Texas is well into double digits in portal commitments in this class after signing Jermayne Lole on Thursday.
On May 9, Texas football and head coach Steve Sarkisian secured a huge victory in the NCAA Transfer Portal at defensive tackle. Texas has acquired former Louisville Cardinals senior grad transfer defensive lineman Jermayne Lole from the Oklahoma Sooners.
Will Texas football use its remaining scholarship spots to fill needs on defense and special teams in the portal this spring?
Lole is Texas’ third defensive tackle signing from the portal this summer. He is also the 11th player to join the Longhorns’ portal class in 2024.
Lole, along with former Arizona Wildcats grad transfer defensive tackles Bill Norton and Tia Savea, is one of three acquisitions Johnny Nansen and the Longhorns have made to beef up defensive depth in the middle. All three defensive tackles acquired through the portal give the Longhorns at least four years of live-game experience in the Power Five.
Norton, Savea, and Lole have accumulated over 4,000 career defensive snaps in the Power Five.
Sarkisian and the Longhorns’ coaching staff obviously saw the need for more proven experience and depth at defensive line late this spring. They accomplished this by taking some defensive line depth away from Oklahoma, one of their main opponents entering the SEC.
The Longhorns appear to be far from finished making moves to shore up the roster in the portal this spring. After signing Lole on May 9, here’s a prediction for Texas’ next transfer addition later this spring.
Johnny Bowens, DL
Prior to Texas flipping Lole from Oklahoma on Thursday, former Oregon Ducks freshman transfer Johnny Bowens III appeared to be the top defensive lineman target in the portal. The 6-foot-3, 290-pound defensive tackle expressed interest from Texas after entering the portal on April 26.
If Texas continues to pursue Bowens, he will be seen as a long-term developmental player rather than an immediate impact member of the interior defensive line rotation in 2024.
Bowens’ recruitment makes sense for the Longhorns since he might fill some of the depth and younger skill that Texas lost with the departure of four-star defensive line signee D’antre Robinson. After Robinson decommitted from Texas a few months ago, the Longhorns have only signed three defensive tackles from high school over the last two cycles.
Texas expressed interest in Bowens during his recruitment out of high school for the 2023 class. When he committed to Oregon a few years ago, the Longhorns and Texas A&M Aggies were two of the top three colleges that finished behind them.
Bowens attended Judson High School in Converse, TX (just outside of San Antonio), roughly an hour from Austin.
Leave a Reply