Texas Football: JD Spielman is perfect Longhorns transfer target

A name that recently appeared in the portal, former Nebraska wide receiver JD Spielman, is a perfect target for the Texas football program.

By far the biggest name to hit the NCAA Transfer Portal in recent weeks is the Nebraska Cornhuskers former three-star athlete recruit and rising senior standout wide receiver JD Spielman. Earlier this week, it was confirmed that Spielman’s name would hit the transfer portal just as most programs were getting their players back to campus around the country. This is a player that the Texas football program should be going after full board entering summer workouts.

On June 8, Spielman’s name officially hit the transfer portal various reports confirmed (namely ESPN). He is one of multiple Huskers to put their names into the transfer portal this offseason. The former Big 12 foe of the Longhorns can’t keep a lot of their roster together heading into the third year under former UCF Knights head coach Scott Frost. Nebraska has now lost more than a dozen players to the transfer portal this offseason.

The wide receiver room in Lincoln is taking an especially hard hit. Nebraska lost the likes of former four-star recruit Jaevon McQuitty, Mike Williams, and Wan’Dale Robinson, along with Spielman. But none of the other three were as big of a loss to the returning production the Huskers bring back at the skill positions as Spielman.

In 33 games played in a Huskers uniform, Spielman registered 170 catches for more than 2,500 receiving yards and 15 touchdown catches. He averaged more than 18.0 yards per catch last season, as he registered a career-high 898 receiving yards.

Spielman was a model of consistency in Lincoln for each of the last three seasons. He’s racked up more than 800 receiving yards and at least 49 catches in every single year of his college career.

This could really be the type of presence that is able to upgrade the Longhorns receiving corps. Texas was looking into bringing in former Alabama Crimson Tide 6-foot-6 towering wide receiver Tyrell Shavers to add depth to this position group earlier this month. But Texas missed out on Shavers to the likes of head coach Mike Leach and the Mississippi State Bulldogs.

A next man up approach to the transfer portal would mean that the Longhorns go to the best wide receiver available. And that is clearly Spielman at this point. He’s got about as much proven production as any skill position player that appeared in the transfer portal in general this offseason.

Adding Spielman to the receiving corps would be a fantastic move for the Longhorns. If they really want to add a second wide receiver out of the transfer portal, why not bring in a good compliment to what their other addition has. Former Michigan Wolverines graduate transfer and rising senior wide receiver Tarik Black landed with Texas a little less than two months back.

At 6-foot-3 and 215 pounds, Black could be more of that outside possession receiver mould that fills the void left by the Miami Dolphins fifth round 2020 NFL Draft pick Collin Johnson. That would leave Spielman (at 5-foot-9 and 180 pounds) as the speedy slot receiver with very reliable hands that fills the void left by the Baltimore Ravens third round draft pick Devin Duvernay.

If he were to land on the Forty Acres, Spielman would immediately become the most productive and proven wide receiver on this roster. The most productive returning wide receiver heading into the 2020 season as it stands now is rising junior former four-star recruit Brennan Eagles. Last season, Eagles amassed 32 catches for 522 receiving yards and six touchdowns.

All of this amounts to a real solid candidate that the Longhorns could go after in the transfer portal. A name like Spielman’s appearing in the portal at this point of the offseason will rarely happen, especially just after they missed out on another talented target at the same position. Head coach Tom Herman and recently promoted wide receivers coach Andre Coleman should take advantage of this luck right away.