In 2024, College Football finally saw the return of one of its most heated rivalries as the Texas A&M Aggies and the Texas Longhorns finally brought their hatred back to the field. As the College Football season gets closer, preseason All American teams are released and the debate takes place over who's the best player at each position. Depending on who you ask in the State of Texas, you'll get two very different answers.
The answer the Texas A&M fanbase would tell you is Junior linebacker Taurean York who has been a special talent since the moment he arrived on campus. York started as a True Freshman and a Sophomore racking up 82 tackles, 2.5 sacks, an interception, and 4 pass deflections last season. The Aggies star has incredibly high Football IQ which allows him to quickly diagnose a play and his elite tackling ability takes over.
Taurean York, Aggies linebacker strips the ball from the Tennessee running back.
— Kyle Lovinggood 🌵👍🏼 (@kloveaggs) August 4, 2024
Was a quick instinct play by York as a true freshman, coming into his sophomore season with the Aggies.
Elko, Bateman, and Aggie faithful are expecting big things from York this fall!
Gig'em 👍 pic.twitter.com/FzGy7nNrBG
The Longhorns fanbase on the other side will tell you that the Nation's best linebacker resides in Austin in Anthony Hill Jr. The Texas star is a do it all linebacker, racking up 113 tackles, 8 sacks, 4 forced fumbles, an interception, and a pass defense in 2024. Hill moves all over the field which makes his production even more impressive while it makes Texas even tougher to score on.
If the NFL loved Jihaad Campbell, they will love Texas LB Anthony Hill. Dude can fly and provides a massive impact as a blitzer pic.twitter.com/VdWyiE8pAK
— Joe DeLeone (@joedeleone) April 28, 2025
Heading into the season, the debate over these two players for the crown as the best linebacker in the Country is heated and it's a debate that may not have an answer until the end of the season. In the middle of the defense, York can claim an advantage while Hill's ability to move all over the field likely makes him the best of the two. The Longhorns and Aggies having the Nation's two best in the middle only adds a layer of intrigue to a heated rivalry.