Texas Football: 5 former 5-Star recruits to pursue in the portal this year

Stephen Carr, RB

Definitely one of the more surprising names to show up in the transfer portal this late in the offseason is the now former USC Trojans elite five-star Summit High School running back recruit and senior California native Stephen Carr. A running back that once ranked as the nation’s No. 20 high school prospect and No. 3 running back (247Sports Composite), doesn’t show up in the portal all that often.

As a running back that the Longhorns have actually faced twice already in his college career to date, this would be somewhat of a familiar landing spot for Carr. He faced Texas twice when these two programs played in a home-and-home series in two classic games during the 2017 and 2018 seasons. Sam Ehlinger was the Texas quarterback at the time, and USC was led by Sam Darnold and then JT Daniels.

Moreover, Carr would be a really interesting addition to the running back room for Texas. They do have a solid top duo between sophomore star Bijan Robinson and junior Roschon Johnson. But forming a trio that also includes a veteran like Carr could bring a lot of value to this ground game.

Carr is now certainly one of the more experienced players in the transfer portal. Over the course of his four seasons playing for the Trojans, he registered 1,319 career rushing yards (5.0 yards per carry), 12 rushing touchdowns, 421 receiving yards, and one touchdown catch.

USC was a frequent destination for Texas transfers this offseason, so maybe this is something that Sark can turn into a two-way street. If he wants more experience in the running back room, Carr would be an intriguing place to look.