Former Texas 5-Star S Tyler Owens transfers to Texas Tech

The first major commitment news that has come out of the NCAA Transfer Portal in terms of former Texas football players arrived ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday. During a week where it seems like the news cycle won’t stop for new Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian and his staff, the news officially broke of where the former elite five-star recruit and junior safety Tyler Owens will play next.

Owens put his name in the transfer portal last month after spending nearly three years with the Longhorns. And it looks like Owens will be staying in the Big 12. Former Baylor Bears associate head coach Joey McGuire, now the new hire head coach with the Texas Tech Red Raiders, landed the commitment of Owens out of the transfer portal on Nov. 24.

Owens will be taking his talents to Lubbock next year where he will be looking to start at the nickel position in their secondary right away. Lack of playing time at Texas is likely a major factor to Owens putting his name in the transfer portal in the first place this fall.

Former Texas football S Tyler Owens reportedly transferring to Texas Tech

The playing time for Owens steadily declined over the course of the last two years.

Something else that likely played a major role in Owens transferring was the change in the coaching staff. Owens was originally recruited by the staff under former Texas head coach Tom Herman. And his top recruiter when he originally committed to Texas was the former safeties coach Craig Naivar, who is now on staff with the USC Trojans with Todd Orlando.

What Texas Tech is getting out of Owens is a defensive back that mostly took snaps on special teams over the course of the last two seasons. Owens certainly has the physical tools and raw talent to succeed. He was one of the top signees in the Longhorns’ 2019 class. But it just never worked out for him during his time on the Forty Acres.

Owens registered just over a dozen combined tackles, 0.5 tackles for loss, no sacks, and one pass breakup, in 10 games played during his three years playing for Texas.

Two of the other notable former Longhorns in the transfer portal right now, that have yet to find their next home, are freshman linebacker Terrence Cooks and redshirt junior wide receiver Joshua Moore. It will be interesting to see where they take their talents to next after Owens committed to Texas Tech this week.

Owens will have a few years of eligibility remaining heading into the next phase of his college career in Lubbock. The former Plano East High School safety is the second commit that McGuire and the Red Raiders have landed out of the transfer portal heading into next offseason.