Reports: Texas football gets commitment from former Arizona DT Bill Norton

Two days after Texas coach Steve Sarkisian declared his intentions to find another interior defensive lineman in the portal, the Longhorns got a commitment Monday from tackle Bill Norton, according to multiple reports.

The 6-foot-6, 325-pound Norton played at Arizona last season after starting his career at Georgia. The graduate transfer had 32 stops in 2023 and gives Texas another massive presence in the middle.

This past weekend, Texas hosted both Norton and former UCLA defensive tackle Jay Toia.

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“I think, obviously, the depth on the defensive line is not where we need it to be,” Sarkisian said after Saturday’s Orange-White scrimmage. “We don't have enough bodies; there's not enough big humans. I mean, it's simple math, so we've got to address it.”

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Sarkisian and his staff did just that Monday. Norton will join a group of defensive tackles that also includes projected starters Alfred Collins and Vernon Broughton as well as expected rotational players Aaron Bryant, Sydir Mitchell and Tiaoalii Savea, who played with Norton last season as part of Arizona’s stout run defense.

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Sarkisian said depth on the defensive front is especially important in Austin, where early-season games are often played in temperatures exceeding 100 degrees.

“You've got to rotate players,” he said. “In September (of 2023), we were playing upwards to 30-32 guys on defense in the first half of the games, never mind in the total game. And so to do that, you have to have enough quality people that you feel comfortable rotating in there to make that happen.”

Norton will have a familiar face on the Texas coaching staff in co-defensive coordinator and linebackers coach Johnny Nansen, who served as Arizona’s defensive coordinator last season.

With the addition of Norton and the loss of running back Savion Red on Monday, Texas remains one short of its limit of 85 scholarship players. The Longhorns have a visit scheduled with former TCU defensive tackle Damonic Williams this week, although the former freshman All-American has plenty of other suitors. On Saturday, Williams attended Oklahoma’s spring game.