Texas Longhorns Star Anthony Hill Reveals Key to Out-of-State Recruiting Success

ATLANTA - The Texas Longhorns are resembling a powerhouse program in today's age of college football. They are competing for conference championships, making back-to-back appearances in the College Football Playoff Semifinal, and are even recruiting at an elite level.

Nothing showed that more than Tuesday, when the biggest news of the day wasn't what any head coach said while in Atlanta for SEC Media Days. That includes even Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian. Rather, the biggest news was what Texas did on the recruiting trail. First, they land five-star linebacker Tyler Atkinson, beating out Georgia and others for the Peach State product.

Then, a few hours later, as SEC Media Days was winding down, the Longhorns landed another five-star recruit. This time, though, they did it by flipping No. 1-ranked defensive tackle James Johnson from Georgia.

Longhorns Flexing Powerhouse Muscles

Two out-of-state commits in the span of a few hours. The national brand that is Texas has been flexing its muscles over the last few cycles, as they join former five-star defensive tackle Justus Terry, a Georgia native, in the 2025 class as ones to pick the Longhorns. So what's been the key to winning over these out-of-state recruits?

Beyond winning, junior inside linebacker Anthony Hill revealed that the city of Austin has helped the Longhorns.

“A lot of people don’t realize this until after they’re there, but Austin, Texas, as a whole, the city is an amazing city,” Hill said in Atlanta on Tuesday. “There’s so much to do outside of football. When you’re done playing football here, you’re going to be able to come back and get the same amount of love as when you were playing here.”

It's not always strictly based on football. If it were, then the programs like Alabama, Georgia, Texas, and Ohio State would likely land anyone they want. But it is also important that recruits get a taste of what life is like outside of football.

That life away from the football field is what Austin provides. There is plenty of entertainment and things to see in the city, which could make it feel like home for many.

The added focus and larger success on out-of-state prospects, and more specifically those from the southeast, has been a focus for Sarkisian and Co., since taking over.

“Now that we’ve joined the conference, it’s a lot more palatable for those families and for those kids to want to come play at Texas, knowing that we’re playing in the Southeastern Conference. So we’ve tried to take advantage of that,” Sarkisian said Tuesday. “Again, we don’t major in that, but we do definitely try to recruit the high-level players that fit our scheme that are made of the right stuff, not only as football players, but as people. So far, so good.”