Anthony Hill Jr.
Anthony Hill Jr. is an American college football linebacker for the Texas Longhorns.
Early life
Hill was born on February 14, 2005, in Wichita, Kansas, and grew up in Denton, Texas. He attended Billy Ryan High School, where he played football and competed in the triple jump and the 4 × 400 metres relay. In his first varsity season, he recorded 105 tackles with 11 tackles for loss and three sacks. Hill was named the MVP of District 5-5A and the All-Area Defensive Player of the Year by the Denton Record-Chronicle as a junior after making 131 tackles with 18 tackles for loss and eight sacks. He played in only six games during his senior season due to injury and had 67 tackles, four tackles for loss, two sacks, and five forced fumbles. After the season Hill played in the 2023 All-American Bowl.Hill was rated a five-star recruit and was ranked as the top linebacker in his class nationally by several major recruiting services. He initially committed to play college football at Texas A&M. Hill later decommitted and reopened his recruitment during his senior football season. He ultimately chose to sign with Texas.
College career
2023 Season
Hill joined the Texas Longhorns as an early enrollee in January 2023 in order to take part in the team's spring practices. As a freshman, Hill appeared in 14 games with six starts. He totaled 67 tackles, eight tackles for a loss, five sacks, two pass deflections, and one forced fumble. At the end of the season, he was named Big 12 Defensive Freshman of the Year and Freshman All-American.2024 Season
As a sophomore, Hill played and started in all 16 games. Throughout the season, he logged 113 tackles, eight sacks, one interception, and four forced fumbles. Hill was the only Texas defender with 100+ tackles on the season. At the end of the season, Hill was named a first team All-American and first team All-SEC.2025 Season
Prior to the season, Hill was named to the Lott Trophy, Bronko Nagurski Trophy, Butkus Award, Walter Camp Award, Chuck Bednarik Award, and Lombardi Award watchlists. He was also named to the preseason All-SEC first team and preseason All-American first team. In Week 2 against 2025 [Sam Houston Bearkats football team|Sam Houston State], Hill recorded two forced fumbles.In Week 6 against 2025 [Florida Gators football team|Florida], he recorded 14 tackles and recovered one fumble for 21 yards. After Week 7, Hill was selected to the midseason watch list for the Lombardi Award. In Week 9 against 2025 [Mississippi State Bulldogs football team|Mississippi State], Hill recorded 2.5 sacks, 10 tackles, and one forced fumble. For his performance, he was named SEC Co-Defensive Player of the Week, Chuck Bednarik Player of the Week, and Walter Camp Defensive Player of the Week. On November 11, he was named a Chuck Bednarik Award semifinalist. In the game against 2025 [Georgia Bulldogs football team|Georgia], Hill suffered a hand injury and missed the last two games of the season. On November 25, he was named a Butkus Award finalist. At the end of the season, Hill was named to the All-SEC second team.On December 8, Hill declared for the NFL draft, forgoing his senior year.