds, so he fits the bill.
In the first example Mitchell is lined up as a 3-technique. He gets a double team from the left tackle and left guard while the fullback kicks out and the guard tries to pull around. He is unmoved, the point of attack becomes a pileup, and he basically shoves the pile to the ground with the ball trapped underneath. In the second example he only draws one blocker and makes the tackle, which is a recurring event on his highlights.
Kirby Smart’s long tenure at the top of college football has been powered by massive nose tackles like Mitchell, which is why Georgia badly wants him as well. His importance to Texas is hard to overstate.
Cedric Baxter, RB, Orlando (Fla.) Edgewater
It actually took a little while before Texas really perfected the Kyle Flood run game paired with Bijan Robinson. He was very quickly effective in outside zone, as Texas saw late in 2020 and in much of 2021, but needed a little bit of time to translate to the more power oriented style of 2022.
The offensive line was too young and inexperienced to nail the combo blocks and exchanges in outside zone and Bijan’s own Reggie Bush-inspired style had to be tweaked before he really nailed power running. He had a tendency in previous seasons and early in 2022 to try and make one more move than he should, often spinning into hits which increased his risk of injury and decreased his chances of falling forward for positive gains. By the Baylor game he was running physically and decisively and probably climbing a few spots in the 2023 NFL draft.
Translating Cedric Baxter’s style will be simpler. He’s less of a unorthodox freak like Bijan and more of a pure “I’m bigger and faster so I’m mostly just running through you” power back.
He has a lot of clips where he’s looking to go outside but only to set up the chance to cut inside and downhill. It’ll be hard to match Bijan as a special and entertaining talent, but Baxter is actually a cleaner fit to Sark’s designs to hit the home runs with the passing game and get on base with a power run game.
Johntay Cook, WR, DeSoto (Texas)
There’s a real argument over whether Texas’ inability to maintain a pipeline of NFL receivers from their in state, high school recruiting base has been more remarkable or damaging. Sam Ehlinger‘s senior season was cut off at the knees by Texas’ inability to field a receiver who could get open if they weren’t schemed open from the slot. Sark’s first season was defined by the need to quickly elevate true freshman Xavier Worthy as the primary target. Sark’s second season featured a heavy dose of Quinn Ewers trying to force feed the ball to Worthy. Texas’ struggles to develop depth at the position have been costly.
Meanwhile the state is loaded with programs plugging dominant athletes into spread offenses with skilled quarterbacks to throw them the ball in advanced schemes. How in the world is it the case that Texas has lacked at receiver?
It’s been a combination of losing some of the top commits in the state to Lincoln Riley at Oklahoma or Ryan Day at Ohio State and the Longhorns choosing the wrong secondary targets.
After a small 2022 class at the position with top target Evan Stewart opting for Texas A&M and immediately showing his quality, the Longhorns need a great hit rate in this group. Mostly they need Johntay Cook in the class and then successful in a role as a Z in the offense. He fits the profile of Xavier Worthy, DeVonta Smith, Henry Ruggs, or Jaylen Waddle. Lightning quick deep threats who can get off the line and shake defenders in the open field.
Colton Vasek, Edge, Austin (Texas) Westlake
Longhorn fans should pine for one season in the Big 12 in which Pete Kwiatkowski can field All-Big 12 caliber Edges at either position to bedevil the league’s offensive tackles.
While they haven’t yet fielded a great weakside “Buck” edge, the “Jack” spot is the harder position to field. A big, physical end who can set the field edge and get after the passer opens up the defense. Barryn Sorrell did strong work here in 2022 with nine tackles for loss and 5.5 sacks but Texas still needs a pipeline at this crucial position.
Vasek is the best prospect yet for this spot. At 6-foot-6 and 225 pounds with strength, motor, and well-trained hands he excels at playing through tackles. He could likely play Buck as well, perhaps early in his career, but he’s destined to play at 260 or so with heavy hands a la Aidan Hutchinson. In either event, he has unique size and skill which will be a major issue for collegiate linemen. If they can pair him with Ethan Burke again down the line when both are bulked up and have received a few years of PK coaching, Texas could have something really fearsome.
Liona Lefau, LB, Kahuku (Hawaii)
The trickiest part of playing linebacker in the modern game is the wide variety of tasks you have to perform at a high level. To stay on the field against spread sets and passing concepts, a linebacker needs to have some lateral agility to drop back and wide into zones and he needs to know how to read route patterns to fit into the right passing windows. Yet he still has to be able to play downhill with speed and violence and know how to read blocks to fit into the right running creases. Ideally he can also blitz and help get pressure on the quarterback. Texas wants all three skills from their Mike linebacker and took off this season when Jaylan Ford could deliver.
There’s a lot of skills and technique which go into each of those tasks and there’s not many athletes with the right physical traits who are actually trained to do it all in the state of Texas. Even if you find good prospects, they usually take some time to develop into true linebackers.
Lefau already has it all down. Hawaiian football has a shocking amount of spread passing and he’s picked off a number of passes thanks to a safety-like ability to drop and carry routes.
He’s physical in the box as well and can take on linemen although the angles inside are still coming to him. He can match routes in space while still bringing a presence in the box like Ford. For the Longhorns to build some depth of knowledgeable linebackers is a big win, they’ve been prone to boom/bust cycles at the position. Lefau helps ensure this isn’t a problem again in the future.
