Texas LB Anthony Hill Jr. Explains Baker Mayfield Jersey Decision

Texas Longhorns linebacker Anthony Hill Jr. shared the story of how he got the now-infamous Baker Mayfield jersey.

Texas Longhorns linebacker Anthony Hill Jr. holds up Baker Mayfield's jersey after a 34-3 win over the Oklahoma Sooners in Dallas. / @thegoatanthony1 - X

AUSTIN -- Texas Longhorns star linebacker Anthony Hill Jr. went viral Saturday after he and defensive lineman Barryn Sorrell decided to pierce the end of a Texas flag through a Baker Mayfield Oklahoma jersey at midfield of the Cotton Bowl after taking down the Sooners, 34-3.

Many people were puzzled by Hill Jr.'s decision to use a Mayfield jersey considering that the current Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback hasn't played at Oklahoma since the 2017 season. When meeting with the media Monday, Hill Jr. said that a "random" Texas fan gave him the jersey after the game. Hill Jr. clarified that he's a "big fan" of Mayfield.

"To be honest, a fan gave me that jersey, just a random Texas fan, and that was just the first jersey that I had that was OU so we just kind of used that, it was the only jersey we had," Hill Jr. said. "So no hate for Baker Mayfield. I'm actually a big fan. I watched him play in college, so there's no hate. That was just the first jersey I had seen, and we're just gonna leave it at that."

Hill Jr. posted a picture of himself posing with the tattered jersey in the Texas locker room with the caption "Texas fears nobody," a shot to t-shirts made by Oklahoma linebacker Danny Stutsman last season that read "Oklahoma only fears God. Texas fears Oklahoma."

After the win over the Sooners, Hill Jr. said that posting the picture with that caption "felt like the right thing to do."

Texas fears nobody pic.twitter.com/52g4gqyBel

— Anthony Hill Jr (@thegoatanthony1) October 12, 2024

“I just feel like it was the right thing for me to do," Hill Jr. said. "I've seen all the stuff they posted last year, so I feel like it was right for me. It's just to get a little touch of something on them, so I just had to get me a little something to just to make the team and make us feel good.”

On Monday, Hill Jr. was named the SEC Co-Defensive Player of the Week after finishing with a game-high 11 total tackles, two sacks and one forced fumble. Through the first six games this season, Hill Jr. has tallied 42 total tackles, 4.5 sacks, one interception and one forced fumble.

He and the No. 1-ranked Longhorns will host the No. 5 Georgia Bulldogs in Austin on Saturday at 6:30 p.m. CT. The game will be broadcast on ABC.