3 new transfer portal entrants Texas should be pursuing

Josh Newton, CB/S

There aren’t all that many defensive backs available in the transfer portal right now that are as underrated as the former Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks redshirt sophomore cornerback Josh Newton. While Newton wasn’t the most recent transfer portal entrant, he is one that was recently brought to my attention.

And his production during his three years at ULM surely speaks for itself. His body of work is nothing short of extremely impressive. Newton continuously improved in each of the last two seasons with the Warhawks to the point where he became one of the best defensive players in the Sun Belt during the 20221 campaign.

Texas still has a need to add impact defensive backs such as Newton to the mix this offseason. With Texas likely moving Watts from cornerback to safety, there could be another impact player ready to go at corner if they landed Newton.

In his last two seasons at ULM alone, Newton registered 64 combined tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss, two-dozen stops, 13 pass breakups, and three interceptions. He also only allowed an 84.9 NFL QBR in targets that went his way in pass coverage in the last two seasons combined. That is one of the top three passer ratings against for any DB on ULM during that span.

Newton was in the top 10th percentile of highest-graded defensive backs in the Sun Belt last season too. He’s a natural in pass coverage that can also blow up plays in the backfield. Newton can occasionally miss tackles, but his missed tackle rate still was around 15 percent in the last two seasons. That isn’t bad compared to some other cornerbacks that get this many snaps.