Texas Football: 3 transfer landing spots for LB Ovie Oghoufo

The most recent NCAA Transfer Portal entrant from the Texas football program is the experienced redshirt senior edge rusher Ovie Oghoufo. On Jan. 4, Oghoufo announced his intentions to enter the portal as a grad transfer ahead of the final year of his collegiate career.

This is the second time Oghoufo has entered the portal in his collegiate career.

He also entered the portal during the 2021 offseason. Ahead of the 2021 season, Oghoufo transferred to Texas after spending three years under head coach Brian Kelly with the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.

Oghoufo significantly contributed to the Texas defense in the last two seasons. Only two defenders played more snaps for the Longhorns in the previous two seasons than Oghoufo: junior safety Jerrin Thompson and senior cornerback D’Shawn Jamison.

In the last two seasons, Oghoufo wound up getting more than 1,200 defensive snaps for the Longhorns. He registered 95 combined tackles, 13.0 tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks, 50 quarterback pressures, 47 stops, five pass breakups, one batted ball, and one forced fumble in two years on the Forty Acres.

Possible transfer destinations for Texas football EDGE Ovie Oghoufo

Here’s a look at three possible transfer destinations for Oghoufo for the final year of his eligibility in 2023.

Western Michigan

For the final year of Oghoufo’s eligibility, he might want to go closer to home. Oghoufo is a native of Farmington, MI, so there are a few in-state programs that could appeal to him.

One of the programs in the state of Michigan that Oghoufo has connections to from his recruitment out of high school in the 2018 class is the Western Michigan Broncos. Western Michigan and head coach Tim Lester and defensive coordinator/defensive line coach Lou Esposito offered Oghoufo out of high school during the 2018 cycle.

Lester and Esposito have remained at their posts on the Western Michigan staff since the 2017 season. That type of stability could also be something that appeals to Oghoufo, along with the obvious familiarity with that staff.

It’s worth noting, though, that Western Michigan was one of Oghoufo’s first offers out of high school in 2016. The offer from the Broncos was received by Oghoufo before Lester took over as the program’s head coach.

But the offer and contact remained firm with Oghoufo after Lester was hired as Western Michigan’s head coach prior to the 2017 season.

Western Michigan has boasted a steady defense that did get better during the 2022 campaign under Esposito. But this unit could definitely use the boost that Oghoufo would bring to the table along the defensive front.

From the perspective of past connections, positional need, and proximity to home, Western Michigan does make a lot of sense for Oghoufo out of the portal. To the latter of those three points, Kalamazoo is only a two-hour drive from Oghoufo’s high school in Farmington, MI.