3 new transfer portal entrants to watch for Texas in February

Darius Joiner, DB

The recent transfer portal entrant that might be worth taking the most seriously for the Longhorns at this point of the offseason is the former Western Illinois senior defensive back and former All-American Darius Joiner. This looks like the transfer portal target that the Longhorns staff is most interesting in pursuing at this point in time.

With one year of eligibility remaining, Joiner entered the transfer portal with a number of suitors looking to get a commitment out of him. And the Longhorns are reportedly one of those suitors going after Joiner after he put his name in the transfer portal last week. From what he put on display for the last few years at Western Illinois, it’s pretty clear that Joiner could make a big immediate impact for Texas.

Last season at Western Illinois, Joiner finished up with a whopping 142 combined tackles, seven tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, one forced fumble, one interception, and five pass breakups. He also had three quarterback hurries and 79 solo tackles in 2021.

Joiner essentially did it all for the Western Illinois defense last season. He could come up into the box and stop the run or drop back in pass coverage and lockdown on opposing wide receivers.

That type of versatility is obviously something that is appealing to the likes of Pete Kwiatkowski and the Texas coaching staff to help out their secondary right away in 2022. Joiner could potentially be the second big addition out of the transfer portal in the defensive backfield for the Longhorns if they do land a commitment from him in the weeks and months ahead.

Some other schools to watch recruiting him out of the portal this offseason are the Kansas State Wildcats, Virginia Tech Hokies, and UCLA Bruins, among a few others.