Texas getting elite contested pass-catcher in WR Isaiah Neyor

You have to be excited about what’s to come for the Texas football program this year in terms of what they’ve landed out of the NCAA Transfer Portal so far this offseason. Texas and second-year head coach Steve Sarkisian got some very solid additions out of the transfer portal so far this offseason including the likes of the former Ohio State Buckeyes freshman quarterback Quinn Ewers, Ohio State redshirt freshman cornerback Ryan Watts, and Wyoming Cowboys breakthrough redshirt freshman wide receiver Isaiah Neyor.

The latter of those three additions could actually have the best immediate impact for Sark, new wide receivers coach/passing game coordinator Brennan Marion, and the Longhorns in 2022, though. Texas did a great job recruiting out of the transfer portal to flip the commitment of Neyor away from the Tennessee Volunteers and head coach Josh Heupel.

Texas got the final piece to really get a big three going in their receiving corps in 2022. Neyor will now be lining up next to the likes of rising sophomore star wideout Xavier Worthy and the elusive redshirt junior Jordan Whittington as the likely starters for this Texas offense this fall.

Neyor is likely going to be the outside starting receiver for Sark and the Longhorns this fall. He proved last season at Wyoming that he can be a real threat working on the outside. And he is the type of wideout that the Longhorns were missing in 2021.

Texas football adding a new dynamic to their passing game on the outside with WR Isaiah Neyor

Texas really didn’t have that guy on the outside that Casey Thompson and/or Hudson Card could just throw the ball up to and rely on him to come down with it on a consistent basis. That is what the new potential starting quarterback Ewers will have in Neyor on the outside in 2022.

Neyor ranked in the top three in the country among FBS receivers in terms of contested catches. He came down with 15 of the 25 contested throws that went his way in 2021. He also ranked in the top 10th percentile in terms of receiver grades when targeted deep on the sidelines (20+ yards).

On just over 20 targets last season, Neyor came down with nine catches for 286 receiving yards and four touchdowns on targets deep on the sidelines. And of those nine catches he had deep on the sidelines last season, six of them were contested.

Moreover, Neyor will is going to provide the Longhorns with a wide receiver that can add a new dynamic to this passing game. The 6-foot-3 and 215-pound Neyor is a potentially elite target on the outside that will make opposing defenses have another phase of this passing game to prepare for week in and week out.

Texas also didn’t have a presence among their wideouts on the outside that could come anything close to what Neyor did last season. In fact, Worthy and Whittington were the only two wideouts for Texas last season that had more than two contested catches on the entire campaign.

They only combined for nine contested catches on the season, though.

Worthy was also really the only Texas wide receiver that could get much of anything done deep on the sidelines last season. With Neyor in the mix now, Sark and the Longhorns can focus on working Worthy mostly out of the slot and get the ball in his hands in space more often around the line of scrimmage.

Adding Neyor to the Texas receiving corps is just going to bring another special dynamic to this passing game that can take the top off opposing defenses. If Ewers is able to have a true breakout campaign this fall, this is likely going to be one of the most potent passing offenses in the entire country.

Texas finished up last season with a record of 5-7 (3-6 Big 12) following their Black Friday win in the regular season finale over the Kansas State Wildcats. That resulted in Texas missing the postseason for the first time since 2016.