Breaking down 4 transfers Texas football should offer this summer

Joseph Boletepeli, DE/EDGE

There aren’t really any good options remaining in terms of those edge rushers in the portal at this point of the offseason that could make an immediate impact on the Longhorns’ pass rush. With Texas missing out on the former TCU Horned Frogs two-time All-Big 12 senior edge rusher/defensive end Ochaun Mathis last month, the biggest portal target at the position was gone.

Texas also had an opportunity to add an impact edge rusher out of the portal this spring disappear when the former Florida A&M senior stud DE/EDGE and reigning D1 sack leader Isaiah Land took his name off the transfer market.

That’s why Pete Kwiatkowski, Jeff Choate, and the Longhorns are now left seeking out depth portal players to find help for their pass rush ahead of the 2022 season. One option that Texas could find in this regard that could still bring a good amount of value to the table is the former Maryland Terrapins and NC State Wolfpack redshirt junior defensive end Joseph Boletepeli.

This potent 6-foot-4 and 280-pound former three-star recruit is one of the more proven pass rushers available in the portal at the moment. He showed flashes in stops with Maryland for one season and NC State for two. While he technically was a Terp for two years, he only played for them for one season.

Moreover, during his three seasons at Maryland and NC State, Boletepeli registered 16 quarterback pressures, two sacks, 3.5 tackles for loss, nine stops, and 21 combined tackles. He racked up those 16 quarterback pressures (which encompassed the aforementioned two sacks, four QB hits, and 10 hurries) in around 185 snaps rushing the passer.

Boletepeli’s pass rush numbers from the last few seasons still give him a more efficient pass-rushing productivity and win percentage on pass-rushing snaps than any of the regular starters along the defensive front for Texas in 2021.

If Texas were to bring in Boletepeli, he would likely be a rotation edge rusher/defensive end that could play at the jack linebacker position if he took off 10-20 pounds. Boletepeli could also stay around his current weight (280 pounds) and play as a three-technique defensive end in Kwiatkowski’s 3-4 defensive front.