The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Twenty-six Longhorns earn All-Big 12 Football honors
11.29.2023 | Football
Defensive linemen T’Vondre Sweat and Byron Murphy II, wide receiver Adonai Mitchell and linebacker Anthony Hill Jr. garner individual conference accolades.
IRVING, Texas – No. 7 Texas Football had 26 players earn 2023 All-Big 12 recognition from the conference's coaches, the league office announced on Wednesday. T'Vondre Sweat was selected the conference's Defensive Player of the Year, Byron Murphy II was chosen Defensive Lineman of the Year, Adonai Mitchell was named Offensive Newcomer of the Year and Anthony Hill Jr. earned a share of Defensive Freshman of the Year honors. Seven Longhorns were selected to the All-Big 12 First Team and three were named to the second team.
Sweat and Murphy were also named to the All-Big 12 First Team along with placekicker Bert Auburn, offensive lineman Kelvin Banks Jr., linebacker Jaylan Ford, tight end Ja'Tavion Sanders and wide receiver Xavier Worthy, who was also named to the first team as a return specialist.
Sweat, a finalist for the Outland Trophy, was one of three unanimous selections and earned first-team all-conference accolades for the first time in his career. The Huntsville, Texas has had a breakout season, establishing career highs with 40 tackles, 16 solo tackles, eight tackles for loss, two sacks and four pass breakups, while adding a blocked kick on an Iowa State point after attempt that was scooped up by Austin Jordan and returned 82 yards for a two-point score for Texas. The super senior has also been named a semifinalist for the Chuck Bednarik Award and the Walter Camp Player of the Year. Sweat is the sixth Longhorn recipient of Defensive Player of the Year, and the first since Malik Jefferson in 2017. Sweat is the second consecutive defensive lineman to win the award after K-State's Felix Anudike-Uzomah a year ago. Casey Hampton (2000), Derrick Johnson (2004), Brian Orakpo (2007) and Jackson Jeffcoat (2013) represent the other Texas winners of the award.
Murphy, a junior from DeSoto, Texas, has registered 24 tackles (10 solo) and established career highs with eight tackles for loss and five sacks. He has registered at least two tackles and recorded a tackle for loss in six of 12 games this season, including a four tackle, three tackle for loss and two sack performance at Baylor. In the victory over Wyoming, Murphy caught hauled in a 1-yard touchdown reception, becoming just the fourth Texas lineman to score an offensive touchdown. He the fourth Texas player to earn Defensive Lineman of the Year, and the first since Charles Omenihu in 2018. Brian Orakpo (2008) and Poona Foord (2017) have also captured the award for the Longhorns.
With Sweat and Murphy providing pressure in the middle, the Texas defense leads the nation in third-down defense (26.3%) and red zone defense (68.8%), while ranking fourth in rushing defense (85.0 ypg). The Longhorns are also 12th in scoring defense (17.2 ppg) and 27th in first down defense (210).
Mitchell, a native of Missouri City, Texas, has been an integral member of the Longhorn offense since transferring from Georgia. The wide receiver has established career highs with 45 receptions, 704 receiving yards and team-leading nine touchdowns, ranking second in the conference in touchdown receptions and 11th in receptions and yards. He has two games of multiple touchdown receptions and had a string of four consecutive games with a TD catch, tied for the sixth-longest streak in program history. Mitchell earned the conference's offensive newcomer of the week honor three times this season, following wins at Alabama (3 receptions, 78 yards, 2 TDs), versus Kansas (10 receptions, 141 yards, 1 TD) and against Kansas State (8 receptions, 149 yards 1 TD). Mitchell becomes the first Texas player to be voted as Big 12 Offensive Newcomer of the Year.
