Texas Football: 3 biggest DB setbacks for Longhorns this offseason

3. Donovan Duvernay transferring

There could still be a chance that the brother of the departed former star Texas wide receiver Devin Duvernay, rising redshirt senior cornerback Donovan Duvernay, returns to the Forty Acres later this offseason. But Donovan put his name into the NCAA Transfer Portal it appeared with full intentions of getting out of Austin.

It’s not certainly that Donovan didn’t like what he was getting with the Longhorns, but that he could get an opportunity for more playing time elsewhere. The timing also seemed right since his brother is now off the Forty Acres. The Baltimore Ravens picked Devin with their third round pick, 92nd overall, in the 2020 NFL Draft.

No set in stone landing spot exists for Donovan as of yet. The former Sacshe High School three-star athlete recruit did hold offers from 11 schools during his recruitment. The highlights of the schools on his offer sheet includes the Boise State Broncos, Baylor Bears, Houston Cougars, Illinois Fighting Illini, Kansas Jayhawks, Michigan Wolverines, Oregon State Beavers, SMU Mustangs, and TCU Horned Frogs.

Maybe Duvernay lands at another one of the more than 10 programs that offered him coming out of high school. Or he could choose to take his talents to a smaller Group of Five or FCS program.

He registered just three total tackles in his four years playing for the Longhorns. Duvernay played in 12 games after redshirting during the 2016 campaign, his first in college.

It’s not necessarily that Donovan is a huge loss in terms of returning production, but losing that experience and depth at a possible position of need does hurt the Longhorns.