Colin Simmons got a lot of headlines this cycle when the Texas Longhorns landed his commitment from a talented Duncanville squad, but Simmons wasn’t the only player the Longhorns reeled into the boat and Kyle Flood isn’t the only Texas position coach who loves him some #BigHumans.
In fact, Texas defensive line coach Bo Davis targeted 6’4, 325-pound three-star defensive tackle Alex January pretty early in the cycle with an offer a year ago and made sure his talents were heading to Austin.
January is a Longhorn legacy whose father, Mike January, played linebacker at the University of Texas back in the 1980s, and now he is officially following in his father’s footsteps and becoming a Longhorn.
January has been a member of the Longhorn recruiting class since early July, after Texas was able to beat out Florida State, LSU, and Texas Tech for his services. Once it was decided that January wanted to continue the family legacy in Austin, he never looked back or wavered.
Here is some analysis of January as a player from when he committed to the Longhorns this summer:
January already owns a massive frame, as he is listed in the 6’4-6’5 range and just over 320 pounds. I’d imagine he will lean up some once he arrives on campus to make sure he doesn’t get too big, but he already possesses the prototypical size for a nose tackle that you want. January doesn’t possess great ball get off at this stage in his development, but he makes up for it with his ability to use his hands, his ability to anchor against the run, and his play strength. January does a good job of winning the hands battle and getting his arms extended. Rarely concedes ground at the line of scrimmage and does a good job of stacking and shedding blockers. Strong enough to put guards and centers in the laps of ball carriers and quarterbacks. Will need to focus on playing with low pads and hat due to his height. Pretty raw as a pass rusher at this stage, as he is primarily a power rusher who wants to work the bull rush. Has a look of a player that will get lots of work on early downs and run-heavy scenarios due to his ability to muddy the picture between the guards. I think he is a guy that likely redshirts when he arrives on campus for that first year, as they try to trim him up and get him ready to go for that second year on campus.
January likely will play over the ball much like he did at Duncanville, as he projects to be a spacing-eating nose tackle at the collegiate level. The Longhorn defense featured the best defensive tackle in the country in T’Vondre Sweat this year, and it looks like Davis has been busy trying to put more talent in the pipeline at the position with Sweat set to depart Austin after the playoff run.
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