Texas Football: Should Horns target former OU CB Jordan Parker?

A good place to turn if the Texas football program wants to hit the NCAA Transfer Portal to add cornerback depth is former OU DB Jordan Parker.

The NCAA Transfer Portal is already starting to become one of college football’s biggest storylines entering the 2020 offseason. The Texas football program has already lost some significant names to the transfer portal, including offensive lineman JP Urquidez and wide receiver Jordan Pouncey.

With the No. 1 ranked LSU Tigers knocking off the No. 3 ranked Clemson Tigers in the College Football Playoff National Championship Game back on Jan. 14, the Texas Longhorns football program can now fully focus on the upcoming offseason. What awaits head coach Tom Herman and the Longhorns is a long offseason of trying to fit this new coaching staff together and growing a roster that will return a lot of production from the 2019 team.

However, where should Herman and the Longhorns search to find answers if they turn to the transfer portal to patch any positional needs entering the 2020 college football offseason?

First the Longhorns have to identify which position groups need the most help for the 2020 season. The first three position groups that come to mind for next season (either due to lack of experience or lack of proven talent) are linebacker, cornerback, and offensive guard/center.

If the Longhorns look to tackle cornerback first to start getting newly hired defensive coordinator Chris Ash accustomed to his roster on the Forty Acres, then there’s a solid target that just emerged in the transfer portal. Former Oklahoma Sooners cornerback Jordan Parker posted on his Twitter timeline on Jan. 17 that he intends to transfer and become immediately eligible at his next landing spot.

https://twitter.com/1BigJP/status/1218302730638446593

Parker is one of a number of former Oklahoma players that put their names in the transfer portal of late. The rest of the group includes significant names like redshirt sophomore linebacker Levi Draper and true freshman safety Ty DeArman. Some have already found a next home, like DeArman who will be joining head coach Sonny Dykes and the SMU Mustangs in Dallas.

Is this also a sign of more things to come for head coach Lincoln Riley and the Sooners?

Since the transfer portal plays such an active role in the movement of depth players in college football now, it can be an easier way to find quick fixes at areas of need on the depth chart. Herman turned to the transfer portal to find answers in problem areas before, and he could do it again.

If Herman and Ash like what they see from an experienced cornerback like Parker, then it is worth looking into how much interest he has in landing on the Forty Acres. He missed nearly the entire 2017 season, but got a larger role and more playing time in 2018 and 2019. But Parker only played in four games in 2019 before sitting out the rest of the season to preserve the redshirt rule and grab one more year of eligibility.

Moreover, not only will Parker be one of the most experienced cornerbacks in the transfer portal this offseason, he is one of the most proven. It is rare that a cornerback as familiar with the Longhorns offense and Sooners defense as the 5-foot-11 and 182 pound Parker surfaces this early in the offseason in the transfer portal.

What Parker could bring with him to the Forty Acres is 50 career total tackles, one tackle for loss, five pass deflections, two fumble recoveries, and one forced fumble. And although he was around in Norman for the better part of four years, Parker only played in 18 games over the course of three seasons from 2017-2019.

The cornerbacks that will be candidates to land the two starting jobs for the Longhorns in 2020 in the first year under Ash’s direction are to-be junior Jalen Green, D’shawn Jamison, Anthony Cook, and Kenyatta Watson II. Texas has also only signed one cornerback in their 2020 recruiting class thus far, with four-star Kitan Crawford.