Four-star DL Dylan Spencer commits to Texas

Head coach Steve Sarkisian and the Texas Longhorns added the second member to the 2023 recruiting class on Tuesday with the commitment of Houston CE King defensive lineman Dylan Spencer.

Former defensive line coach Oscar Giles offered Spencer back in Oct. 2020, becoming the first school to do so. Since then, Arizona State, Baylor, Houston, LSU, SMU, Texas A&M, and USC have all officially entered Spencer’s recruitment, but new defensive line coach Bo Davis continued to pursue Spencer after his arrival last year and that was enough for the 6’4, 240-pounder to shut things down.

A consensus four-star prospect, Spencer is ranked as the No. 175 player nationally, the No. 25 defensive lineman, and the No. 31 player in Texas, according to the 247Sports Composite rankings.

Where Spencer ends up playing along the defensive line for Texas depends on how much weight he gains in Torre Becton’s strength and conditioning program — he has the frame to eventually play at 260 or 270 pounds, allowing him the flexibility to remain at defensive end, but he could certainly add more mass and play inside at defensive tackle.

Spencer does a nice job of keeping his eyes in the backfield to read plays before committing upfield and is dangerous on slants. Some opponents left him unblocked on the backside of plays, an unwise move because Spencer keeps his shoulders square and works down the line of scrimmage in those situations with enough short-area quickness to regularly disrupt plays. He has some twitch and is athletic enough to redirect when necessary. Formerly at West Orange-Stark and Katy Taylor, Spencer also shows some flashes of pass-rushing moves, including the strength to bullrush while working his hands and an arm-over move.

Spencer joins Arlington Seguin safety Jamel Johnson in the 2023 recruiting class for the Longhorns.