Texas Football: 3 transfers set to be stars for Longhorns in 2023

The roster attrition wasn’t nearly as abundant this offseason for head coach Steve Sarkisian and the Texas football program compared to the two prior years. Of the dozen or so players that Texas lost to the NCAA Transfer Portal this offseason, only a couple of them were considered threats to push for a spot on the two-deep this fall.

Freshman wide receiver Brenen Thompson and senior interior offensive lineman Junior Angilau were probably the two most impactful transfer departures for Texas this offseason since they were realistic options to be on the two-deep depth chart.

Sark and the Longhorns staff must be considered big winners in the transfer portal in the last two offseasons. Texas has a good argument that its added more than it lost in the portal in the last two offseasons.

Moreover, while Texas’ 2023 transfer class wasn’t big in quantity, it is chock full of quality contributors. More than half of Texas’ portal additions in the 2023 class will be starters, and the rest of the group will be immediate contributors on the two-deep this fall.

AD Mitchell and the Texas football transfers that will be stars in 2023

Here’s a look at three transfer additions that will be stars for the Longhorns in 2023.

Gavin Holmes, CB

In this transfer class, the former Wake Forest Demon Deacons redshirt junior cornerback Gavin Holmes was the Longhorns’ first portal addition on defense. Holmes was a quality rotational corner in the last two seasons at Wake Forest, ranking second on the team since 2021 in pass breakups (13).

The 5-foot-11 and 177-pound Holmes is set to compete for a starting job at the field corner position for the Longhorns in fall camp. He will compete with sophomore Terrance Brooks and true freshman Malik Muhammad for first-team reps at field corner.

Holmes has the most experience of the three candidates for the starting job at field corner this fall, with over 500 coverage snaps under his belt in the last two seasons at Wake Forest.

Why Holmes could be a stud for Texas in the secondary this fall have to do with his one-on-one coverage ability and ball skills. Holmes is a proven cover corner against intermediate and deep passes. He was the only Power Five cornerback last season to post a coverage grade better than 65 with an average target depth of more than 18 yards.

Holmes also ranked in the top five among ACC cornerbacks last season in forced incompletion percentage (20.9).