Texas Football: Predicting Longhorns next transfer after Isaiah Neyor

Maalik Murphy, QB

The only Sark-era recruit on this list among the potential portal departures for the Longhorns is redshirt freshman quarterback Maalik Murphy. The second-year backup quarterback for the Longhorns received many offers from other Power Five programs to jump in the transfer portal after he impressed with his showing in spring ball and the spring game in mid-April.

Murphy ultimately decided to stick around at Texas for the rest of the offseason and eventually won the backup quarterback job over true freshman Arch Manning this fall. Murphy winning the backup quarterback job gave him the opportunity to start in two games during the regular season when redshirt sophomore signal-caller Quinn Ewers went down with a shoulder injury in October against the Houston Cougars.

In his two starts during the regular season, Murphy led the Longhorns to an undefeated 2-0 record. While he had some ups and downs in his two starts, Murphy held his own and led the Longhorns to two key wins. One of those wins came in overtime over a top-25 foe at home in the No. 23 Kansas State Wildcats on Nov. 4.

Murphy appeared in a handful of other games for the Longhorns this season, including for a few snaps in garbage time late in the Big 12 title game (despite suffering a reported injury the week prior). He’s played in seven games so far this fall, registering nearly 500 passing yards, three passing touchdowns, and three interceptions.

It is expected that Murphy hits the portal heading into the offseason, considering Ewers and Manning are both likely to return to Texas in 2024. If he does enter the portal in the coming weeks, Murphy will be one of the most highly sought-after transfer quarterbacks in this cycle.