Texas Football: 3 grad transfers to add if a roster spot opens up
At this point of the offseason, we are just a couple of weeks away from the start of summer workouts for Texas football and head coach Steve Sarkisian. The summer semester at the University of Texas-Austin begins on June 1, meaning the summer enrollees from the 2023 signing class will be arriving on campus very soon.
The start of summer workouts is a pretty exciting time on the Forty Acres. Not only do you get the arrival of the rest of the 2023 recruiting class, but you also get the ramp-up in activity on the trail with the summer official visit season taking place in June.
Heading into the summer, it feels like the Longhorns have the roster mostly set in place. At the moment, Sark and the Longhorns don’t have any scholarship spots available to late transfers or summer portal targets.
Top portal options if a spot opens up for Texas football this offseason
It’s always worth keeping a finger on the pulse of the transfer portal, though, given how quickly the shape of the roster can still change ahead of the 2023 season. With that in mind, here’s a look at three grad transfers for the Longhorns to pursue if a roster spot does open up this offseason.
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Kamari Stephens, EDGE
There was no bigger position of need for the Longhorns to tackle in the portal this spring, if a spot remained open, than at EDGE.
Yet, Texas wound up utilizing the only extra roster spot it had to add the former Minnesota Golden Gophers senior grad transfer defensive lineman Trill Carter. Texas did have its sights set on Carter before the conclusion of spring ball, though, to add depth along the interior defensive line.
I do still think if a roster spot were to hypothetically open up in the near future, pursuing a proven and productive edge rusher such as the former Florida A&M FCS All-American redshirt sophomore Kamari Stephens would be a great option. There is a good case to be made that Stephens is the best remaining edge rusher available in the portal at this point of the offseason.
At Florida A&M, the 6-foot-4 and 270-pound Stephens was a double-digit sack guy that also made a lot of plays to cause havoc for opposing teams in other ways. Along with the 10 sacks he posted for the Rattlers last season, Stephens delivered with four forced fumbles, one fumble recovery, one interception, one batted ball, and more than a dozen tackles for loss.
Stephens has received interest from multiple Power Five programs since his name surfaced in the portal earlier this spring including the UCF Knights, Ole Miss Rebels, and Oklahoma Sooners. UCF looks like the favorite in this portal recruitment at the moment, but I think Texas would make a huge impression if it hypothetically threw its hat in the ring in this one.