Hill, a linebacker and Shaun Alexander Freshman of the Year Award semifinalist, has registered 57 tackles (34 solo), 6.5 tackles for loss, four sacks, four quarterback hurries and two pass breakups. The Denton, Texas natives four sacks rank eighth all-time for a UT freshman and are tops among all Power 5 true freshman this season. Hill came up huge against Alabama, collecting a pair of sacks including one on Alabama's final offensive play of the game that buried the Crimson Tide deep in their own territory. He has recorded at least four tackles in 10 of 12 games this season, including a career high eight tackles against Oklahoma and TCU. Hill is the eighth Texas winner of Defensive Freshman of the Year and the first since 2018. He joins Cory Redding (1999), Derrick Johnson (2001), Rodrique Wright (2002), Brian Orakpo (2005), Quandre Diggs (2011), Malik Jefferson (2015) and Caden Sterns (2018) as Longhorns to win the award.
Worthy, a native of Fresno, Calif., is the only player to earn first-team All-Big 12 honors at two positions, collecting his second career honor at wide receiver and first as a return specialist. The junior has caught a career-high 67 passes for 883 yards and five touchdowns and returned 20 punts for 358 yards, including a 74-yard punt return for a touchdown against BYU. He leads the Big 12 and ranks second in the nation averaging 17.9 yards per punt return, while ranking second in the conference in receiving yards and receiving yards per game (73.6) and third in receptions and receptions per game (5.6). He is just the second Longhorn to have three seasons of 60-plus receptions (Roy Williams), his punt return average ranks second in program history (Bobby Dillon – 22.3, 1950) and his 358 punt return yards are the seventh-most in a season for a Longhorn. Worthy earned first-team honors at wide receiver in 2021 and second-team honors for the 2022 season.
Auburn, from Flower Mound Texas, has put together one of the finest seasons for a placekicker in program history. He currently leads the Big 12 in field goal percentage (84.8 percent), field goals made (28), field goals attempted (33), total points scored (129), scoring (10.8 ppg), while his 45 extra points made are fourth in the conference and his season long field goal of 54 yards is tied for the fifth-longest of the season. Nationally, the junior leads the nation in field goals per game (2.33), field goals made and field goals attempted, while ranking second in total points scored and fourth in scoring, while his field goal percentage is 10th among kickers with 20 attempts this season and third among those with at least 25. He has established program records for field goals in a season and is two shy of the conference record, while his current streak of 19 successful field goals is the longest in program and Big 12 history. His 129 points scored are the fifth-most in program history and second among Texas placekickers. He had a record-setting day against Texas Tech, establishing a program best with 21 points scored for a placekicker, equaling the program record with five made field goals in a game, including a career-long 54-yarder, while adding six successful point after tries.
Banks, a sophomore from Humble, Texas, has been the anchor of a Texas offensive line that earned semifinalist honors for the Joe Moore Award which honors the top offensive line unit in the nation. Banks and the Texas O-line opened holes for running back Jonathon Brooks, who prior to getting injured against TCU was a leading candidate for the Doak Walker Award and a midseason All-American. Brooks ranked sixth in the nation in rushing yards (1,139), seventh in rushing yards per game (113.9), and sixth in all-purpose yards (142.5). In the two games since Brooks' injury, true freshman running back CJ Baxter rushed for 117 yards at Iowa State and sophomore running back Jaydon Blue rushed for 121 yards against Texas Tech. The Longhorn offense is 14th nationally in total offense (460.4 ypg) with 188.3 rushing (24th) and 272.1 passing (31st), while scoring 34.9 points per game (21st). Banks was a second-team All-Big 12 selection last season.
Ford, from Frisco, Texas, earned All-Big 12 First Team honors for the second-straight year. The senior leads the Longhorns with 88 tackles (38 solo) and 10.5 tackles for loss, including one sack, while hauling in two interceptions, breaking up two passes, forcing a fumble and recovering a fumble. He has registered five or more tackles in all 12 games this season with six games of at least eight tackles. His three takeaways this season have led to two Longhorn touchdowns and a field goal, while his forced fumble led to a Texas field goal. Dating back to last season, he has takeaways in nine of his last 18 games, while his six career interceptions are fourth all-time among Texas linebackers.
