Zero days until Texas Football: Ja’Tavion Sanders primed for a big season; Anthony Hill Jr. and his breakout opportunity

Inside Texas is putting a new twist on long-time photographer Will Gallagher’s time-honored countdown to Texas football kickoff. In addition to Will’s great pictures, the Inside Texas staff will go through every player on the roster by jersey number and offer a season outlook on each, from five-star to walk-on. 

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We’ll also look back at other greats to wear that day’s number, with special reverence to some of Texas’ best. 

The Longhorns, at long last, open the season today. No. 0 for the Longhorns this year will be worn by junior tight end Ja’Tavion Sanders and true freshman linebacker Anthony Hill Jr.

Ja’Tavion Sanders season outlook

It took a season for Sanders to get the hang of the tight end position, one Steve Sarkisian has said is critical to his offense. Once he did ahead of the 2022 campaign, he showed off his five-star ability early and often.

Receiving was never much of a question for Sanders as he was one of the top passing targets at Denton (Texas) Ryan over his final two seasons. Last year when he was able to marry quality blocking with his ability to threaten the second and sometimes third level of the defense is when he became one of the top tight ends in the country.

With a focus on 11 personnel this season for the Longhorns, Sanders is likely to be the only tight end on the field for most snaps as opposed to last year when he had a companion from Jeff Banks‘ position group. He’ll be featured in the pass game thanks to his own ability and the receivers around him. Brock Bowers may be TE1, but Sanders could put himself in position to be TE2 with a massive season.

Sanders was one of the Longhorns’ breakout stars of 2022, amassing 613 yards on 54 catches with five TDs last season; all those numbers are expected to increase on 2023.

He’s played in 25 career games with 13 starts (all last year) and was a 2022 first-team All-Big 12 selection by both the Big 12 Conference head coaches and the Associated Press as well as a semifinalist for the 2022 John Mackey Award.

Ja’Tavion Sanders as a recruit

Anthony Hill season outlook

Hill was the highest rated defensive signee in the 2023 class, also from Denton (Texas) Ryan. He arrived at Texas in January and immediately became one of the more disruptive defensive players on the Longhorn roster.

Hill possesses five-star athletic ability, but the adjustment to the college game and specifically the processing required to play off-ball linebacker in Power 5 football is one everyone has to make. Hill has taken to the Will linebacker position well during his nine months on campus, and has showed the ability to process and make plays. He may see more opportunity there early in the season due to Morice Blackwell’s current injury.

If Hill isn’t on the field at Will, he is likely to have a role tailored for him due to his pass rushing ability. Remember, he’s a disruptor and that’s an area where Texas need additional disruption this season. Hill will play early and often, making the late flip of the one-time Texas A&M pledge all the more worth it.

Anthony Hill as a recruit

Recent player to wear No. 0: DeMarvion Overshown

Overshown was one of the most important defensive players for the Longhorns in his five-year career. He played in 50 career games and made 33 starts, racking up 165 tackles (89 of them solo) as well as 18 tackles for a loss, five sacks, an interception, nine passes defended, a forced fumble, three fumble recoveries and a blocked kick.

Overshown was named first-team All-Big 12 at linebacker by conference coaches and the Associated Press in 2022, the same year he was a Butkus Award semifinalist and on the preseason watch list for the Butkus Award, Bednarik Award, Lombardi Award and Bronko Nagurski Trophy.

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Unnumbered All-Americans at Texas

There has never been an All-American at Texas who wore No. 0 but there have been 13 players that won the honor before jerseys had numbers:

Louis Jordan, G, 1914

Gordy Brown, T, 1928

Harrison Stafford, HB, 1932

Bohn Hilliard, HB, 1932

Hugh Wolfe, HB, 1937

Jack Crain, HB, 1939

Malcolm Kutner, E, 1941

Chal Daniel, G, 1941

Pete Layden, FB, 1941

Stan Mauldin, T, 1942

Roy McKay, FB, 1942

Richard (Dick) Harris, C, 1946 and 1948

Harley Sewell, G, 1951

Joe Cook co-authored this article