Texas Football: Malcolm Epps surprises Longhorns, enters transfer portal

More bad news concerning the NCAA Transfer Portal arrived for new head coach Steve Sarkisian and the Texas football program on the late morning of April 26. Almost exactly 24 hours after Texas got good news out of the transfer portal in the form of getting a commitment from the standout former New Mexico State Aggies redshirt sophomore outside linebacker and former Freshman All-American Devin Richardson, this program lost a key player.

Losing talent in the receiving corps wasn’t too much of a worry for the Longhorns so far this offseason. While they did lose the likes of junior wideout Brennan Eagles and senior Tarik Black to the 2021 NFL Draft, roster attrition didn’t take hold much elsewhere with this position group thus far.

Hopefully, that is something that won’t change too much after the former talented four-star recruit and 6-foot-6 and 245 pound redshirt sophomore wide receiver/tight end Malcolm Epps put his name in the transfer portal on April 26. The announcement that Epps would be entering the transfer portal this offseason came courtesy of his Twitter timeline early this week.

Impact of Texas football losing Malcolm Epps to the portal

While there’s always no guarantee right off the bat that a player like Epps will wind up leaving the Forty Acres by way of the transfer portal, it’s not a good sign for the depth in the receiving corps. Epps was set to be one of the more versatile skill position weapons that Sark and new offensive line coach/offensive coordinator Kyle Flood could use this year.

Epps has a plethora of experience in his college career thus far playing at both the wide receiver and tight end positions. He is also one of the most sizable receivers that Texas had on the roster this year.

It looked like Epps was going to challenge the likes of senior tight end Cade Brewer, sophomore Brayden Liebrock, junior Jared Wiley, and bigger receivers like redshirt freshman Troy Omeire for reps this fall. But that might not wind up coming to fruition for this receiving corps in 2021.

What Texas is losing in terms of production from Epps entering the transfer portal is 292 receiving yards on 24 catches (12.2 yards per catch), good for four receiving touchdowns. Epps also wound up with 60 rushing yards on two carries last season.

Last fall was the first time that Epps got more reps lining up at the tight end position over wideout. He could likely play at either wherever he lands out of the transfer portal this offseason.

Texas finished up last season with a record of 7-3 (5-3 Big 12) under the direction of former head coach Tom Herman. Back on Jan. 2, the former Alabama Crimson Tide offensive coordinator and reigning Broyles Award winner Sark replaced Herman as the next Texas head coach.