It's been a couple of weeks since the winter NCAA Transfer Portal window opened and Texas football started pursuing some of the top players available in the portal for the upcoming offseason this cycle. With the College Football Playoff starting the 12-team bracket with the first round last Friday and Saturday, we'll start to see more portal entrants in the coming days for late December.
Best possible transfer targets for Texas football currently available in the winter portal
Amid the approaching holiday break and the first round of the 12-team College Football Playoff last weekend at DKR, the Longhorns have been busy multi-tasking with game-planning and hosting portal visitors.
Since the first week of portal visits a couple of weekends ago, the Longhorns have landed three transfer commitments for the winter window. Texas's first portal commitment of the winter window was former Utah Utes senior grad transfer punter Jack Bouwmeester on Dec. 13.
In the same weekend, the Longhorns added two more key pieces from the portal to the defensive side of the ball, with former Purdue defensive tackle transfer Cole Brevard and Arkansas sophomore linebacker Brad Spence.
Texas's biggest remaining portal positional needs that head coach Steve Sarkisian and staff have emphasized are wide receiver, running back, tight end, defensive line, and defensive back.
Here are the five best available transfers in the portal for the Longhorns at specified positions of need on each side of the ball as of Dec. 23.
David Gusta, DT (Washington State)
As we've seen for the past few offseasons, finding proven defensive tackles with multiple years of starting experience in the transfer portal can be very tough. Texas needs proven experience and size at the defensive tackle position from other P4 programs in the trenches.
Former Washington State Cougars junior transfer defensive tackle David Gusta has multiple years of proven starter experience at three-tech along the interior defensive line. The 6-foot-4 and 302-pound Gusta was Wazzu's highest-graded defensive player in 2024 (per PFF).
Gusta registered over 60 career combined tackles, six tackles for loss, two sacks, 51 quarterback pressures, and four batted balls.