Texas 2025 Spring Camp Series: Exploring a Linebacker Room That Has it All

Along with a hefty amount of pollen, spring is in the air. The Texas Football program is currently on spring break ahead of the official start of spring ball on Tuesday, March 25th. 

[Join Inside Texas TODAY for just ONE DOLLAR!]

With so many new players in the program, whether added from the transfer portal or high school, what better time to assess what we hope to learn at each position group over the next month and change?

The loss of so much talent to the NFL creates plenty of angles to assess, so let’s get to assessin’.

We’ve already hit three position groups. If you missed any, feel free to take a look.

Defensive Tackles
Running Backs
Wide Receivers

Today we’ll seesaw back over to the defense, which I think has a strong chance to once again be better than the offense. You know that drives Steve Sarkisian crazy…

But makes Pete Kwiatkowski and Johnny Nansen quite happy. Both of Texas’ coordinators have stellar position groups. Today we’ll discuss Nansen’s linebackers.

The First-Rounder

This season, Anthony Hill‘s game is going to be dissected harder than ever before and it has already been nit-picked a fair amount.

To be sure, the consistency hasn’t quite matched up to his awesome play-making ability. That’s to be expected because linebacker is a mentally challenging position that rewards experience, something that Hill now has in abundance. We saw steady improvement throughout the season in run fits, but this offseason Hill is making a concerted effort to improve in pass coverage. He’s even working with DB trainers.

This spring we’ll be listening for how he looks in coverage, but also for new ways the staff is using his fantastic ability to blitz or rush the passer.

How Permanent is Moore’s Move?

Trey Moore was a damn good player for Texas last year, especially once mid-October rolled around. But, given the strength in the Edge room and Moore’s physical stature projecting better to linebacker in the NFL, he’s now playing off-ball linebacker.

We’ve heard nothing but positives about him since arrived a little over a year ago. Those positives, regarding movement skills and football IQ, lend optimism to him being able to make the transition. My question is, what is the goal of the move?

Do they want another experienced player at linebacker to compete? Do they think he would be the best potential starter alongside Hill? Is this a play to get as many pass rushers on the field at once? A combination of all three, perhaps?

It’s likely all dependent on how well he does the little, but very important things at linebacker.

I can’t wait to find out these answers.

The Naturals

Liona Lefau and Tyanthony Smith might be the most instinctive and natural linebackers in the program. That’s not to say they’re the best, that’s Hill, but they see the game well and move in ways linebackers need to move.

Lefau is the best coverage linebacker Texas has, which means he could pair well in a timeshare with Moore depending on the nature of the offense Texas is facing. In his first extended playing time he improved dramatically at reading the run game. He was a bit too aggressive at times and overran his responsibility. There’s a chance we exit spring hearing he’s by far the second best linebacker in the program.

On Smith, I just want to hear he’s continuing to physically develop. There will be a time when Smith puts it all together and we’re all talking about an early round pick. The only hole in his game is time under tension. He needs more time in the weight room and more time on the field to develop the level of experience linebackers need to play fast.

I Didn’t Forget About You Brad Spence

The Brad Spence signing really excited me. I liked the former Arkansas player when he played Edge at Klein Forest but I did have some questions about his overall projection. Like Moore, he’s a good pass rusher at Edge but his body type screams linebacker. He made positive strides in developing his off-ball linebacking ability while in Fayetteville. Thanks, Razorbacks! Texas will now benefit from his positional clarity and development.

I view his game similarly to Hill’s. Spence still needs to get more comfortable against the pass but he has good downhill traits, especially as a blitzer. To me, he’s an obvious backup to Hill and likely the heir apparent.

We’ll want to learn more about his specific usage this spring.

DFW Freshman Duo

Nansen only signed two linebackers in the 2025 cycle—Elijah “Bo” Barnes from Dallas Skyline and Jonathan Cunningham from state champion North Crowley.

Given the small class and near certainty that Hill will leave after this year, Nansen will need to develop the highly rated Barnes rapidly. Barnes made tremendous progress between his junior and senior years, exhibiting a great developmental curve. He needs to keep that rate up because he’s going to be a major component in 2026. They’ll need to get him some experience this season so he can hit the ground running after Hill departs. For his part, Barnes is soaking up everything he can from Hill while Hill is still on campus. One day he’ll pay that forward and the beat goes on.

Cunningham is somewhat similar to Jaylan Ford as a prospect, though he has a little more edge to him. This spring I’ll be listening to learn how he runs and hits. If the speed and physicality are there, the rest will follow in time. Ideally he can become a special teams player in a hurry.

In Closing

I love this group. It has a little bit of everything, including what I think is enough experience at a mentally taxing position.

[Order THE LONGHORN ALPHABET today! Teach your little ones the A to Z’s of Texas Football!]

With a solid floor, it’s time to explore the many different variables that could raise the ceiling and make this room special: Hill’s game rounding out, Lefau playing with good tempo, Moore adding another pass-rush component, Smith continuing to grow into what he’ll ultimately become, Spence being the ideal backup for Hill, and the freshmen biting as pups.