Texas linebacker Anthony Hill Jr. moves to new position, wants to prove himself yet again
Danny DavisEven though he lists Denton as his hometown, Texas linebacker Anthony Hill Jr. has long been a fan of the .
Bobby Wagner, Kam Chancellor, Brandon Browner. Those were the defensive standouts Hill loved to watch. He says he became a member of the 12s when his father bought him a Shaun Alexander jersey that was on sale for $20, a purchase that had unintended family consequences since his father roots for the Miami Dolphins. "He's been kind of mad at me my whole life," Hill joked recently.
Years later, Hill fittingly was named a semifinalist for the Shaun Alexander Award, which is given annually to the top freshman in college football. Hill ranked second among the Longhorns with his 67 tackles in 2023.
He didn't win the award. Former Alabama safety Caleb Downs did. Bigger prizes might await, though. In fact, Hill's name came up last Tuesday when UT defensive coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski was asked if any of his players deserved to be on the preseason watch list for the Butkus Award.
"Anthony Hill can be one of those guys," Kwiatkowski said of the award for college football's best linebacker.
Taking over in the middle
If Hill is to indeed contend for an award that was last won by a Longhorn in 2004 — or perhaps more notably, if the sophomore is to anchor the Texas defense this season — he will do so from a slightly different spot on the field. Hill has been tabbed as the replacement for Jaylan Ford at middle linebacker in Kwiatkowski's defense.
Ford led Texas in tackles in each of the past two seasons. He was selected by the New Orleans Saints in the fifth round of the NFL draft this spring.
"That's (Hill's) natural position," Kwiatkowski said. "We put him off the edge last year just as a freshman; it's a little bit less thinking — just go and play ball. You saw him do that, making some big plays in games just rushing the passer and playing defensive end. But his natural position is inside linebacker.
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"Moving him into that Jaylan Ford role, and we do a pretty good job of moving those guys around, so you're still going to see him off the edge doing some different things that way. He just has a nose for the ball. I joked with him last year during the offseason: You're a hell of a football player, but you're not a very good linebacker. It was a compliment because he has a nose for the ball. He makes plays. But the details of playing linebacker, he can get better at, and he has."
As for that last quip from Kwiatkowski, Hill said he understood where the coach was coming from. "I knew I wasn't doing it right, but I knew I was going to do it fast," he said.
'He's getting more confident'
Hill, though, said he felt he made the transition from a football player to a linebacker during the Big 12 championship game. In the 49-21 rout of Oklahoma State, he recorded a team-high six tackles, one sack and a forced fumble.
A second-team pick on the preseason All-SEC team, Hill said he can improve off that Oklahoma State game by watching film, taking tips from new linebackers coach Johnny Nansen and trying to better himself each day during fall camp. He said the game has slowed down for him. As a candidate to wear the recently approved communication system on the UT defense, Hill has gained a better understanding of his on-field responsibilities.
"He's getting more confident," senior linebacker David Gbenda said this spring. "He's understanding holistically the defense, and he's just harping on more of the little techniques and just being harder on himself. I see him growing; he's maturing more. I love that about him. He's not a guy who's afraid to learn and think he has it all figured out. He's always willing to take tidbits, and he's smart."
Hill split the Big 12 defensive freshman of the year award with Texas Tech's Ben Roberts. Hill's five sacks tied for fourth most by a Longhorns freshman. Was he satisfied with his 2023 season? Was it a sign of an upcoming breakout?
"I wouldn't say I was satisfied, but that was kind of the year that set the groundwork for me," Hill said. "So now that I set the standard for myself, it's only right for me to get better and better every year."