1. Tope Imade, Offensive Guard
The losses for the Longhorns in the transfer portal along the offensive line are already pretty severe among the upperclassmen. Texas already lost Okafor and rising senior offensive lineman JP Urquidez to the transfer portal earlier in the offseason. Okafor could’ve challenged for a starting spot in the trenches, and Urquidez was going to be a key experienced backup.
But the depth among the more experienced Longhorns offensive linemen are thinning out in a big way. Texas already lost their former four-star 2019 signee Javonne Shepherd to the transfer portal too, which hurt more of the young depth on the roster. But Shepherd wound up taking his talents to the JUCO ranks to join Butler Community College for one season.
One name that still sticks out that the Longhorns could lose is the former Bowie High School product and Arlington, TX, native three-star recruit Tope Imade. This towering 6-foot-6 and 350 pound offensive guard is a rising senior, but didn’t get much playing time during his three-year career on the Forty Acres thus far.
Imade did not play over the course of his first three seasons with the Longhorns. He did get to play in three games last season. He made his Texas debut in the regular season opener against the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs. The Alamo Bowl win over the Utah Utes and the non-conference win over the Rice Owls both saw variations of playing time for Imade.
The playing time and the rising talent among the underclassmen for the Longhorns will start to drown out the role of Imade this coming season.