Texas loses another DT, Tia Savea plans to enter the portal

According to On3, senior Texas football defensive tackle Tia Savea plans to enter the NCAA Transfer Portal. Savea spent one season at Texas after grad transferring from the Arizona Wildcats last offseason.

Texas football's defensive tackle depth getting thin after Tia Savea announces his intentions to enter the transfer portal

Savea played four games for the Longhorns this season. An injury and the four-game NCAA rule means Savea could take a redshirt for the 2024 season. He played in three non-conference games for the Longhorns this season, against Colorado State, UTSA, and UL-Monroe. Savea also took defensive snaps in one SEC game, in the dominant 49-17 win over the Florida Gators in early November.

He registered three combined tackles, one tackle for loss, one quarterback pressure, and two defensive stops for Texas in 2024.

Savea's is now searching for his fourth school via the transfer portal in the winter window for the 2025 season. He began his college career with the UCLA Bruins in the Pac-12 during the 2021 season.

After spending one full season at UCLA, Savea transferred to Arizona for the 2022 and 2023 campaigns. He followed Johnny Nansen from UCLA (where he was the defensive line coach) to Arizona, where he was the Wildcats' defensive coordinator in the 2022 and 2023 seasons.

Savea registered three dozen total tackles, eight tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, 17 quarterback pressures, 18 defensive stops, one fumble recovery, and one batted ball in two seasons with the Wildcats' defensive line.

Savea has one year of eligibility remaining thanks to the four-game redshirt rule this season.

Defensive tackle depth for the Longhorns has been hit hard by transfer portal departures in the past few days. Texas has lost three defensive tackles with multiple years of experience in the program and P4 live-game defensive snaps to the portal in the winter transfer window, also including redshirt sophomores Jaray Bledsoe and Aaron Bryant.

Savea is Texas's sixth portal departure at all positions for the winter transfer window. The other three Longhorns players in the transfer portal this month are sophomore wide receiver Johntay Cook II, redshirt freshman outside linebacker Derion Gullette, and redshirt freshman edge rusher Tausili Akana.

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