4-star DT Sydir Mitchell signs with Texas

The Texas Longhorns defense saw the benefits of massive pieces in the center with Keondre Coburn and T’Vondre Sweat in 2022, so position coach Bo Davis went out and secured another as Sydir Mitchell signed on Wednesday.

The 6’5, 335-pound lineman was a hot commodity on the recruiting trail, holding 20 Power 5 offers, including Georgia, Miami, Texas A&M, and Texas. All four schools received official visits during the spring and summer, with the Longhorns getting the final visit from MItchell.

Less than a month later, Mitchell made his pledge to the Longhorns, thanks to the efforts of both Davis and offensive line coach Kyle Flood.

After Texas took a large defensive line class in 2022, they were likely going to be selective this cycle, with Mitchell going into Early Signing Day as the lone interior defensive lineman. Mitchell is the No. 196 recruit nationally out of Oradell (N.J.) Bergen Catholic and the return of Sweat at nose means he steps into a situation that may afford him some additional time to develop his skills in the interior.

Analysis (by Daniel Seahorn):

Mitchell is a three-year (soon to be four-year) starter for Bergen Catholic High School. As a freshman, Mitchell was a first-team MaxPreps All-American while also getting limited snaps on offense. Mitchell made the switch to defense as a sophomore and has been a cornerstone terrorizing offenses ever since. Listed at 6’5, 335 pounds, Mitchell is an absolute mountain of a man, already possessing elite size and very good length for the position. Already has prototypical nose tackle NFL measurables and still has one more high school season left before he hits a college campus. Has good play strength and is an absolute chore for kids at the high school level to block even when they double team. These kids have to feel like they are trying to wrestle a grizzly bear for four quarters. Eats double teams for breakfast, lunch, and dinner and they more of less inconvenience him. Next to impossible to move off the LOS and consistently causes pile ups that allows his teammates to make plays off his disruption. Refuses to stay blocked and does a good job of stacking and shedding blockers. Keeps his eyes in the backfield and does a good job of reading and reacting. Showed some uncanny athleticism for a guy his size on an interception on his tape where he is going east and west watching the quarterback on a drop back and is able to get his hands on the football. Shows a good motor on film and plays with good effort and likes to compete. Mitchell doesn’t play against the stoutest competition, so there will certainly be an adjustment transitioning to the collegiate level. As with any player of his size, conditioning and his ability to be a three-down player is going to come into question. Due to his ability to overwhelm the competition, I want to see Mitchell continue to improve his use of his hands and consistently get off the ball with low pads and a low hat. This kid is going to give some folks some Jordan Davis vibes, and while I don’t think he’s the freaky athlete that Davis is, I think this kid has a shot being a player you can build a defense around.