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Texas has offered 2027 Smithson Valley QB Ty Knutson. Knutson is a familiar name to the board after appearing as a target towards the back end of the fall. He appeared on campus for the Arkansas game in late November and returns today where he received an offer from the Longhorns. As we know, QB offers are very precise from the Texas staff and Knutson appears to be their guy for 2027.

Portaltails & Dreams This is the new portal thread for the OTF community. Every time a portal thread goes over 75k views, I'll start a new one.

MODS only transfer portal thread Per you guys request, we are starting a mods only transfer portal update thread.

Latest on Ole Miss LB/EDGE transfer Princewill Umanmielen OnTexasFootball can report there is definite interest in the former Manor High star. Like anything else in the portal, it will come down the NIL demands/ask and if it is a fit. Umanmielen posted 45 tackles and 9 sacks in 2025 for the Rebels.

Two stops today for Muschamp - that I know of now. Both include 2027 five-star defensive prospects. *** First is Orange Lutheran (Calif.) defensive lineman Marcus Fakatou who was on campus for the Arkansas game in late November. Fakatou is listed as the No. 2 defensive lineman in the country per the composite rankings. Kenny Baker has been working on this one. And Honor Fa'alave Johnson out of San Diego, California (Cathedral Catholic) who is currently ranked as the No. 1 safety in the country and a top-20 player per the composite. *** Two big time targets out of California. Muschamp is hunting.

A couple of returners *** Texas safety Xavier Filsaime has announced he is back for 2026 with the Texas Longhorns. *** Additionally, a source tells me Michael Terry III is back with the Horns officially in 2026 as well. As y'all know, Terry received a lot of praise towards the backend of the season from team sources following his transition to running back.

This is why this is a dangerous new era for a college football program Was looking at NFL Draft picks since Steve Sarkisian got to Austin. There have been 28 players selected in the NFL Draft since 2023. There are two categories I'm putting guys into in the current era or forget development, and it's portal os bust. The two categories are: Wouldn't likely have been signed out of high school, and wouldn't likely have been retained to fully develop Wouldn't likely have been signed out of high school ... Byron Murphy - no chance Texas would have signed him out of HS Jahdae Barron - very little chance to no chance Texas would have signed him out of HS. T'Vonde Sweat - not likely signed out of HS. Christian Jones - zero chance signed out of HS. Jaylan Ford - not very likely signed out of HS. Gunnar Helm - 50/50 would have been signed out of HS. Barryn Sorrell - not very likely signed out of HS. Wouldn't likely have been retained to fully develop ... Vernon Broughton - not likely retained Moro Ojomo - not likely retained Jonathon Brooks - possibly not retained. Jaydon Blue - not likely retained. Alfred Collins - 50/50 at best if retained early in career. DeMarvion Overshown - 50/50 if retained early in career. Jordan Whittington - 50/50 at best if he would have been retained after first two years.

Portal Palace This is the new portal thread for the OTF community. Every time a portal thread goes over 100k views, I'll start a new one. Special exception with the banger of a day for the Horns.

