Predicting Texas football’s next transfer addition after S Jalen Catalon

Jordan Burch, EDGE/DE

Another edge player in the portal that the Longhorns appear to have some legitimate interest in is the former South Carolina Gamecocks junior defensive end/edge rusher Jordan Burch. In his third year at South Carolina, Burch started to find his stride as a pass rusher. He registered a career-best 3.5 sacks and 7.5 tackles for loss while getting some starting reps for the first time in his career.

Burch graded out in the top half of the SEC during the regular season in the pass rush among regular starters. He got a lot of pressure on opposing quarterbacks as he registered a career-high 40 quarterback pressures, which was good to lead the team by a wide margin.

The next-best South Carolina pass rusher registered 24 quarterback pressures in the 2022 campaign.

Burch is my favorite edge rusher that the Longhorns could go after in the portal at the moment. He could come in and compete for starting reps right away given how well-rounded his game is. Burch is a tall and physical edge rusher that is versatile enough to play standing up as an edge player or putting his hand in the ground in the three-tech.

The versatility that Burch brings to the table is also visible thanks to his ability to set the edge in run defense. The 6-foot-6 and 280-pound Burch is a physical run-defender that matches pad level well and can get a lot of push setting the edge. He also led the team in run stops during the 2022 season, with 22.

Burch was a rapidly-improving edge player at South Carolina in the last couple of years. And he could continue that upward career trajectory if Texas really pushes for him out of the portal this offseason.