Towson RB transfer Shane Simpson picks Virginia over Texas football

On Aug. 3, the Texas football program missed out on former Towson transfer RB Shane Simpson to the likes of the Virginia Cavaliers.

There could still be some action left in store for the Texas football program as far as their pursuit of potential signees out of the NCAA Transfer Portal this offseason. Texas is just over one month away from the planned kickoff to the 2020 college football season, but who knows if that will get altered in the next couple of weeks.

So the Longhorns do still have a bit of time to get possibly one more name out of the transfer portal before the outset of the 2020 season arrives. A name that apparently emerged for the Longhorns in pursuit of help at the running back position for this coming season was the former Towson Tigers FCS graduate transfer Shane Simpson.

It looks like Simpson was down to either the Longhorns or the Virginia Cavaliers out of the ACC for where he was to take his talents to next. He transferred from Towson with one year of eligibility remaining in his college career.

Simpson was really the first running back transfer where the Longhorns were in contention until the final day of his commitment decision. The fact that head coach Tom Herman didn’t go after all that many running backs in the transfer portal in all likelihood makes some sense since he’s got a very talented backfield

heading into the 2020 season.

Texas signed the top ranked high school running back prospect in the nation in their 2020 recruiting class, with five-star Salpointe Catholic product and Arizona native Bijan Robinson. They also bring back the likes of rising senior Daniel Young, junior Keaontay Ingram, and sophomore former converted quarterback Roschon Johnson, for this fall.

What Simpson now brings to the table for head coach Bronco Mendenhall and his Virginia program is nearly 2,000 career rushing yards and 13 touchdowns on the ground. He also has more than 5,000 all purpose yards in his career from Towson.

Virginia brings back the likes of fellow former transfer Ronnie Walker Jr. and Mike Hollins for the coming season. They likely needed more help at running back this year than the Longhorns did, and Simpson gets to stay closer to home by choosing to take his talents to Charlottesville instead of the Forty Acres.