Bear with me — as I type this out of my phone instead of laptop — but I have some thoughts on the offensive line. Of course, this comes on the heels of freshman Nick Brooks entering the portal Tuesday afternoon. Brooks becomes the fifth Longhorn offensive lineman to enter the portal in the 2026 portal window, joining Daniel Cruz, Connor Stroh, Nate Kibble and Neto Umeozulu. I tweeted this and mentioned it in the Portal Palace thread, but in the offseasons of 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025, Texas had just seven departures out of the offensive line room to the portal. So all of this really comes as new ground for the Texas program. It’s just something that has not been experienced so far and as Texas continues its path down the roster cutting circuit, it makes sense to see this room start to lose some pieces. After all, offensive linemen are relatively expensive. But here is my point here — if the NFL parallels we have seen take place with the Texas roster continue in the offensive line room, it is more than realistic to expect the Longhorns to carry 10-12 offensive linemen in a given season. With where things sit currently, Texas has 12 offensive linemen on roster when you include Sikorski and the 2 early enrollees + Nicolas Robertson. In a given season, all you really need is eight. Both Sarkisian and Flood have mentioned that as the goal to find the top eight in spring and fall camp. While part of that is coach speak, the numbers back it up. *** 2022 • 7 offensive linemen played 100+ snaps 877 - Christian Jones 860 - Jake Majors 858 - Kelvin Banks 850 - Hayden Conner 781 - Cole Hutson 162 - Andrej Karic 129 - DJ Campbell 2023 • 8 played over 100 snaps, only 5 with 150+ 985 - Kelvin Banks 982 - Hayden Conner 908 - Jake Majors 907 - Christian Jones 868 - DJ Campbell 144 - Cole Hutson 126 - Cam Williams 124 - Connor Robertson 2024 • Depth was tested a bit more, with 7 playing over 300 snaps. No on else saw more than 81. 1067 - Hayden Conner 1042 - Jake Majors 975 - Cameron Williams 935 - Kelvin Banks 809 - DJ Campbell 389 - Cole Hutson 319 - Trevor Goosby 2025 • Even with as rocky this offensive line season was, only seven players saw more than 100 snaps. 873 - Brandon Baker 847 - Trevor Goosby 831 - DJ Campbell 645 - Cole Hutson 557 - Connor Robertson 310 - Connor Stroh 221 - Nick Brooks *** All of this to prove the point of this — We are seeing Texas concisely construct a roster with as few fish as necessary. But making sure those fish are the biggest in the pond. I bet Texas carries 10-12 offensive linemen from here on out, with the top 7, maybe top 8, being Ready for Play type of guys. Trevor Goosby, Connor Robertson, Brandon Baker, Dylan Sikorski. There are four of the 7-8. Add in an older Cojoe + Chatman as serviceable options as well. Now, who else joins the pond, and how big of fish are they? Thats the vision on my end.

Without attaching names to the class, i thought this would be a good way to highlight how Texas has constructed its 2026 portal class so far. This has been my favorite way to view the class, personally *** • 1st Team All-ACC running back • 1st Team All-Big 12 running back • No. 1 wide receiver in the portal • 1st Team All-ACC linebacker • All-B1G Honorable Mention cornerback • No. 4 ranked receiving TE per PFF grades in 2025 (86.4 grade) • Redshirt freshman OG with 440+ snaps • Third year contributor at LB with 730+ snaps • 380-pound nose tackle with 680+ career snaps • 360-pound nose tackle with four years of eligibility remaining • Plus, veterans at every specialist position already knocked out.

There are two ways Cam Coleman should positively impact the Texas offense when the former Auburn wide receiver, who committed to Steve Sarkisian's program on Sunday, takes the field in 2026. The first way is Coleman's contested catch ability down the field. According to Pro Football Focus, Coleman faced 11 contested targets on passes thrown to him 20 yards or more down the field as a sophomore. Coleman caught nine of them, contributing almost exclusively to the 10 receptions for 323 yards and three touchdowns he recorded on deep balls. For context, Coleman’s production on contested deep balls in 2025 was better than Lil’Jordan Humphrey's (seven receptions on 11 targets) or Colin Johnson's (six receptions on 10 targets) in 2018. Coleman was also better than what the offense got from Matthew Golden (seven receptions on 10 targets) in those situations in 2023. Given Arch Manning’s prowess throwing the ball down the field (26 for 65 for 934 yards with 13 touchdowns, three interceptions and a PFF grade of 91.5 on pass attempts of 20 yards or more beyond the line of scrimmage) without a receiver with Coleman’s ability to win 50/50 balls, the 2026 offense could feature the best downfield passing attack of the Sarkisian era. The second is Coleman’s ability to win against man coverage. Coleman’s PFF grade of 79.1 against man coverage (14 receptions for 163 yards and two touchdowns on 18 targets) was better than any Texas wideout posted in 2025 (Kaliq Lockett’s grade of 76.7 came on just five targets, making Parker Livingstone’s grade of 70.1 the closest to Coleman among the receivers who were regulars in the rotation). The only Longhorn wide receiver with a better single-season grade against man coverage under Sarkisian is Xavier Worthy’s 82.3, which he earned as a freshman in 2021, when he caught 14 balls for 319 yards and four touchdowns on 21 targets against man coverage. When Coleman hits the field for his first practice, he’ll immediately become the best wideout Sarkisian has had at Texas on 50/50 balls and arguably the best he’s had at being able to win against man coverage. What the Longhorns lost with the departures of Livingstone (a threat down the field) and DeAndre Moore Jr. (arguably the best wideout in Chris Jackson's room working against man coverage when healthy) has been replaced with one player (one with the potential to be selected in the top half of the first round of the NFL draft). Two areas that have been hit or miss for the Texas passing attack under Sarkisian should be remedied upon Coleman’s arrival to the extent that they become strengths for the Longhorns in what should be Manning's last season at the controls. View full news story

