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Cliffs Notes: The Longhorns picked up a major piece of the 2025 defensive line puzzle on Wednesday morning with a commitment from former Ohio State defensive tackle Hero Kanu.
Evaluation: The 6-5, 305-pound Kanu played 123 snaps for the Buckeyes last season, playing mostly an equal amount of reps on the left (60) and right side (49) of the line as a three-, four- or five-technique, and virtually never shaded over the center at nose-tackle. Generally speaking, he played between 7-12 naps per game for the Buckeyes this season, although he was expected to develop into a possible for the starter in 2025 for the Buckeyes or at worst be a much more important rotational piece. Generally speaking, he's been a bit of a plugger that eats up space at the college level more-so than he's been a playmaker from the interior line. He's solid against the run and shows the occasional flash as an inside pass rusher, Although his season grade at PFF was a pretty poor 57.9, it's important to note that he was much better in the final 6 games of the season, drawing scores of 79.5 against Indiana, 60 against Michigan, 54.3 against Tennessee, 66.4 against Oregon, 62.8 and against Texas, before dropping down into the 50s with a 59 against Notre Dame. He's still very much a player that is trying to find his ceiling after only playing 2 seasons of football before entering college. He's an athletic kid with a good first step, but the pieces haven't entirely come together as he heads to Texas.
Why it matters: The Longhorns needed at least one more depth piece at defensive tackle after losing almost 5 senior at the position from last season. Combined with Travis Shaw (who Kanu will battle for a starting job) and Cole Brevard, the Longhorns have boosted its numbers and have to feel pretty good about mixing in three transfers with NFL upside to go along with young players like Alex January and Justus Terry. It's possible that the Longhorns will feel like this represents the final step of the rebuild for 2025 at the defensive tackle position, unless there's a nose-tackle out there that would represent a massive upgrade falls into their lap.
Expectations: Understand this... Kanu isn't arriving cheaply. The Longhorns were battling a number of highly motivated SEC powers to pull Kanu into the fold and if I had to guess, he'll earn close to 7 figures in NIL money as he arrives at Texas, which by itself indicates that the Longhorns expect him to emerge as a possible game-one starter for the Longhorns in 2025. At the very least we're talking about a player with two years of eligibility remaining that will play between 250-300 snaps for the Longhorns this season at a minimum if all goes well with his adjustment period with the Longhorns.
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