Predicting Texas football’s next transfer addition after CB Gavin Holmes

Ja’Had Carter, S

The biggest battle out of the portal for the Longhorns right now is for the former Syracuse Orange redshirt sophomore safety Ja’Had Carter. Texas looks to be duking it out with the Ohio State Buckeyes early on in the race to land a commitment from Carter out of the portal.

The hard-hitting third-year defensive back is someone that safeties coach Blake Gideon and the Longhorns defensive staff are clearly making a priority out of the portal heading into the upcoming offseason. Carter made the trip to Austin last weekend to see the Longhorns.

According to a report from Mike Roach of Horns247 earlier this week (paid content), Gideon was “attached at the hip” to Carter during his visit to Austin last weekend. Texas definitely appears to be doing all it can to make a big impression on Carter.

The same could be said for the Buckeyes, though, who also recently hosted Carter on a visit. It looks as if Carter visited Columbus right after his visit to Austin wrapped up a few days ago.

At the moment, it’s hard to tell who the true frontrunner is in the race to land a commitment from Carter out of the portal. Both Texas and Ohio State are clearly prioritizing Carter and have an opportunity for him to start immediately.

As far as Texas is concerned, though, it says a lot that the staff is putting so much effort and attention into the pursuit of Carter. Texas is taking a really patient approach in the last couple of weeks recruiting out of the portal. Carter is one of the three or four portal players that Texas has invested the most time into since the last window opened on Dec. 5.

This is going to be the most active recruitment to watch for the Longhorns out of the portal in the next week or so, at least until the conclusion of the Alamo Bowl on Dec. 29.