Portal of Possibilities This is the new portal thread for the OTF community. Every time a portal thread goes over 100k views, I'll start a new one.

Portalfront Property in Arizona This is the new portal thread for the OTF community. Every time a portal thread goes over 100k views, I'll start a new one.

Jeff Banks is out on the trail tonight. Banks is out seeing Libertyville (Ill.) High TE Brock Williams. Williams visited Texas in November For the game against Arkansas. Texas has a tight end in the class with JT Geraci, but Williams has remained a priority.

Both Pitt linebacker Rasheem Biles and NC State running back Hollywood Smothers have arrived on campus Saturday morning for their visits.

Pitt transfer linebacker Rasheem Biles The All-ACC linebacker is scheduled to visit Texas Saturday and Sunday per a source on the forty acres. The 6-foot-1, 220-pounder totaled 100 tackles, 4.5 sacks and 2 INT's in 2025 Of course anything portal related, it's subject to a rug pull or change.

Yes, the portal is hogging all of the headlines this weekend, but that hasn’t stopped Texas coaches from hitting the road to see 2027 prospects. — Earlier In the week, TE Coach Jeff Banks made the trip up to Illinois to visit 2027 Libertyville (Ill.) tight end Brocks Williams. Williams had visited Austin in late November for the Arkansas game. He is considered the No. 2 TE in the class of 2027 by the consensus rankings. — Additionally, WR coach Chris Jackson is fresh off of a contract extension and made the quick trip up to DFW on Thursday. Jackson stopped by Duncanville to see 2027 WR Trenton Yancy. Yancy told OTF last week at the Under Armour All American game he is eyeing the January 17th Junior Day as his next trip to Austin. — Texas corners coach Mark Orphey was also in DFW. He stopped in Garland to see Centennial CB Montre Jackson, who he extended an offer to on January 2nd. — EDGE coach LaAllen Clark was another Texas coach to make a trip to DFW. — Additionally, 2027 linebacker Ba’Roc Willis tells OTF he has been in contact with the Texas staff about a potential visit to Austin in the future Willis is a top-300 player in the 2027 rankings at the moment. He’s listed at 6–3, 220 out of Moody, Alabama. — The No. 1 corner in Texas, and likely the country, John Meredith III also transferred to North Crowley High school from Euless Trinity. North Crowley of course was the home of John Turntine III and Jonathan Cunningham. North Crowley will also have roughly 7-8 D1 kids in its secondary alone for 2027. Meredith joins Jerry Outhouse, Braylon Cunningham (2028) and Elijajuan Houston (2027) in the secondary. All with major D1 interest.

Christian Alliegro update Wisconsin transfer LB Christian Alliegro has not made a decision as of around 6pm tonight. He's said to still be "thinking about it". The 6-foot-4, 245-pounder made visits to Texas and Ohio State Monday-Tuesday.

Key note Not portal related. Someone else is considering returning/staying. We shall see what happens.

OTF fully expects him to return to Florida.

Oklahoma State EDGE transfer Wendell Gregory OnTexasFootball can report Texas is planning to bring in Oklahoma State EDGE transfer Wendell Gregory. OTF can also relay … his NIL price is way up there. The 6-3, 255 pound redshirt freshman totaled 27 tackles and 4 sacks in 2025. Gregory will have three years left to play at his next destination.

