Longhorns Recruiting Road Trip: Duncanville

Playoffs Round 3 – The Woodlands vs Duncanville:

Last time I covered the Duncanville Panthers was during the Red River weekend in October. During Duncanville’s regular season game against Waxahachie, Texas commits 2024 five-star EDGE Colin Simmons and 2024 three-star defensive lineman Alex January caused havoc at the line of scrimmage. Last weekend, the trend continued against The Woodlands as both January and Simmons tallied sacks in their round three playoff matchup.

With the Longhorns entering the Southeastern Conference next year, there has certainly been an emphasis on recruiting in the trenches. And, what a better place to recruit for these positions than at Duncanville.

Similar to how landing a commitment from 2023 five-star linebacker Anthony Hill. Jr was a must last year, landing 2024 five-star EDGE Colin Simmons was a must in this year’s recruiting cycle. While Simmons has yet to set foot on the field at the collegiate level, the athlete’s ceiling is up there with the best of them. If Simmons is able to develop rapidly at the collegiate level, imagine the pass rush that the Longhorns could enforce when paired with Hill.

With the disruption of opposing offensive lines caused by T’Vondre Sweat & Byron Murphy this season, Longhorns fans surely understand the need for potential at the defensive tackle position. For that reason, the addition of Alex January, who is listed at 6’4″ and 325 pounds, is huge for their recruiting class. In the trenches, experience is critical – that is why you see so many upperclassmen plague the offensive and defensive lines of top college programs. Take T’Vondre Sweat for example, while the defensive lineman has played for the Longhorns in every season since 2019, he only gets better with age and more time in Texas’ strength and conditioning program. With January already possessing an adequate size and frame, we will see how long it takes for Texas defensive line coach Bo Davis to mold the Duncanville product into a weapon.

Lastly, as always when it comes to Duncanville, I have to talk a little bit about 2025 five-star wide receiver Dakorien Moore, an LSU commit. Once again, Moore had a few big catches when I was in attendance – including a Willie Mays center field-esque catch for a big gain inside the red zone. With several Duncanville players either being committed, or already on Texas’ roster, it will be interesting to see how Moore’s recruitment transpires as the young wideout still has a year left in his recruitment.

Ultimately, despite a close start to the game, the Panthers put their foot on the gas in a 49-21 win which showcased why they are arguably the team to beat in UIL’s 6A Classification.

Extra Point:

Hopefully, I get to see the Panthers in action at least once more this season – potentially at AT&T Stadium for a state championship appearance. It has been fun to watch January and Simmons grow with every passing game, and it should be an exciting time to see them in action at the Forty Acres in the near future.

Miles Logged (Playoffs Rounds 1-3):

483 miles (Total)