This title is a bit aggressive, I fully admit that. However, Texas Longhorns linebacker Anthony Hill has shown in his brief time on the Forty Acres he is worth his five-star billing. Steve Sarkisian has praised him in back-to-back press conferences to end spring workouts. The thing Sarkisian keeps bringing up when talking about Anthony Hill? His ability to get after the quarterback.
Why Could Anthony Hill Become “Micah Parsons 2.0”
The reason I believe Anthony Hill has similarities to Micah Parsons is pretty straight forward. Anthony Hill is an incredible athlete in almost every sense of the word. His acceleration, agility, and pure strength are probably his most notable attributes.
Micah Parsons is maybe even more of a freak athlete. Although these numbers are after a few years in a college weight and training program, they are still incredibly hard to beat.
At Penn State, Micah Parsons was primarily an off-ball linebacker. He would occasionally play on the edge and rush the passer, but he was a linebacker first and foremost. It was very similar to how DeMarvion Overshown played last year for the Texas Longhorns. However, in the NFL Micah Parsons’ position began to change.
In his rookie year, Parsons began to shift from an off-ball linebacker into more of an edge rusher. He was still primarily a linebacker, but with his play at edge becoming better and better he started to see more and more snaps on the outside. Micah had 40% of his snaps on the outside edge, with 33% of those snaps being pass rush opportunities.
As a second year player in 2022, Micah Parsons saw almost 81% of his snaps as an edge defender. Dallas Cowboys defensive coordinator Dan Quinn recognized how effect Parsons was as a pass rusher. Quinn did not want to waste his talents in a limited role.
Along with his athletic ability, it’s clear Anthony Hill knows how to get after the quarterback. From all of the spring training news and even from Steve Sarkisian himself, it’s easy to gather that Anthony Hill is at his best right now when he’s able to become a pass rusher.
Why Would Anthony Hill Change Positions?
There are a few reasons we could see Anthony Hill become more of an outside linebacker or edge defender, rather than stay as a true off-ball linebacker.
Positional Value
The term “positional value” is more often used in the NFL when talking about draft picks and NFL contracts. However, the values remain similar at the college level. College teams will still value quarterbacks, edge defenders, and offensive tackles very highly. The real difference is they can afford to get those high-end players while still getting high-end players at “less valuable” positions like safety, linebacker and running back because there is no draft or salary cap to hinder them from having their cake and eating it too.
As for Anthony Hill’s motivation to change positions, coming out of college as a top edge defender will get you drafted much higher than if he were to come out as the top linebacker in the draft. Furthermore, Hill’s second contract with an NFL team would be significantly larger if he were an edge rusher rather than an off-ball linebacker. If you don’t agree with me just look back at the last ten NFL drafts and the current salaries of the top ten edge defender and off-ball linebackers.
Defensive Versatility
If Anthony Hill’s best attribute right now is rushing the passer, why only let him do it sometimes? It sounds simple and maybe it can’t be, but deploying Hill as more of an edge defender could allow Texas defensive coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski to be more multiple on defense. Having Hill who could primarily rush the passer, but also drop out into coverage right at the snap would give the opposing offenses trouble reading what the defense is doing pre-snap.
Roster Depth
In the 2023 recruiting class, the Texas Longhorns brought in five potential off-ball linebackers. Those names include: five-star Anthony Hill, four-star Derion Gullette, four-star Jelani McDonald, four-star S’Maje Burrell, and four-star Liona Lefau. Hill, Gullette, and Lefau are all currently on-campus and practicing with the team. Derion Gullette, former top-120 overall recruit, is recovering from a torn ACL from last year. McDonald and Burrell will join the team after they graduate high school in a couple months.
If Steve Sarkisian, Pete Kwiatkowski, and Jeff Choate do decide to move Anthony Hill to more of an edge defender role, they already have some depth at linebacker to make the transition easier. Choate has proven he can be an elite recruiter. Texas fans should have little doubt that he will be able to fill the defense up with enough depth at linebacker to be secure.
Closing
Overall, Anthony Hill is such a great athlete I believe he will excel wherever this coaching staff decides to line him up. I am hopeful that we see a sizable amount of Anthony Hill in his freshman year, but I know his true impact will be felt in years two and three. The path to a game-wrecker kind of player is there, here’s hoping Anthony Hill and the Texas staff will take it.
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