Longhorns add versatile DL piece with commitment from Melvin Hills
Defensive end Melvin Hills has been pretty open for several months that the Texas Longhorns were near the top of his list of favorites, if not the team to beat. Moments ago, Hills turned dreams to reality by giving the Longhorns a verbal commitment.
Out of Lafayette Christian Academy, Hills had recently released a top five of Texas, Ole Miss, LSU, Auburn and Tennessee. But it was always Texas that the others were chasing, and privately Hills’ mind had been made up for a couple of months.
“It’s a very good program,” Hills said. “They’re on the come up with big recruiting classes, they’re going to the SEC. They have everything I need to go up there to be a great player and a great man.”
Originally, Hills had considered committing on July 15, to do it on a weekend. But he decided to move things up a few days to honor his mother on her birthday.
“I was happy to do it on her birthday, give her something,” Hill said. “Getting the recruiting process over with, it feels great. Now I can focus on football and my last year of high school.”
Hills’s public announcement on Wednesday night gives the Longhorn fan base reason to celebrate. Behind the scenes, the Texas coaching staff was notified of Hills’s intentions back in the spring.
“I told them a while back. They were very excited,” Hills said. “Coach Bo (Davis) was hyped, coach (Steve) Sark (Sarkisian) was hyped. Every coach was showing love and was really excited.”
At 6-3 and 277 pounds, Hills has the size to play on the interior of the defensive line but he’s athletic enough that he can also slide outside and rush the passer. He feels his mixed bag of tools, and willingness to do whatever is necessary to win, will be an asset for the UT program.
“I feel like I can bring dominance, versatility, strength and just help better the program in any way possible that they need me to be,” Hills said.
Hills is the No. 8-ranked player in the state of Louisiana and is ranked as a three-star prospect by Rivals.com.