The Texas transfer nobody’s talking about could explode into stardom in 2026

The Longhorns brought in quite a few transfers in the portal who will probably be day one starters for them, but one player in particular isn't getting the type of hype or love that he should be right now.

There's a very good reason why Texas' coaching staff sprinted to the phones to contact former Arkansas DT Ian Geffrard the moment the 2026 transfer portal opened. If there was one player that they wanted to lock up early, it was the mammoth-sized run stopper.

At 6'5", 388 lbs., Geffrard has the skillset and obvious size to completely shut down an opponent's rushing attack. The Razorbacks were incredibly sad to see him go, as he and Cameron Ball were one of the top defensive tackle duos in the SEC in 2025.

Steve Sarkisian and Co. made it known that one of their main goals heading into the 2026 offseason was to fix their situational run defense, as it was consistently giving up 1st-downs in crucial situations down the stretch. It's one thing to limit a team's rushing offense overall in terms of the box score, but another to allow offenses to consistently convert short-yardage 3rd-downs throughout each game.

There were a ton of instances in 2025 where Texas could've closed out games earlier, but they weren't able to stop teams like Mississippi State, Vanderbilt, or even Ohio State from grinding out conversions on 3rd & 2's.

Ian Geffrard could end up being just as effective for the Longhorns' defense in 2026 as T'Vondre Sweat was for the team in 2023. Based on his past snapshare, Geffrard should also be able to stay on the field quite often in 2026, much more than Cole Brevard and Travis Shaw were able to last year.

If Texas ends up making it to the College Football Playoffs this season, Ian Geffrard and the defensive front-7 will be a huge reason why.