Predicting Texas football’s next transfer addition after Trill Carter

Texas football and head coach Steve Sarkisian picked up their first addition out of the NCAA Transfer Portal this spring on April 17. Texas landed a commitment from the former Minnesota Golden Gophers senior grad transfer defensive lineman Trill Carter out of the portal early this week.

Carter committed to the Longhorns and defensive line coach Bo Davis less than one week after he took a multi-day visit to Austin, which started on April 11. He committed to Texas over other schools he visited recently such as the Illinois Fighting Illini, Arkansas Razorbacks, and Ohio State Buckeyes.

Texas is now up to five transfer pickups in the 2023 class this offseason after nabbing Carter on April 17. According to the 247Sports Team Transfer Rankings, Texas has the 46th-best 2023 transfer class in the nation. But Sark and the Longhorns have done a nice job prioritizing quality over quantity in this transfer class, with the ninth-best average portal player ranking in the nation.

Who’s next for Texas football out of the portal this spring after landing DL Trill Carter?

Here’s a look at a prediction of who the next transfer addition for the Longhorns could be this spring after landing Carter on April 17.

Derrick McLendon II, EDGE

Edge rusher is one of the biggest positions of need for the Longhorns to address after the conclusion of spring camp for the second straight offseason. Pete Kwiatkowski and the Longhorns have a solid edge rusher in junior Barryn Sorrell at the jack position. But there isn’t much of any proven production opposite Sorrell at the buck position.

We did see sophomore edge rusher Ethan Burke have a nice rise during spring ball. But Burke still isn’t a solidified option that the staff feels fully confident about as a starter opposite Sorrell.

That’s why Texas made contact with the former Florida State Seminoles redshirt junior edge rusher Derrick McLendon II. The fourth-year EDGE McLendon could be a proven option that is at least a slight upgrade compared to what Texas had at this spot last year in senior Ovie Oghoufo.

Texas did establish communication with McLendon in the last couple of weeks, but there isn’t a visit on the books from what we know of as of the writing of this article on the evening of April 17. McLendon already visited the South Carolina Gamecocks last week, which is the only trip that he’s taken thus far.

At the moment, McLendon is the only portal edge rusher that we know of Texas making contact with this spring. If Texas is serious about making a push for McLendon in the portal this spring, a visit would be something to watch in the coming days and weeks.