Steve Sarkisian addressed some interesting topics yesterday during his initial Early Signing Period press conference. Though the whole "NCAA scheduling" debacle is certainly a hot topic for Texas right now, Sark said some pretty exciting things about the 2026 Transfer Portal.
Though the team did a pretty good job in the portal last season, especially along the defensive line, it was easy to see that they should've attacked other positions. The offensive line for instance, was a complete disaster for 75% of the 2025 season, and it was one of the main reasons for team's lack of overall success this year.
Sark thankfully said what every Texas fan wanted to hear about this year's portal plans:
"The offensive line is something that we will address in the portal."
Texas football coach Steve Sarkisian said they will address the offensive line in the transfer portal
— Anwar Richardson (@AnwarRichardson) December 3, 2025
He also added that defensive tackle, linebacker, running back, and defensive back will be pursued in the 2026 Transfer Portal. We think that we can speak for every member of Longhorn Nation by saying, thank god.
Unfortunately, the fact that the team lost so many offensive linemen following the 2024 season took and enormous toll on the offense. It's obvious that the coaching staff probably had too much confidence in the depth-level players, and believed that they'd be "okay" in 2025. It's pretty safe to say that this wasn't the case.
Also, just speculating here, it's very interesting to me that Sark mentioned running back as a portal target. The team already has an abundance of high-level, young ball carriers right now, and both Tre Wisner and CJ Baxter have the ability to return in 2026.
This makes me think that one or two of the current running backs are thinking about transferring out within the next couple of months. Though it would be a bummer, it would definitely be understandable as the RB room is packed with above-average talent.