{"id":219038,"date":"2026-03-25T02:13:09","date_gmt":"2026-03-25T02:13:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/219038\/"},"modified":"2026-03-25T02:13:09","modified_gmt":"2026-03-25T02:13:09","slug":"as-cowboys-search-for-lb-continues-texas-star-anthony-hill-jr-is-a-name-to-consider","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/219038\/","title":{"rendered":"As Cowboys\u2019 search for LB continues, Texas star Anthony Hill Jr. is a name to consider"},"content":{"rendered":"

AUSTIN \u2014 Multiple representatives from the Dallas Cowboys<\/a>, including head coach Brian Schottenheimer,<\/a> had their attention on Texas linebacker Anthony Hill Jr. <\/a>as he made an important decision: What would he order for his dinner with them on Monday night? In the scouting process, everything is a data point. Even the most minute moments can be pieces of a bigger puzzle. <\/p>\n

Hill decided to go with smothered chicken and a caesar salad. <\/p>\n

\u201cI was trying to keep it light,\u201d Hill said. \u201cI knew I had to run.\u201d<\/p>\n

And he knew there would plenty of attention on him, too. Especially from the Denton Ryan<\/a> alumnus\u2019 hometown team.<\/p>\n

Cowboys<\/p>\n

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\"Denton<\/p>\n

Denton Ryan junior Anthony Hill Jr., SportsDay\u2019s No. 1 recruit, is photographed before the school\u2019s trophy case in their Denton, Texas field house, January 31, 2022.<\/p>\n

Tom Fox\/Staff Photographer<\/p>\n

The Cowboys were probably the most represented team in the NFL at Texas\u2019 pro day in Austin on Tuesday. Not only did they have quantity, but they also had high quality, in terms of higher-ups. Schottenheimer was joined by Will McClay, the team\u2019s vice president of player personnel, defensive coordinator Christian Parker<\/a> and several other scouts. <\/p>\n

The Longhorns have a good contingent of draftable defenders, including former UTSA pass rusher Trey Moore, who also did off-ball linebacker drills, and cornerbacks Jaylon Guilbeau and Malik Muhammad. The Cowboys also have plans to meet more with Muhammad, a South Oak Cliff<\/a> alumnus. <\/p>\n

Hill, a potential first-round pick, is likely the crown jewel of the Longhorns\u2019 draft class. The Cowboys could consider Hill to fill their pressing need at linebacker next to DeMarvion Overshown,<\/a> another fellow Texas linebacker. <\/p>\n

There\u2019s a lot of similarities between Hill and Overshown. They\u2019re both 6-foot-2. They both ran the 40-yard dash in the 4.5s at the NFL Scouting Combine, with Hill (4.51) edging Overshown (4.56) by .05 seconds. Hill even said that he\u2019s watched a lot of Overshown\u2019s film. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe way he takes on blocks, I try to use that in my game,\u201d Hill said. \u201cHe kind of uses some finesse and a little bit of power. So I try to model my game and use some of that.\u201d<\/p>\n

They also both wore No. 0 at Texas. Hill was quick to point out that Overshown also wears No. 0 for the Cowboys, too. <\/p>\n

\u201cThere can\u2019t be two Agent Zeros,\u201d Hill said, referring to the nickname that comes with wearing No. 0 as a linebacker at Texas. \u201cSo I know I would have to get a new number, but man, it would be a blessing to play with him. I\u2019ve been watching him my whole life.\u201d<\/p>\n

There is a question that comes with that potential pairing, however: Could the tandem of Hill and Overshown be too similar for the Cowboys? <\/p>\n

Overshown is expected to play Will linebacker for the Cowboys. They don\u2019t have a penciled-in starter next to him yet, though they do have second-year linebackers Shemar James and Justin Barron on the roster. Finding a Mike linebacker was something the Cowboys attempted to do in free agency. They went after multiple, including Quay Walker and NaKobe Dean \u2014 both of whom signed with the Las Vegas Raiders. <\/p>\n

In theory, the Cowboys would be on the hunt for a Mike linebacker who complements Overshown, rather than someone who is similar to him. There\u2019s belief that Hill can play both positions, however. His NFL.com comparison is former Washington and Seattle linebacker Bobby Wagner. Like Wagner, Hill also showed the ability to rush the passer, finishing his Texas career with 17 sacks in three seasons. <\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s a first-round guy for me,\u201d said Moore, who was his roommate at the NFL combine. \u201cHe\u2019s a baller. The teams know what they\u2019re going to get with him. He plays physical, plays fast. If a team doesn\u2019t come and get him in the first round, that\u2019s going to be a big surprise for me. I think he deserves to be there.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Texas<\/p>\n

Texas Longhorns linebacker Anthony Hill Jr. (0) lines up against the Clemson Tigers during the first half of a CFP first round playoff game at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin, December 21, 2024.<\/p>\n

Tom Fox \/ Staff Photographer<\/p>\n

The Cowboys will likely have to use a first-round pick on Hill if they want him. The Cowboys have two, currently slotted at No. 12 and No. 20.<\/a> There\u2019s a chance they could trade back from either of those spots in order to get more draft capital. The next pick after No. 20 is No. 92. Hill, ranked 37th overall on the big board of NFL Network draft expert Daniel Jeremiah, likely won\u2019t last long after the Cowboys pick 20th. <\/p>\n

That could\u2019ve been something the Cowboys talked about on Monday during their dinner with Hill. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe had some laughs, some talk, some football,\u201d Hill said. <\/p>\n

And some smothered chicken, too.<\/p>\n

Find more Cowboys coverage from The Dallas Morning News here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"AUSTIN \u2014 Multiple representatives from the Dallas Cowboys, including head coach Brian Schottenheimer, had their attention on Texas…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":219039,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[132,134,133,7581,57210,3688,1044,113,1314,300,1227,154,537],"class_list":["post-219038","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-austin","tag-austin","tag-austin-headlines","tag-austin-news","tag-brian-schottenheimer","tag-christian-parker","tag-colleges","tag-cowboys","tag-dallas-cowboys","tag-denton-ryan-school","tag-football","tag-high-schools","tag-sports","tag-texas-longhorns"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/219038","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=219038"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/219038\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/219039"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=219038"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=219038"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=219038"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}