3 top transfer targets Texas can land in May
Turning the calendar to the month of May means that Texas football is winding down various portal recruitments late this spring. The spring 45-day window for underclassmen to enter the NCAA Transfer Portal closed earlier this week.
Who's left for Texas football to add in the portal this spring?
Some of the bigger portal recruitments the Longhorns would be involved in this spring have already wrapped up. Texas lost out on one of its biggest portal targets of the spring, former TCU Horned Frogs junior defensive tackle Damonic Williams, on May 2.
Texas has also added one key grad transfer at a position of need at defensive tackle this spring. Former Arizona Wildcats and Georgia Bulldogs redshirt senior defensive lineman Bill Norton committed to the Longhorns a few weeks ago.
Despite Texas's roster being in a pretty good spot at most positions on each side of the ball, some needs do remain following the conclusion of spring ball a couple of weeks ago. A few position groups the Longhorns could address late this spring in the portal are linebacker, defensive back (specifically corner), defensive line, and punter.
Here are three transfer targets the Longhorns could land in May.
Khalil Jacobs, LB
Portal recruiting at linebacker wasn't expected to be a priority for the Texas coaching staff earlier this spring. But a host of portal departures in the last couple of weeks from Texas has hurt the depth in the linebacker room entering summer workouts and preseason camp.
Since the final weeks of spring ball, the Longhorns have lost four linebackers and/or edge rushers to the transfer portal, including former Alabama transfer Kendrick Blackshire.
While Blackshire wasn't pushing for starting reps at the middle linebacker position during spring ball, he was an experienced SEC linebacker with the size you need up the middle to hold up physically in that conference week in and week out.
Texas's two-deep depth chart at linebacker still looks solid entering the upcoming 2024 season. But the depth when you go three-deep at each linebacker spot isn't as solid as it was entering spring camp.
Texas could add a quality transfer linebacker from the portal late this spring to restore the depth at the position entering the summer. One quality option among recent linebacker transfers in the FBS this spring is former South Alabama Jaguars junior Khalil Jacobs.
The 6-foot-2 and 218-pound linebacker from Florida has drawn interest from multiple SEC and Power Five schools since entering the portal a couple of weeks ago. In the last week alone, he's visited the Auburn Tigers, Alabama Crimson Tide, and Mizzou Tigers.
Jacobs was a productive starting linebacker for South Alabama last season. He registered over 50 combined tackles, nine tackles for loss, three sacks, one interception, and three forced fumbles over 13 games in 2023.
The No. 32 linebacker transfer in the 247Sports Composite is one of the most highly-sought after transfers at this position group late this spring. If Texas wants to add a quality linebacker late this spring, Jacobs is one of the best options on the market.