Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian continues to take leaps and bounds to improve his 2025 transfer portal class, and he captured a huge win for the Longhorns over the weekend.
Former Maryland defensive lineman Lavon Johnson committed to the North Carolina Tar Heels and head coach Bill Belichick earlier last week. Then, just a few days later, Johnson flipped his commitment to the Texas Longhorns and Sarkisian.
Johnson, who played just two seasons for the Maryland Terrapins, maintains three years of eligibility after only appearing in three games during his freshman season. Coming out of high school, Johnson was a three-star prospect and earned the same rating as a transfer.
FLIP: Maryland DL Lavon Johnson is now transferring to TEXAS
— NCAA Transfer Portal (@RivalsPortal) April 18, 2025
Earlier today the former 3⭐️ committed to NORTH CAROLINA pic.twitter.com/7WLH4MQiqx
Lavon Johnson college stats
- 9 games played
- 19 total tackles (14 solo)
- 1 sack
Johnson saw limited playing time during his short tenure with the Terrapins but still earned 19 total tackles while playing in a minimal nine games, 14 solo tackles and five assisted tackles.
Despite Johnson originally committing to Belichick and the Tar Heels, it looks like Sarkisian and the Longhorns refused to give up on the three-star transfer portal. Now, that effort has paid off as Johnson heads to Austin instead of Chapel Hill.
Also read: Steve Sarkisian shares just how stunned he was Bill Belichick took the UNC job
Currently, the Longhorns have the No. 22 transfer portal class with 15 players leaving Texas and just nine players joining the roster so far this year. Since the spring portal opened, four players have transferred to Texas, including Johnson, Emmett Mosley V, Jack Endries, and Mason Shipley.