Billy Walton commits to the Texas Longhorns

On3 Consensus three-star and 2023 Dallas (Texas) South Oak Cliff EDGE Billy Walton committed to Texas on Tuesday.

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“The best visit I took, hands down,” Walton told Inside Texas after his trip to Austin. “The team bonding! Texas will be something big this year, the team is just different!”

The 6-foot-2.5, 215-pound edge rush prospect initially committed to the Cowboys on April 26 over SMU and Texas. Walton’s pledge was always shaky, including official visits to SMU June 17 and Texas last weekend prior to making the flip.

Walton racked up 55 tackles, 21 tackles for loss and 12 sacks as a junior helping lead South Oak Cliff to the 5A State Championship.

The Longhorns efforts to flip Walton were spearheaded by Director of High School Relations Chris Gilbert, a former high school coach at Lancaster High in the DFW area.

Walton becomes the 17th member of Texas’ 2023 class, joining Trevor Goosby, Derek Williams, Jaydon Chatman, Andre Cojoe, Jonah Wilson, Connor Stroh, Liona Lefau, Arch Manning, Ryan Niblett, Dylan Spencer, Jamel Johnson, Tre Wisner, Will Randle, Spencer Shannon, Tate Haver, and S’Maje Burrell.

How he fits at Texas: 

Walton is a really promising and interesting Edge prospect. He’s currently listed at 6-foot-3, 220 pounds and is twitchy with some real quickness at that size but he’ll be a lot bigger before his college career is over. Right now, he’s more of a Buck, he can drop into coverage and play in space comfortably and can play as a linebacker. However, he plays physical and while he’s much better on the outside edge or in space today, tomorrow he’ll be 250+ with a lot of natural power. He’s pretty good with his hands even now, fending off offensive tackles or slipping run blockers and additional power will make him a real menace bending around the edge. It’s possible he could play Jack in the future but right now he’s a natural candidate for Buck. – Ian Boyd

Coach Says: 

Strengths — Billy Walton is lean athlete who is proportioned and can add both lower and upper body weight. Long arms that he can use effectively to post linemen. Hands look pretty strong. Strong upper body and tries to extend his arms routinely when engaged. Straight line speed is good. Position versatile with edge and off-ball LB on his tape. At least one highlight where he is apexed and drops smoothly into short zone space. Good play recognition from the zone drops and closes the gap quickly. Will sink the hips running the arc and understands getting low position. Has some functional quickness to cross the face of the pass-blocker. Against the run, he shows good backside discipline on opponent tape. Will take on pullers with a wrong arm and will squeeze the gap consistently. Generally, will keep the outside shoulder free and set the edge. As a tackler, he will deliver some big hits and looks to make the big play. Could be a monster if he keeps growing. I like the hustle.

Areas for Improvement — Walton needs to get bigger if he’s going to play the edge. I don’t see quite the athleticism to stay near this weight and play off the ball (e.g., DMO). Isn’t the quickest off the snap. Hip roll could be a bit tight. Change of direction shows a loss of speed at times (would like to see agility numbers). Pass rush is mostly trying to get by on athleticism (not much in the way of technique is evident). Does not transfer lower body power consistently into his tackles and his own highlights feature a few “grabby” arm tackles and shoulder bumps rather than fundamentally sound break downs/form tackles. While his zone drops look good, there isn’t much on tape to judge ball skills. Hustle isn’t consistent on opponent film.

How this affects Texas:

The ultra-productive EDGE gets to the quarterback. After recording 21 tackles for loss and 12 sacks in 2021 to help South Oak Cliff win the state championship, his profile began to grow. The 6-foot-3, 220-pound three-star holds 21 offers including Texas A&M, Georgia Tech, Arizona, and TCU, but still hovers under the radar. The Horns need to shore up the EDGE position in the 2023 cycle and have eyes on Walton. With Colton Vasek, Ashton Porter, Braylan Shelby, Brad Spence holding UT offers, Walton might want to snag his spot early. They’ll have to fend off three other schools but we like where the Longhorns sit today. – Justin Wells

According to the On3 Consensus, a complete and equally weighted industry-generated average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies, Walton ranks as the No. 58 EDGE in the nation and No. 136 overall prospect in Texas. On3 ranks him as the No. 51 EDGE in the nation and No. 78 prospect in Texas.