Texas Football: 3 new portal entrants UT should target this week

Since the December window for underclassmen to enter the NCAA Transfer Portal opened last week, Texas football has targeted a handful of players who have officially entered the portal. Texas already hosted one key portal target at a position of need last weekend for a visit, the former UTSA Roadrunners redshirt sophomore edge rusher Trey Moore.

Head coach Steve Sarkisian and the Longhorns are also expected to host the former Clemson Tigers junior safety and Austin native Andrew Mukuba for a visit this coming weekend.

The last portal visitor Texas was scheduled to host on the 40 this week was the former Purdue Boilermakers redshirt sophomore wide receiver Deion Burks. Burks was expected to visit Texas and the Oklahoma Sooners this week. But that visit was canceled after he committed to Oklahoma on Dec. 12.

More players are entering the portal in the last few days that Texas football should consider offering

There are a handful of other portal targets the Longhorns are evaluating in the December window. But this staff is also taking a patient approach to portal recruiting to ensure they’re getting the right fits regarding positional need, impact, and culture fit with the players they add this offseason.

Given the speed at which the transfer portal moves today, Texas will have to strike quickly with a few notable players at positions of need if it wants a realistic shot to get these guys in the mix.

Here are three new portal entrants in the December window Texas should target this week.

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Safety is among the biggest positions of need for the Longhorns in the transfer portal heading into the offseason. Texas is looking to upgrade the safety room and replace the depth lost to the portal in the December window.

Texas might have to replace senior safety Jerrin Thompson if he declares for the NFL Draft next spring. But Thompson has one year of eligibility remaining with the COVID-19 redshirt rule, so he has the option to return next season.

The Longhorns also lost three safeties to the portal since the December window opened on Dec. 4.

Texas has targeted Mukuba as a potential option to replace some of the lost depth at safety while upgrading the secondary with the No. 1 safety available in the portal in the 247Sports Composite.

Although, it has been discussed that Mukuba could be slotted at nickel instead of safety to replace senior defensive back Jahdae Barron, who is expected to enter the NFL Draft next spring.

In the case that Mukuba doesn’t play at safety for the Longhorns in 2024 (assuming he commits to Texas out of the portal this offseason), Texas needs another option to upgrade this position group. One potential option among the new portal entrants at safety is the former UCLA Bruins redshirt freshman safety Kamari Ramsey.

The talented second-year freshman safety and former blue-chip recruit from Chatsworth Sierra Canyon High School in California could be an immediate impact portal addition and a multi-year starter at safety if the Longhorns decided to pursue him on the transfer market.

Ramsey is a big and physical 6-foot-1 and 205-pound safety with NFL upside and physical tools. He’s got good range and instincts in coverage, too.

After spending two seasons at UCLA, Ramsey entered the transfer portal late last week. He broke onto the scene as one of the best freshman defensive backs in the Power Five this season. Ramsey was the highest-graded freshman safety in the PAC-12 and the second-highest-graded freshman defensive back while starting 11 games for the Bruins during the regular season.

Ramsey has some connections on the Texas coaching staff from his high school recruitment. Texas cornerbacks Terry Joseph was Ramsey’s primary recruiter for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Notre Dame was a serious contender in Ramsey’s recruitment after the Irish offered him during the 2020 offseason.

From the perspectives of long-term upside, immediate impact at safety, and connections with the Texas coaching staff, Ramsey makes sense as a possible portal target for the Longhorns.