OU transfer DL Jermayne Lole flips commitment to Texas

Texas football just got a massive commitment from the NCAA Transfer Portal to address a big need along the interior defensive line, flipping senior defensive tackle Jermayne Lole from the Oklahoma Sooners.

Texas football addresses portal need at DL by flipping Jermayne Lole from OU

On3's Hayes Fawcett was the first to report the news on May 9 of the Longhorns flipping Lole's commitment from the rival Sooners. Lole had originally committed to Oklahoma from the portal on April 24.

Lole has one year of eligibility remaining as a sixth-year senior grad transfer.

The 6-foot-3 and 310-pound defensive tackle from Long Beach, CA, spent the first four years of his collegiate career with the Arizona State Sun Devils from 2018-2021. He dealt with injuries that limited his production and snaps at Arizona State in his last two years in Tempe in 2020 and 2021.

Lole transferred from Arizona State to the Louisville Cardinals during the 2022 offseason. He also dealt with injuries that limited his time on the field to just one game in the 2022 season. Last year, though, Lole played double-digit games in a season for the first time since 2019. He led all Louisville interior defensive linemen in defensive snaps in 2023.

While taking over 400 defensive snaps at Louisville last season, Lole registered 19 tackles, five tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, 13 quarterback pressures, 12 defensive stops, two batted balls, and one forced fumble.

New Texas co-DC/LB coach Johnny Nansen and DL coach Kenny Baker continue to add experienced defensive tackles to get more proven depth along the interior defensive line from the portal this offseason. Texas has now added three grad transfer defensive tackles from the portal since the start of the offseason to shore up depth in the middle of the defense entering the SEC in 2024.

Lole brings a ton of experience regarding defensive snaps in his collegiate career (nearly 2,000 over five years). He's played hundreds of defensive snaps in different alignments and techniques up front. Last year at Louisville, he played over 200 defensive snaps in the 2i and three-technique.

At Arizona State, he played many different gaps, including the B, C, and D gaps at the defensive line.

The other two transfer defensive tackles that joined Nansen coming from the Arizona Wildcats are seniors Bill Norton and Tia Savea. Texas now has five proven senior defensive tackles to ensure the strength at the top of the interior defensive line rotation entering the upcoming 2024 season.

When Lole has been healthy, he's been a very consistent and formidable defensive tackle presence at Arizona State and Louisville. He's graded out among the top half of starting defensive tackles in the Power Five conference in every season he's played double-digit games in his career.

Texas's portal strategy paying dividends at defensive line

Head coach Steve Sarkisian and the Longhorns continue to show that they're constantly on the prowl with portal recruiting to add depth in necessary spots on the defensive side of the ball. With two scholarship spots remaining, it sounds like the Longhorns are still looking for other quality players in the portal who can shore up positions of need late this spring.

Texas's portal class continues to get stronger with many proven players who add valuable experience and will immediately impact on the field in the SEC this coming fall. The Longhorns' 2024 portal class now ranks fifth nationally and No. 4 in the SEC in the 247Sports Composite.

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