Texas Football: Transfer bug hitting the offense

Even though some of the most recent transfers out of the Texas football program weren’t projected starters this year, it can still hurt the overall depth.

Texas football hasn’t really had a costly offensive transfer hit the program since rising sophomore wide receiver Reggie Hemphill-Mapps announced his intentions to leave for Trinity Valley Community College early in the off-season. Since then, the worst might’ve come on Aug. 18 when fellow wide receiver Davion Curtis announced his intentions to transfer before the start of the 2018 campaign.

The only appearance for Curtis last season came against the Baylor Bears, in a road victory at McLane Stadium in Waco, TX. However, he didn’t record any stats in his time with the Longhorns after signing with Charlie Strong in the 2016 recruiting class.

Hemphill-Mapps was a much more costly transfer to the Texas passing game than Curtis. This receiving corps has strong depth with the tremendously talented and potent incoming freshman class at the position. Four-star standout wide receivers like Brennan Eagles and Josh Moore are already on campus and could’ve forced Curtis off the Forty Acres.

This is also not the first transfer this off-season due to the amount of incoming freshman talent with one position group. Two defensive backs, senior John Bonney and redshirt sophomore Eric Cuffee, both transferred out recently likely due to freshmen like Caden Sterns and B.J. Foster.

Most of the depth chart should be set for the Horns at wide receiver now. Curtis likely wouldn’t have played a huge role in the passing game again this year. The redshirt freshman to watch at wideout for the Horns this fall is Jordan Pouncey after posting a big effort in spring camp and the spring football game.

No intentions are known yet for the landing spot for Curtis after leaving the Forty Acres. Most of the players that left the Horns either landed at a JUCO or haven’t found a destination yet. Bonney, who wound up with the Texas Tech Red Raiders, is the only former Texas football player that landed with another Power Five program.

Hemphill-Mapps and Cuffee both wound up at Trinity Valley C.C. Two other departures from the Horns haven’t found a landing spot yet between senior linebacker Edwin Freeman and the likely dismissed linebacker Demarco Boyd. Due to off the field issues, Boyd might not have another D1 program to play for through the rest of his college career.

However, this is not the best trend in the world for the Horns to have at this moment. Losing depth at any position hurts, even if its a player further down on the depth chart. Curtis was probably not a starting wide receiver for the Horns within the next two seasons. He’ll take his three remaining years of eligibility elsewhere.