Texas Football: Breaking down 3 transfer targets as portal window opens

Traeshon Holden, WR

A potential portal target for the Longhorns that Sark and his staff are very familiar with is the former four-star recruit and junior Alabama Crimson Tide wide receiver Traeshon Holden.

This potent 6-foot-3 and 210-pound outside receiver was recruited out of high school in part by Sark when he was still Alabama’s offensive coordinator. Kyle Flood and Jeff Banks were also on staff at Alabama when the Tide were recruiting Holden out of high school.

Moreover, while I don’t necessarily believe Holden would be an immediate impact starter for the Longhorns, he would certainly add some quality receiver depth to a room that might need it in 2023.

Adding Holden out of the portal would give the Longhorns some more depth at boundary receiver. It would help sure up that spot in the wide receiver room as redshirt sophomore Isaiah Neyor works his way back from a season-ending knee injury that he suffered in fall camp.

We haven’t heard anything negative about Neyor’s recovery timeline since the knee injury he suffered a few months ago. But it helps to know that there is a sure thing at boundary receiver that was healthy and returns with a good amount of production next year.

In terms of the Alabama wideouts that have entered the transfer portal with the 2023 class, both Holden and sophomore Christian Leary are certainly possibilities that Sark and Marion could entertain heading into the upcoming offseason. Yet, given the plethora of quality slot receivers in the portal at the moment (i.e. Lovett from Mizzou), I like Holden more as a Texas target compared to Leary to fill a depth need immediately.