One of the biggest losses to the NCAA Transfer Portal heading into the 2023 offseason just occurred for the Texas football program on the night of Dec. 12. Texas saw senior interior offensive lineman Junior Angilau enter the transfer portal on Dec. 12 after missing the entire 2022 season due to a knee injury he suffered in fall camp.
Inside Texas (part of the On3 network) reported on Dec. 12 that Angilau entered the portal after spending five years on the Forty Acres. Angilau played three of those five seasons as a starting offensive guard for the Longhorns (2019-2021). He took a redshirt during his true freshman campaign in 2018 and will take an injury redshirt for the 2022 season.
Angilau could technically have at least two more years of eligibility remaining if he uses the COVID-19 redshirt rule from the 2020 season.
Senior Texas football IOL Junior Angilau is entering the transfer portal after five years in Austin
Moreover, this is a notable loss for the Longhorns as it looked like Angilau could figure into the competition at one of the spots along the interior offensive line for a starting spot in 2023. He was projected to be Texas’ starting center coming out of fall camp before suffering the unfortunate season-ending knee injury in a scrimmage.
After Angilau went down with the season-ending knee injury, sophomore Jake Majors got the starting reps at center for offensive line coach/offensive coordinator Kyle Flood and the Longhorns.
Angilau is the fourth Texas offensive lineman to enter the transfer portal since the start of fall camp if you go all the way back to second-year offensive tackle Jaylen Garth landing with the Houston Cougars in late August.
Texas has also lost sophomore interior offensive lineman Logan Parr and redshirt sophomore offensive tackle/flex OL Andrej Karic to the portal as part of the 2023 class.
Angilau is a former four-star recruit that signed with the Longhorns as part of the 2018 class. He took more than 2,200 offensive snaps over the course of the three seasons he played for the Longhorns, spanning from 2019-2021.