Six FBS transfer portal players who make sense for the Texas Longhorns
The transfer portal has only been fully open now for just over 48 hours. More and more players are bound to enter and join the almost 2200 from the FBS and FCS who are actively seeking a new place to play.
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Even within that limited window, several transfer portal prospects who it would make sense for Steve Sarkisian and the Texas Longhorns to pursue have entered the database at positions of need like wide receiver, linebacker, EDGE, and defensive back.
Some are from the Power Five level, while others are from the Group of Five ranks. Plenty of transfer portal prospects could see Texas become a suitor, but here are six from the FBS that make the most sense.
Dorian Singer, WR, Arizona
This wouldn’t be the first time that a Longhorn coaching staff has interacted with Singer. Just before Sarkisian’s hire in January of 2021, the previous Texas staff under Tom Herman pursued the Phoenix (Ariz.) Pinnacle product. Other recruiting networks had a host of burnt orange predictions come in for the St. Paul, Minn. native, but the coaching switch took place and Singer ended up staying in the desert.
He burst onto the scene this year with his 1100+ yard season, and had six different games with 90 or more receiving yards. Sarkisian recently mentioned the need for Texas to shore up its third wide receiver spot. Adding the All-Pac-12 second-teamer to Brennan Marion’s room would easily accomplish that mission.
Gavin Holmes, DB, Wake Forest
During his redshirt freshman year in 2021, Holmes helped the Demon Deacons reach the ACC title game and win the Gator Bowl. The New Orleans (La.) Archbishop Rummel grad followed that up with a strong sophomore season.
Holmes had 23 tackles and nine pass breakups for Wake Forest in 2022. According to Pro Football Focus, receivers he covered were targeted 43 times. Only 20 of those targets were caught for 324 total yards against the 5-foot-11, 175-pounder.
To date, Holmes is the only transfer portal prospect to have been offered by Texas.
Ryan O’Keefe, WR, Central Florida
Coming out of Round Rock (Texas), O’Keefe had one P5 offer from Boston College. He went the G5 route and played at UCF, where in four years he had 184 catches for 2002 yards and 15 touchdowns, plus 39 carries for 496 yards and one score.
This past year for the Knights, O’Keefe caught 73 passes for 725 yards and five touchdowns while adding 23 carries for 222 yards. While he was 53 yards short of 1000 scrimmage yards this year, he eclipsed the mark in 2021 with 100 touches for 1086 yards and eight scores.
A speedster who ran a 10.5 in the 2019 UIL 6A State 100m finals to finish fourth behind Matthew Boling and former Longhorn Tyler Owens, O’Keefe will be one of the more sought-after receivers in the transfer portal.
Grant Dubose, WR, Charlotte
In the last two seasons with the 49ers, the 6-foot-2, 200-pounder has 126 catches for 1684 yards and 15 touchdowns. In 2022, he had 64 catches for 792 yards and nine scores playing alongside Charlotte’s leading receiver, Elijah Spencer.
Dubose had an overall offensive grade of 70.3 during the 2022 season, according to Pro Football Focus.
Stephen Herron Jr., EDGE, Stanford
Herron started all 12 games at EDGE for the Cardinal in 2022, adding to his six starts in the previous two seasons. He had 37 tackles including 6.5 TFL and 5.5 sacks along with two forced fumbles for the Cardinal. His most productive game was versus USC when he had five tackles including 1.5 TFL and 0.5 sacks.
Herron is listed at 6-foot-3, 237 pounds and would project to Buck in Longhorn defensive coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski’s system. He had offers from all over the country as a recruit, including from Indiana, Kentucky, Louisville, and Ohio State from in his region. The Longhorns also offered, but the class of 2019 prospect elected to head to The Farm instead.
Levani Damuni, LB, Stanford
Another 12-game starter at linebacker for Stanford, the 6-foot-2, 242-pounder from Providence (Utah) Ridgeline recorded 207 total tackles, 9.0 TFL, 3.0 sacks, two interceptions, two forced fumbles, and a fumble recovery in this 31 game career.
During the 2022 season, Damuni was the leading tackler for the Cardinal with 76, which was 25 more than the second place finisher in Jonathan McGill. He also added 3.5 TFL, 1.0 sack, one interception, and two forced fumbles. Damuni was originally a member of Stanford’s class of 2017, but went on a two-year LDS mission in New Zealand.