Sanders, who hails from Denton, Texas, was named to the All-Big 12 First Team for the second consecutive season. The sophomore has caught 31 passes for 502 yards and one touchdown. His 31 receptions and 502 receiving yards are the sixth-most in a season for a Texas tight end. At Alabama, he hauled in five passes for 114 yards, the third-most in a game for a Longhorn tight end, and at Baylor he caught five passes for 110 yards, the fourth-most in a game for a UT tight end. Additionally, his two 100-yard games are the most in a season and a career for a Texas tight end. For his career, Sanders ranks second all-time among Longhorn tight end with 85 receptions and 1,115 receiving yards and seventh with six touchdown receptions.
The Longhorns' seven first-team honorees and four individual accolade selections led the conference and were the most for the program since 2005.
The All-Big 12 Second Team honorees were Mitchell, Brooks and senior defensive back Jahdae Barron. Barron leads Texas defensive backs with 54 tackles (27 solo) and 4.5 tackles for loss and has registered one interception, one forced fumble and a career-high four pass breakups. He was a difference-maker for the Longhorns against Houston, providing a second-half spark with three timely tackles (two solo) and a pass breakup on the Cougars' final offensive play of the game that halted the drive at the Texas 10-yard line.
The Longhorns that were honorable mention at their positions were Hill (LB), CJ Baxter (RB), Terrance Brooks (DB), Ethan Burke (DL), Alfred Collins (DL), Quinn Ewers (QB), Gunnar Helm (TE), Christian Jones (OL), Jake Majors (OL), Ryan Sanborn (P), Barryn Sorrell (DL), Michael Taaffe (DB), Jerrin Thompson (DB) and Jordan Whittington (WR). Banks earned honorable mention as Offensive Lineman of the Year, Jonathon Brooks collected honorable mention honors for Offensive Player of the Year and Baxter received honorable mention distinction as Offensive Freshman of the Year. Trill Carter earned honorable mention as Defensive Newcomer of the Year and Kitan Crawford garnered honorable mention as the Special Teams Player of the Year.
The Longhorns led the conference with seven players named to the first team, followed by Oklahoma with four players and Kansas with three, while seven other programs earned two each. Texas also topped the conference in combined first-team and second-team selections with 10 players, followed by Kansas State and Oklahoma with six each, and Kansas and Oklahoma State with five per team.
Texas will face 18th-ranked Oklahoma State on Saturday, Dec. 2 in the Dr. Pepper Big 12 Football Championship. The game will kick off from inside AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas at 11 a.m. CT on broadcast live on ABC.
Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year
T'Vondre Sweat
Big 12 Defensive Lineman of the Year
Byron Murphy II
Big 12 Offensive Newcomer of the Year
Adonai Mitchell
Big 12 Defensive Freshman of the Year
Anthony Hill Jr.
All-Big 12 First Team
Xavier Worthy (WR, KR/PR)
Ja'Tavion Sanders (TE)
Kelvin Banks Jr. (OL)
Bert Auburn (PK)
Byron Murphy II (DL)
T'Vondre Sweat (DL)
Jaylan Ford (LB)
All-Big 12 Second Team
Jonathon Brooks (RB)
Adonai Mitchell (WR)
Jahdae Barron (DB)
Honorable Mention
Kelvin Banks Jr. (Offensive Lineman of the Year)
CJ Baxter (Offensive Freshman of the Year, RB)
Jonathon Brooks (Offensive Player of the Year)
Terrance Brooks (DB)
Ethan Burke (DL)
Trill Carter (Defensive Newcomer of the Year)
Kitan Crawford (Special Teams Player of the Year)
Alfred Collins (DL)
Quinn Ewers (QB)
Gunnar Helm (TE)
Anthony Hill (LB)
Christian Jones (OL)
Jake Majors (OL)
Ryan Sanborn (P)
Barryn Sorrell (DL)
Michael Taaffe (DB)
Jerrin Thompson (DB)
Jordan Whittington (WR)
