Sydir Mitchell commits to the Texas Longhorns

On3 Consensus 4-star defensive tackle Sydir Mitchell become the latest nationally recruited prospect to commit to the Texas Longhorns. It’s Jersey Shore to the ATX for Bo Davis’ latest land on the July 4th holiday weekend. 

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The 6-foot-4.5, 345-pounder and nearing 17-years old defensive lineman picked Texas over Georgia on Sunday evening. Texas A&M and Miami rounded out the four schools that received official visits.

Mitchell began the official visit process May 20 with a trip to Athens. The Bulldogs were considered the heavy favorite headed into the summer. He followed with June officials to Texas A&M, Miami and Texas. At one point, Texas A&M was considered the Bulldogs’ biggest threat due to Elijah Robinson’s connections in the Garden State.

The official visit to Texas proved to be an eye opener for Mitchell, and family. Texas defensive line coach Bo Davis and offensive line coach Kyle Flood were instrumental in the recruitment of Mitchell. Davis built a strong relationship with Mitchell, while Flood possesses long standing connections in New Jersey.

Texas No. 3 ranked class ascending

Mitchell becomes the 18th commitment for Steve Sarkisian and staff. He becomes the seventh 4-star or 5-star commitment for the Longhorns since Arch Manning committed June 23.

The Longhorns remain in the hunt for more than a dozen On3 Consensus 4-star and 5-star prospects, including Cedric Baxter Jr., Anthony Hill, Malik Muhammad, Derion Gullette, Mikal Harrison-Pilot, Braylan Shelby and Colton Vasek.

Texas has a path to the No. 1 ranked class, which hasn’t happened in Austin since the 2010 cycle.

Excerpt from the Recruiting Notebook:

How he fits at Texas: Sydir Mitchell is the sort of defensive tackle who’d help make a 2-4-5 scheme really work for a variety of different linebackers around him. He’s a big, traditional 2-gapper who can play on a guard as a 2i-technique nose or a 3-technique and play both the A-gap and the B-gap from either alignment. Obviously, he could also play as a 0-technique nose in a 3-down front. With a long, massive guy like this stacking O-linemen it should make run defense straightforward. – Ian Boyd

Coach Says: Strengths – Tall and imposing. Has great height, arm length, and bulk for an interior defensive lineman, but reminds me of an old-school 3-4 end. Most film is at the 3-tech, but probably could play 0 or 5 as well. Very quick off the ball with surprisingly good lateral movement. Plays with active hands and excellent upper body strength. Stacks and sheds the blockers effectively, with pads square to the line most of the time. Plays with great leverage and will ride that blocker to the play. Extends the arms frequently and will use an effective push-pull to knock the lineman off balance. Plays head up. Locates the ball and diagnoses the play really well. Saw a hint of a rip move and a swim on a few highlights. Has a really nice interception on a screen pass showing great awareness and soft hands. Looks high-motor on his film and opponents. Played at a traditional NJ football power and shows at least a few highlights against legitimately college size offensive linemen. You won’t find bad tape on him anywhere — I tried.

Areas for Improvement – Plays initially out of a fairly narrow stance. Gets upright vs the double team and will give up the leverage early. Needs a strategy: either get low and wide to create a pile or get skinny and split the double. 

How this affects Texas: UT is looking far and wide for one of its 3-tech defensive line take for the 2023 class. With the in-state crop down in this cycle, Bo Davis and the defense scattered the country in search of the right fit. After taking official visits to Georgia, Texas A&M, Miami, and Texas, the Horns have put themselves in prime pouncing position for the 6-foot-4.5, 345-pound monster in the middle. After taking a solid number of interior defenders in the 2022 class, the Horns were more judicious with DL offers in this cycle. That’ll pay dividends at the end of the day. – Justin Wells

Mitchell ranks as the No. 321 prospect and No. 42 defensive tackle in the country, and No. 5 in New Jersey, per the On3 Consensus, a complete and equally weighted industry-generated average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. The four-star has an On3 NIL Valuation of $11.5K. The On3 NIL Valuation is an index that looks to set the standard market value for both high school and college-level athletes. The NIL valuation does not act as a tracker of the value of NIL deals an athlete has completed to date. It rather signifies an athlete’s value at a certain moment in time.

Texas top targets remaining

No. 7 DL David Hicks, Katy (Texas) Paetow – On3 Consensus five-star – visiting Oklahoma July 28th weekend

No. 13 S Caleb Downs, Hoschton (Ga.) Mill Creek – On3 Consensus five-star – possible July 28th weekend visit

No. 14 LB Anthony Hill, Denton (Texas) Ryan – On3 Consensus five-star – Texas or Texas A&M

No. 17 TE Duce Robinson, Phoenix (Ariz.) Pinnacle – On3 Consensus five-star – Texas OV September 10

No. 28 S/N Javien Toviano, Arlington (Texas) Martin 

No. 43 RB Cedric Baxter Jr., Orlando (Fla.) Edgewater – Announcing August 10. Texas leads the On3 RPM

No. 50 CB Malik Muhammad, Dallas (Texas) South Oak Cliff

No. 62 WR Jaquaize Pettaway, Houston (Texas) Langham Creek – announcing between Oklahoma and Texas this week

No. 71 EDGE Tausili Akana, Kahuku (Hawaii) Skyridge

No. 76 WR Jalen Hale, Longview (Texas) High 

No. 88 DL/IOL Markis Deal, Garland (Texas) Naaman Forest

No. 108 DL Hunter Osborne, Trussville (Ala.) Hewitt-Trussville

No. 121 EDGE/LB Derion Gullette, Teague (Texas) High 

No. 126 WR Jaden Greathouse, Austin (Texas) Westlake 

No. 131 CB Jordan Matthews, Baton Rouge (La.) Woodlawn

No. 151 WR Mikal Harrison-Pilot, Temple (Texas) High 

No. 179 OT Miles McVay, East St. Louis (Ill.) High – possible visit July 28th weekend

No. 183 EDGE Colton Vasek, Austin (Texas) Westlake – Texas vs. Oregon

No. 186 EDGE Braylan Shelby, Friendswood (Texas) High – Texas vs. USC

No. 265 DL Jamarious Brown, Moss Point (Miss.) High – Alabama, Ole Miss and Texas top 3

No. 279 DL Terrance Green, Cypress (Texas) Cy Woods – Texas vs. Oregon and Michigan State