Texas Football: Predicting Longhorns next transfer after Jalen Catalon

Max Merril, OL

Each of the three Longhorns players on this list are holdovers from Herman-era recruiting classes. Davis, Wright, and redshirt sophomore interior offensive lineman Max Merril all signed with Texas in the 2021 recruiting class, just before Sarkisian took over for Herman as the Longhorns’ head coach early in the 2021 offseason.

Former Texas offensive line coach Herb Hand and offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich signed Merril in the 2021 class as a three-star recruit from Houston (TX) Strake Jesuit High School. Texas offered Merril late in the 2021 cycle after missing on some high-priority recruits along the offensive line in that class.

Once Sarkisian brought offensive line coach Kyle Flood with him from Alabama, Merril’s opportunity to get playing time early in his collegiate career at Texas decreased. The 6-foot-4 and 295-pound offensive guard doesn’t fully fit the traditional “big human” mould that Flood looks for regarding the physical profile of interior offensive line recruits.

Texas also recruited over Merril in the next cycle, as Flood hauled in a historic offensive line class in 2022, highlighted by five-star talents such as offensive tackle Kelvin Banks Jr. and guard DJ Campbell.

After Flood and the Longhorns signed roughly a half dozen blue-chip recruits among offensive linemen in the 2022 class, Merril was buried on the depth chart at guard. In his three seasons at Texas, Merril hasn’t taken a single snap in live-game action.

If Merril wanted to get a better opportunity to earn playing time while he still has multiple years of eligibility remaining, the transfer portal could be his best option. Since he hasn’t played in any games in the last three seasons, he still has a couple of years of eligibility remaining before its exhausted.