Texas Football: 2 Longhorns defensive backs enter the transfer portal

X’Avion Brice, CB

The first Longhorns player who entered the transfer portal on the first day of the window opening on Dec. 4 was redshirt freshman cornerback X’Avion Brice. The former three-star recruit from Arlington (TX) Seguin High School in the 2022 class flipped from Oklahoma to Texas before signing day two years ago.

Brice was a late-cycle addition for the Longhorns in the 2022 class who de-committed from the Sooners after former Oklahoma head coach Lincoln Riley left Norman to take the head coaching job with the USC Trojans just before the end of the 2021 season.

Brice received limited defensive snaps at cornerback during his two seasons at Texas. He was deeper down the cornerback depth chart after Texas signed a talented group of defensive backs in the 2023 recruiting class and brought in one transfer on the two-deep in the former Wake Forest junior corner Gavin Holmes.

He played 14 defensive snaps over two games for the Longhorns this fall. The two games he played for the Texas defense this season were against the BYU Cougars in Week 9 and Texas Tech in the finale in Week 13.

Brice registered two career combined tackles, including one this season, one defensive stop, and one pass breakup. Brice was targeted in pass coverage three times in the last two seasons, resulting in two catches for 15 receiving yards and no touchdowns.

Since he redshirted during his first year on the Forty Acres, Brice enters the transfer portal with three years of eligibility remaining.

The 6-foot-1 and 183-pound defensive back was rated as the No. 650 recruit nationally in the 2022 class in the 247Sports Composite and the No. 43 athlete.