OTF believes Texas will get Cal LB transfer Cade Uluave on campus Thursday or Friday. The 6-foot-1, 235 pounder recorded 97 tackles and 3 sacks in 2025. Uluave went into the transfer portal with a “no contact” tag.

Size + Production of Sarkisian's Running Backs at Texas *** For those of y'all that are relatively new here, welcome in. Follow me down this journey that I like calling a rabbit hole of particular statistics or trends or just interesting tidbits that are relevant throughout the course of a season. Today's rabbit hole is an interesting one. –– Given the news that Texas is set to host Arizona State running back Raleek Brown (5'9" and 195) for a visit on Wednesday, and that the staff remains somewhat interested in former LSU running back Caden Durham (5'9" and 205), it got me thinking quite a bit. Does size actually matter... to play running back in Sarkisian's offense? Texas has been on the lighter end of the running back scale for each of the last two seasons, and given the current running back room, plus the current prospects, is it even a priority for the staff to find what you would consider to be a larger running back? Well, I went through 24 different running backs who have accumulated 10 or more rushing attempts in a single season since Sark arrived in Austin. Here is what I ended up finding out. *** RB By Weight Since 2021 220+ ... 3 210–219: 6 200–209: 7 Under 200: 8 Those three backs over 220 included 2025 CJ Baxter at 227 pounds and both Roschon Johnson and Bijan Robinson at 222 pounds in 2022. The eight backs under 200 range all the way down to 183 pounds with Keilan Robinson in 2021 when he received 45 rush attempts. *** Best Yards After Contact Seasons There have been six running back seasons ending with a yards per rush after contact average north of 4.00 yards and only one eclipsing the 5.0 mark. 5.07 – Brooks in 2022 4.76 – Brooks in 2021 4.28 – R. Johnson in 2022 4.22 – Colin Page in 2024 4.17 – B. Robinson in 2022 4.06 – R. Johnson in 2021 Three of the four heaviest running back seasons are included above – Roschon and Bijan in 2022 and Roschon again in 2021. Brooks was running right at 200 pounds (199 and 202) in both seasons listed above. Page was listed at 210. *** Best Seasons The best seasons from a Texas running back have included both of Bijan's 2021 and 2022 seasons where he totaled over 2600 rushing yards and won a Doak Walker Award. And Jonathon Brooks' 2023 season right before his injury. Brooks' ACL injury sidelined what could have been a back to back stretch of Doak's returning to the 40 Acres. Brooks was listed at 207 on the Texas roster in 2023. *** Notable Findings • Of the best 11 yards per rush averages a Texas running back has had under Sarkisian, all occurred between 2021 and 2023. • Only five running back seasons resulted in a yards per rush after contact rate under 2.50 yards. 2.41 – CJ Baxter in 2025 2.25 – Jerrick Gibson in 2025 2.24 – Keilan Robinson in 2022 2.18 – Christian Clark in 2025 1.75 – Jaydon Blue in 2022 • The 2025 running back room had the 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th worst yards per average marks of all Texas running backs under Sarkisian. • Eight Texas running backs have broken 30 tackles or more in a single season. Every back had an average yards gained after contact of 3.85 or higher except for two seasons – Tre Wisner (3.25) in 2025 and Wisner again (3.08) in 2024. Of those eight running backs, only Wisner and Jaydon Blue weighed under 207 pounds. *** There really was not a sure-fire conclusion here. If there was a takeaway, it's this: Good running backs matter. Size, not so much. Whether it is with elite traits, like speed or contact balance, the best Texas running back seasons under Steve Sarkisian have come with backs taken very early in the NFL Draft. Additionally, the offensive line production up front matters too. But above all, the talent at running back matters. The Longhorn running back room in 2024 and 2025 was a shell of itself from 2021 through 2023. I will explain the biggest takeaway in the comments.

OTF has been wondering who the No. 1 LB target is, well Christian Alliegro, Avon (Ct.) Old Farms/Wisconsin is that guy that's been on top of the board (along with one other). He's expected to visit this week. I'm a big fan of his talent. Wisconsin highlights from this season ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6xZMJL8oOhw