Texas WR Al’Vonte Woodard joins list of Horns in the transfer portal
More movement came to the Texas football program and new head coach Steve Sarkisian in the NCAA Transfer Portal on the night of Nov. 30. In what could be a busy week, and month, in the transfer portal for Sark and his coaching staff, the most recent name to show up there is the former four-star recruit and redshirt junior wide receiver Al’Vonte Woodard.
The news that Woodard put his name in the transfer portal on Nov. 30 came courtesy of a report from Horns247. This is the second wide receiver that the Longhorns lost to the transfer portal in the last few weeks. Texas also lost redshirt junior wide receiver Joshua Moore to the transfer portal last month.
The loss of Woodard to the transfer portal isn’t all that surprising, though. Texas looked like it was going to have some major roster attrition on the way at the skill positions heading into next offseason, and Woodard wasn’t getting much playing time at all of late.
While Woodard started to get more snaps last fall under former Texas head coach Tom Herman, his workload dwindled in 2021. He got just over 140 offensive snaps last season, compared to less than 40 this fall.
Moreover, Woodard wasn’t even present on the two-deep depth chart for much of the season for the Longhorns. He was getting beat out by much younger wide receivers on the depth chart this fall. Woodard was definitely facing an uphill battle if he wanted to get more playing time in 2022.
Texas football loses another wide receiver to the transfer portal in Al’Vonte Woodard
Woodard was one of the early key recruits for Herman and his staff on the Forty Acres. He likely is just looking for a better fit elsewhere where he can find more immediate playing time and a bigger role.
During his four years at Texas, Woodard registered just seven catches for 62 receiving yards (8.9 yards per catch) and no touchdown catches. The most productive game of Woodard’s career came in the Longhorns’ dominant Alamo Bowl win back on Dec. 29, 2020, over the Colorado Buffaloes. He had three catches for 28 receiving yards in the Alamo Bowl last season.
Woodard was originally one of the higher-rated signees in the Longhorns 2018 recruiting class. He ranked as the nation’s No. 104 2018 high school prospect, No. 20 wide receiver, and No. 11 prospect out of Texas (247Sports Composite).
Coming out of Lamar High School around the Houston area, Woodard did hold offers from more than 30 schools. Finding a previous connection that can establish the groundwork for where he takes his talents next might not be too difficult for Woodard.
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Texas finished up the 2021 season last week with a record of 5-7 (3-6 Big 12) following a Black Friday win over the Kansas State Wildcats. There is sure to be a ton of roster attrition and activity in the transfer portal this coming offseason for Sark and the Longhorns.