Texas Football: 3 transfer portal losses that will hurt in 2021

A storyline that will continue to dominate the offseason for the Texas football program this year is player movement in and out of the NCAA Transfer Portal. Newly hired head coach Steve Sarkisian has already seen multiple players leave the Forty Acres to enter the portal, and he’s also nabbed a few solid pieces as transfers into the program. Sark and the Longhorns have mostly found success on the recruiting trail and in the transfer portal since he first took the reigns as head coach back on Jan. 2.

Yet, any time there is major coaching staff turnover, roster turnover is sure to follow suit to some degree. And the Longhorns saw some big names enter the portal since late last year. Even before Sark was hired in place of the now former fourth-year head coach Tom Herman, there were players leaving the Forty Acres.

The attrition was anticipated for the Longhorns roster this offseason whether it was Herman or another head coach leading the way for this program. Many of the losses of late for the Longhorns to the portal in the last four to six months came while Herman was still the head coach. The same was true for some of the recent flips/de commitments from the Longhorns 2021 and 2022 recruiting classes.

So what can Sark do moving forward to put the roster in the best situation entering spring ball?

Recognizing the most impactful losses to the portal, and decommitments on the recruiting trail, is a good first step. And that’s obviously a step that Sark and his staff would have already taken.

With that in mind, here’s a look at three transfer portal losses for the Longhorns this offseason that will hurt the most in 2021.