Breaking down 3 new portal targets Texas football has interest in
Gilber Edmond, LB/EDGE
There were questions regarding Texas’ pursuit of any linebackers that entered the transfer portal heading into the 2023 offseason. And we now know that co-defensive coordinators/linebackers coaches Pete Kwiatkowski and Jeff Choate aren’t going to offer every single impact linebacker that enters the portal in this window of the transfer cycle.
Texas clearly just had something impactful happen on the recruiting trail heading into the first National Signing Day next week by landing a commitment from the elite five-star Denton Ryan linebacker and former Texas A&M Aggies pledge Anthony Hill on Dec. 15.
Given that Hill is now coming into the program and could get starting reps right away in 2023, going after someone such as the former South Carolina Gamecocks 6-foot-5 and 250-pound redshirt sophomore outside linebacker/edge Gilber Edmond is interesting. But it does sound like Texas is at least going to kick the tires on offering Edmond out of the portal.
Edmond was a breakout edge player for South Carolina that registered nine tackles for loss and two sacks during the regular season. He started to really figure it out rushing the passer and getting after the ball carrier in run defense this fall with the Gamecocks.
In terms of his fit at Texas, Edmond could be an explosive athlete and playmaker for PK and the Longhorns coming off the edge right away. He probably needs more development in the finer areas of his game before he is able to become an every-down starter at Texas. But the potential is certainly there for Edmond.
Next. Status updates for top priority Texas recruits heading into NSD1. dark
There are still going to be some growing pains with Edmond. He’s still missing some assignments and not taking the right approach to wrap up the ball carrier at the line of scrimmage. But the fact of the matter is that you don’t get this type of athlete that Edmond is showing up in the transfer portal out of an SEC program all that often.
It makes sense that Texas is at least going to go through a thorough evaluation process with a player at a position of need that has NFL tools such as Edmond.