OTF Premium Belief in Support Staff Guiding Longhorns with Portal Additions (Wednesday PM)

[CJ Vogel]

Texas is up to nine portal additions since the conclusion of the 2024 college football season with a majority of those imports coming from a cozy path to a starting gig at their previous schools.

• Utah P Jack Bouwmeester
• Arkansas LB Brad Spence
• Purdue DL Cole Brevard
• North Carolina DL Travis Shaw
• Ohio State DL Hero Kanu
• Stanford WR Emmett Mosley V
• Cal TE Jack Endries
• Maryland DL Lavon Johnson
• Syracuse DL Maraad Watson

We have consistently seen the Longhorns target, attract and acquire game-changing talent via the portal since the evolution of the world of NIL and the transfer portal. This year remains no different.

There has been a bit of a wrinkle with this year's portal additions than in previous cycles – a firmer approach to finding multi-year contributors. WR Emmett Mosley V and DL Maraad Watson were both true freshman last fall, while guys like TE Jack Endries, DL Lavon Johnson and LB Brad Spence each have the ability to be multi-year guys. All five are projected to be starting-level players for the Longhorns are key positions this upcoming fall.

Texas wanted to do just this last year with Matthew Golden, though the incredible ascent on the field resulted in that plan falling just a bit short. However, I think the Texas staff is more than pleased with how it ultimately worked.

Still, Steve Sarkisian spoke about the efforts of General Manager Brandon Harris and the Texas player personnel staff have done in the portal. Identifying, inquiring once in the portal and executing visits efficiently have left Texas in a prime position to once again end a season in the conversation as the country's top team.

"Brandon (Harris) – you know when we came on here four and a half years ago, was really in kind of a grunt role," Sarkisian told reporters Tuesday morning. "His name wasn't in the news. His role wouldn't make him a whole lot of money. And over time, like most people in our organization, you earn trust, right? And you earn trust by doing your job really well. In his time here, he's kind of grown in the organization with more and more responsibilities. I've got a lot of faith in Brandon that he's going to execute his job really well."

On January 19, 2025, it was revealed that Harris signed a contract extension with the Texas Football program with the title of General Manager. The extension of Harris allows for the oversight of the Texas program to remain clear when it comes to personnel decisions and roster construction.

All in all, the move is something Sarkisian believes in.

"I love building our roster, something that I take a lot of pride in," Sarkisian said. "I think Brandon and I are aligned really well on the vision for what we want our roster to look like, and numbers in certain position and body types and character and all those things."

Beyond the efforts of Harris, Sarkisian also singled out John Michael Jones, the Longhorns Director of Player Personnel, as someone who has grown in his role over the years to help assemble a roster that will compete at a national level.

"And so I trust those guys to assemble things to put in front of me that we can make really good decisions on on the people we bring into our program, whether they're high school, whether they're college transfer portal guys," Sarkisian said.

We have talked about the continuity on the field with the core pillars of coordinators Pete Kwiatkowski, Jeff Banks and Kyle Flood remaining in place, as well as Director of Football Performance Torre Becton. But off the field, the continuation of work with Brandon Harris, JM Jones and key pieces in the backend have helped the Longhorns remain aligned in the roster construction aspect of the game.

From balancing specific position groups to projecting scholarship numbers in each room and of course now the check books, the Texas staff is continuing to approach college football's free agency period with an aggressive, yet precise approach that has overall been a resounding net positive.

"You know, whether it's how we how we execute our our publicity rights and sharing that with our players, and balancing our roster and balancing our books, because that's all part of what we do now," Sarkisian said. "The brand is very bright."

 

[qaertyisthatdude]

Maraad Watson aside, I think Texas State PK Mason Shipley is my favorite portal addition for Texas this offseason.  His range and accuracy could come in handy in those tough away environments at the Shoe, Swamp, and Between the Hedges.

[CJ Vogel]

2 minutes ago, qaertyisthatdude said:

Maraad Watson aside, I think Texas State PK Mason Shipley is my favorite portal addition for Texas this offseason.  His range and accuracy could come in handy in those tough away environments at the Shoe, Swamp, and Between the Hedges.

Kickers aren't perfect and it's a given misses will occur at some point next season.

With that said, just knowing that there is now no question about the strength of the leg at kicker is huge for me. Shipley's career long of 60 yards is significant. No more wondering if "you have enough leg" when crossing the opponent's 40-yard line.

[GetHooked]

5 minutes ago, CJ Vogel said:

Kickers aren't perfect and it's a given misses will occur at some point next season.

With that said, just knowing that there is now no question about the strength of the leg at kicker is huge for me. Shipley's career long of 60 yards is significant. No more wondering if "you have enough leg" when crossing the opponent's 40-yard line.

Never kicked.  I wonder if it's harder to concentrate with 100,000 people in the stands.  

[CJ Vogel]

Just now, GetHooked said:

Never kicked.  I wonder if it's harder to concentrate with 100,000 people in the stands.  

I would imagine almost anything is tougher with 100,000 in the stands lol

Speaking, running, kicking, shooting, etc. Lots of eye balls and pressure there.

[Shane]

26 minutes ago, GetHooked said:

Never kicked.  I wonder if it's harder to concentrate with 100,000 people in the stands.  

My friend in high school was the kicker. I found out real quick that is not as easy as it looks to be. I’d imagine 100k in the stands would amplify how tough it can be. Plenty of nerves I’m sure 

[Ace Recruiter]

I'm sure Sark wants to win it all every year, but I get a feeling this year is different. He must feel this is the year. Leaving no stone unturned. 

[Hashtag]

17 hours ago, CJ Vogel said:

I would imagine almost anything is tougher with 100,000 in the stands lol

Speaking, running, kicking, shooting, etc. Lots of eye balls and pressure there.

I have no problem getting hammered with 100,000 people in the stands. The aftermath of seeing my bank account the next day is the issue.