4 diamonds in the rough Texas football can find in the portal

Justin Gardner, CB

A little bit more of a proven portal player that the Longhorns could seek out at this point of the offseason is a former Big 12 foe and the Kansas State Wildcats rising redshirt senior cornerback Justin Gardner. The former Oregon State Beavers and Kansas State defensive back could help add some valuable experience and ability in pass coverage that would be welcome for this secondary.

I don’t personally think that Gardner would be the type of portal addition that would be in contention to start right away for the Longhorns. Yet, as is the case with the offensive line, the secondary could use another veteran voice in the mix and more depth added in general.

Gardner did have some impressive runs, though, during the couple of seasons he played for the Wildcats. He brings excellent length to the table at 6-foot-2 and 180-pounds. And Gardner is more instinctual than most defensive backs you’ll find in the Big 12.

He put his ability in pass coverage on display in the last couple of seasons as Gardner racked up two picks (one that was returned for a touchdown), a whopping dozen pass breakups, and just two passing touchdowns allowed in coverage assignments.

The fact that Gardner had two picks and a dozen pass breakups in the last two seasons, while allowing just two passing touchdowns, just goes to show how effective he was in pass coverage. Him leading the Wildcats in coverage grade among defensive backs last season was just an added bonus.

I love what Gardner could bring to the table for the Longhorns in terms of his coverage ability. He would be more of a specialist for Pete Kwiatkowski and cornerbacks coach Terry Joseph, but that could still come in handy when Texas is facing some of the more pass-happy offenses in the Big 12.