4 important transfer portal targets to watch for Texas in February

Sevyn Banks, CB

There won’t be many opportunities for the Longhorns to get their hands on a true first-round NFL Draft talent out of the transfer portal to upgrade a spot of need on the defense this year. But Texas could have that chance now with the former Ohio State senior cornerback and former blue-chip recruit Sevyn Banks.

As recently as last week, it didn’t look like Banks was going to even be playing at the college ranks in 2022. He originally entered his name among the pool of prospects in the 2022 NFL Draft class. But he withdrew his name from the prospect pool and officially entered the transfer portal earlier this week.

This provides Texas with the perfect opportunity to get one of the best talents that will show up in the transfer portal at any point of this offseason.

It would also be very impressive for Texas to end up pulling in so much defensive back depth by way of the Buckeyes if they could somehow land a commitment out of the portal from Banks. Texas also landed the likes of the former Ohio State four-star cornerback commit and in-state product Terrance Brooks and the aforementioned portal addition in Watts.

Banks would be able to make the biggest immediate impact on this group, though. During his four years playing for Ohio State, Banks registered 45 combined tackles, three tackles for loss, no sacks, one interception, 11 pass breakups, and one fumble recovery (returned for a touchdown).

I’m not saying that Banks is a perfect cornerback. He still has some room to grow in terms of his coverage skills and overall consistency on the field. There were times in the last couple of seasons where Banks wasn’t making much of an impact at all on the field for the Buckeyes.

Yet, Banks is probably going to be one of the most potent and talented corners that shows up in the transfer portal at any one moment of this offseason.