JMU transfer LB Diamonte Tucker-Dorsey a must-get for Texas football

At this point of the offseason, there are now likely two targets for second-year head coach Steve Sarkisian and the Texas football program that are taking center stage in the NCAA Transfer Portal. The main one that all Texas fans are watching this spring is the reigning Biletnikoff Award winner and former Pitt Panthers star sophomore wide receiver Jordan Addison.

Addison is definitely the established big-name target in the transfer portal for Sark, new wide receivers coach/passing game coordinator Brennan Marion, and the Longhorns at the moment.

But there is a new name rising that is a very crucial transfer portal target for the Longhorns just ahead of the start of summer workouts. This new transfer target that the Longhorns just offered is the former FCS All-American and James Madison Dukes senior linebacker Diamonte Tucker-Dorsey.

Tucker-Dorsey announced on his Twitter timeline on the afternoon of May 18 that he received an offer from Texas. Tucker-Dorsey now has multiple offers out of the portal within just a few days after originally surfacing on the transfer market.

Texas football has found a new vital transfer target in JMU LB Diamonte Tucker-Dorsey

A few of the other schools he’s received offers from are the Auburn Tigers, UCF Knights, Texas A&M Aggies, and Ole Miss Rebels.

Texas was one of the first schools to offer Tucker-Dorsey, which is a good move considering the need for this staff to add depth at linebacker ahead of next season. If Texas didn’t strike quick in getting an offer out to Tucker-Dorsey, they likely would’ve fallen behind pretty far in the race to land his commitment out of the portal.

The goal for Texas now will be to get a visit on the books with Tucker-Dorsey in the next couple of weeks. Depending on how quickly he’s planning to make a decision, Texas will need to also move fast to get a visit scheduled with the JMU grad transfer.

Moreover, this could really turn into a great situation for the Longhorns if they could nab Tucker-Dorsey out of the portal entering the summer months. One of the three or four biggest positional needs for the Longhorns at this point of the offseason lies at linebacker.

And Tucker-Dorsey is definitely one of the most proven and accomplished linebackers to emerge in the portal so far this offseason. Texas could use this immediate jolt to upgrade at middle linebacker ahead of summer workouts.

If there was ever a must-get linebacker for the Longhorns this spring out of the portal, it is definitely Tucker-Dorsey. With the plethora of linebackers/edge rushers that Texas already missed out on in the portal so far this offseason, they can’t really afford to miss with a prized target such as the JMU All-American.

It’s hard to imagine that many other linebackers with immediate eligibility are going to come available like this for the Longhorns ahead of next season. Thus, Texas needs to make some big moves now with an experienced linebacker that should be an immediate starter and an impact player for this defensive front right away.

There’s the potential for Tucker-Dorsey to start right away for the Longhorns at the mike linebacker position. He would likely come in and compete with rising senior linebacker Jaylan Ford right away this fall to start at the mike spot.

And considering the fact that the other candidate to get key reps this fall at the mike linebacker position, former walk-on Luke Brockermeyer, is currently recovering from knee surgery, there’s a good amount of uncertainty at this spot in the defensive front. Texas could really use the added depth that Tucker-Dorsey would bring to the table as it would sure up one of the thinnest spots on the defensive two-deep this year.

All in all, it feels like Tucker-Dorsey could actually wind up being a more important transfer target for the Longhorns even compared to Addison at this point of the offseason. There’s no doubt that Addison brings more star power to the table, but Texas already has one of the best wide receiver rooms in the Power Five.

Bringing in Addison just adds even more firepower to an already loaded receiving corps for Texas.

Yet, the linebacker room for the Longhorns is definitely one of the thinnest in the Big 12. Thus, adding Tucker-Dorsey could have a bigger impact in terms of upgrading the linebacker room for the Longhorns compared to the proportional upgrade that Addison would bring to the receiving corps.

Granted, it would be fantastic for the Longhorns to land both Addison and Tucker-Dorsey. Texas definitely looks to be in a good spot with both transfer targets at the moment.

Tucker-Dorsey was one of the most productive linebackers in the FCS last season. He registered nearly 120 combined tackles, nine tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks, five pass breakups, four interceptions, two forced fumbles, and one fumble recovery.