Talented 3-star DE T’Vondre Sweat signs with Texas

It was evident early on that three-star strong-side defensive end T’Vondre Sweat was sold on the Texas Longhorns program. So on Wednesday, it was no surprise when Sweat signed his National Letter of Intent to officially join the Longhorns program.

The Huntsville product was the second overall recruit to make a verbal pledge to go play for Tom Herman and company back February. The Longhorns had been one of the first Power Five programs to extend an an offer to Sweat back in October of 2017.

Four months after Texas put an offer on the table for the elite pass rusher, he decided to make a verbal commitment to the Horns. Defensive line coach Oscar Giles had a lot to do with Sweat ultimately picking Texas — the fact that Giles has been so dedicated to getting Sweat to the Forty Acres to help groom as an overall player and individual was an indication that Texas was the place for him.

“Coach Giles said I would be one of his top guys in 2019, and he wanted me to come in and play,” Sweat said after his commitment.

Sweat is a prospect that didn’t necessarily receive a ton of hype from media recruiting outlets as he was labeled a consensus three-star talent throughout his high school career, but many of the nation’s top programs noticed his potential. He was presented opportunities to play at schools like Alabama, Arkansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Ole Miss, and Texas A&M.

A physical presence with tremendous strength and speed, Sweat is slated to be a defensive end for Todd Orlando’s defense. He is gifted with a substantial amount of size and churning feet that he utilizes exceptionally well when disrupting offense’s rhythm. Sweat is the kind of defensive end that makes plays you might not necessarily see on the stat sheet.

Over the course of his high school playing years, there were plays where Sweat didn’t give his best effort and there were games where he was unblockable and probably the best player on the field. The Longhorns will need that exact same motor and juice that Sweat played with during his last outing at Huntsville to carry over to the next level. Sweat is fully aware of these things and he’s ready to make a statement when he gets to campus.

“I just have to continue to get faster and a little bigger in the weight room,” Sweat told Burnt Orange Nation. “Once I get that workout plan, I’m going to take that real serious. I’m trying to come in and play as a true freshman.”

The #fUTure19 trailblazer is one of four commits that the Longhorns have in the trenches on the defensive side of the ball. George Ranch weak-side defensive end Peter Mpagi, Many (La.) strong-side defensive end Myron Warren, and Butler C.C. (El Dorado, Kan.) strong-side defensive end Jacoby Jones will be the key guys joining Sweat on the defensive front.

At 6’3 and 249 pounds, Sweat is ranked as the No. 655 player in the country and No. 81 overall prospect in the state, according to the 247Sports Composite rankings.