Texas going after former UAlbany EDGE Jared Verse

Movement at a position of need for Texas football and head coach Steve Sarkisian has come this week. Texas looks to be targeting the former University of Albany redshirt sophomore edge rusher Jared Verse. With help definitely needed in terms of generating pass rush off the edge, this move makes sense for Texas.

Texas hasn’t offered many players that are in the transfer portal this offseason as of yet.

That partly had to do with the fact that Sark and the Longhorns staff were looking to invest most of their time, attention, and resources, on hitting the recruiting trail hard to make their pitch to high school prospects instead of those players in the transfer portal. It looks like the Texas staff is prioritizing the 2022 recruiting class over hitting the transfer portal hard right now.

But that could all change soon. And the Longhorns did already get two commitments out of the transfer portal so far this offseason in a pair of former Ohio State Buckeyes freshmen. Texas landed former Ohio State freshman quarterback Quinn Ewers and redshirt freshman cornerback Ryan Watts already out of the transfer portal early this offseason.

Texas football offers former Albany edge rusher Jared Verse in the transfer portal

Moreover, Verse announced the news that he received an offer from Texas on his Twitter timeline on Dec. 27. A few of the other schools that looked to have offered Verse already are the Florida Gators, LSU Tigers, Oklahoma Sooners, and USC Trojans, among many others.

While Texas definitely wasn’t the first to offer Verse, the staff should be able to make a compelling argument as to why he would be a good fit on the Forty Acres. Texas could really use someone that can make an immediate impact coming off the edge.

Texas didn’t have much of a pass rush at all last fall, and Verse could help them out in this regard right away. Verse was the CAA Defensive Rookie of the Year in the delayed 2020-21 FCS season. He was also one of the more impressive pass rushers in the FCS this fall.

In 11 games played this season, Verse led his team with 10 sacks, a dozen tackles for loss, 13 additional quarterback hurries, one forced fumble, one pass breakup, and 52 combined tackles. The 6-foot-4 and 250-pound edge rusher was a force to be reckoned with in both run defense and rushing the passer in 2021.

Verse could definitely come in and compete right away with the Longhorns for a starting spot at either the Jack or Buck linebacker positions. He would be competing with the likes of Alfred Collins, Ovie Oghoufo, and D.J. Harris Jr., among others, for starting reps on the edge in 2022 if he landed on the Forty Acres.

Texas is likely to have around four or five other additions out of the transfer portal this offseason, depending on how the 2022 recruiting class shapes out ahead of National Signing Day in a little more than one month from now. Verse is a name to watch that could fill one of those spots this offseason.