4 important transfer portal targets to watch for Texas in February

Keidron Smith, CB

It wouldn’t be surprising to see Texas continue to upgrade their secondary by way of the transfer portal this offseason. Texas did already land one commitment out of the portal this offseason to help the defensive backfield in the form of Watts.

But it’s likely that Texas is going to try and have Watts play at the safety position in 2022. That is especially true given the fact that Texas lost the likes of senior B.J. Foster and junior Chris Adimora to the portal already in the last few months.

That could open the door for Texas to add another cornerback to help the situation in the secondary in 2022. An option worth looking into here is the former standout Ole Miss Rebels senior cornerback and under-the-radar three-star recruit Keidron Smith. After putting his name in the transfer portal a couple of weeks ago, Texas would likely have to strike fast with Smith to get his interest in coming to the Forty Acres.

With one year of eligibility remaining, Smith could really be a nice immediate impact graduate transfer for the Texas secondary. He brings plenty of proven experience to the table along with a certain level of versatility that will be hard to find for the Longhorns otherwise. Smith played well getting snaps at both free safety and cornerback in the last few seasons in Oxford.

The 6-foot-2 and 195-pound defensive back has registered more than 220 career combined tackles, eight tackles for loss, one sack, five interceptions (one returned for a touchdown), a whopping 19 pass breakups, and five forced fumbles. Smith really proved he was one of the more capable playmakers in the last few seasons with Ole Miss.

Texas is in need of impact players at this level of the defense. Beyond Anthony Cook, Texas doesn’t have that many impact players in the secondary from what we saw last season. Smith could add that presence to the backend of the defense in 2022.