Could Texas target USC transfer RB Quinten Joyner?

The madness for the winter NCAA Transfer Portal window began on Dec. 9, and the Texas football program has already been impacted by multiple departures in the past 24 hours or so. Texas is looking to replace the five portal departures, along with other outgoing players due to exhausted eligibility, transfer, and the NFL Draft next spring, during the winter window.

Is Texas football a likely landing spot for USC transfer RB Quinten Joyner in the portal?

After the first day of the portal window being open this week, the Longhorns have some viable targets at multiple key positions of need on both sides of the ball. At the skill positions, the Longhorns are looking for help potentially at wide receiver and running back.

A noteworthy potential running back target for the Longhorns in the portal is former USC Trojans redshirt freshman Quinten Joyner. The No. 4 ranked transfer running back in the 247Sports Composite, Joyner will be one of the more highly sought-after portal recruitments at the position this December.

On3's Hayes Fawcett reported on Dec. 9 that Joyner plans to enter the transfer portal.

Joyner is the type of big-bodied running back who could make an immediate impact on Texas's ground game for the 2025 season. The 5-foot-11 and 215-pound back has the size and downhill running ability to be the type of workhouse back that head coach Steve Sarkisian loves out of the backfield in his offensive scheme.

At USC this season, Joyner was the Trojans' most efficient running back in terms of yards per carry (7.6) and he was the highest-graded runner for USC (per PFF). He rushed for 467 yards on 63 carries, including three rushing touchdowns, 89 receiving yards, and one touchdown catch this fall.

Despite leading the team among running backs in yards per carry and rushing grade this season, Joyner only had one-third the amount of carreis compared to USC's starter Woody Marks (198 rush attempts and 5.7 YPC).

Texas not only makes sense to pursue Joyner from a positional need perspective. Joyner's hometown is Manor, TX, just outside of the city of Austin in the ATX suburbs. 247Sports' Mike Roach wrote about the possibility of Joyner returning home to a P4 program in the state of Texas ahead of the 2025 season.

At the very least, it sounds like the Longhorns will reach out to Joyner to gauge the interest he has in coming to Texas via the transfer portal during the winter window.

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