With the departure of Kendrick Blackshire from the program last week, the Longhorns are suddenly a little light in the way of proven depth on the linebacker front.
Considering the program is sitting on 82 scholarships, there's room for the Longhorns to dip into the Portal if they want to go that route, but the talent available in the Portal looks like a garage sale at 1:00 pm in the afternoon after all of the buyers have already come through.
Here's a look at the three best options (that I could find).
1. South Alabama's Khalil Jacobs
With Tennessee's Elijah Herring off the board because of the SEC transfer rule that limits other SEC schools from going after post-January transfers, there seems to be little doubt that the 6-2, 218-pound Jacobs is the best of the bunch. After recording 56 tackles, 8.5 TFLs, three sacks, three forced fumbles and an interception for the Jaguars in 2023, he's picking up interest from SEC teams like Alabama and Auburn, with the former being the home of his old coach (Kane Wommack) who left for the Tide in the off-season. Jacobs is probably good enough to challenge for a starting spot at SAM for the Longhorns, but the Steve Sarkisian and Co. would probably need to get involved in this recruitment pretty quickly if they have any interest at all.
2. Troy/Indiana's Jayden McDonald
The former Troy leading tackler entered the Portal in December and transferred to Indiana, but he re-entered the Portal at the end of April. At 6-1, 232 pounds, McDonald led Troy in tackles last year with 75, while also recording 9.5 tackles for loss. He's a grad transfer with one year of eligibility left and could give the Longhorns some veteran depth behind Anthony Hill, but would that be enough for a guy looking for a place to make a name for himself in front of NFL scouts?
3. Cincinnati's Dorian Jones
The pickings are pretty slim at this point. Jones is a somewhat proven Big 12-level player who recorded 56 tackles and 2.5 tackles for loss a season ago in his only season with the Bearcats. I'm not sure that he's any better than what the Longhorns already have on its second- and third-team portions of the depth chart, but he does bring experience.
Do any of these guys do anything for you? The lesson being learned as we get more years of the Portal under our collective belts is that if you're going to shop for players in the Portal, you probably need to do so before the calendar flips to May.
Considering the program is sitting on 82 scholarships, there's room for the Longhorns to dip into the Portal if they want to go that route, but the talent available in the Portal looks like a garage sale at 1:00 pm in the afternoon after all of the buyers have already come through.
Here's a look at the three best options (that I could find).
1. South Alabama's Khalil Jacobs
With Tennessee's Elijah Herring off the board because of the SEC transfer rule that limits other SEC schools from going after post-January transfers, there seems to be little doubt that the 6-2, 218-pound Jacobs is the best of the bunch. After recording 56 tackles, 8.5 TFLs, three sacks, three forced fumbles and an interception for the Jaguars in 2023, he's picking up interest from SEC teams like Alabama and Auburn, with the former being the home of his old coach (Kane Wommack) who left for the Tide in the off-season. Jacobs is probably good enough to challenge for a starting spot at SAM for the Longhorns, but the Steve Sarkisian and Co. would probably need to get involved in this recruitment pretty quickly if they have any interest at all.
2. Troy/Indiana's Jayden McDonald
The former Troy leading tackler entered the Portal in December and transferred to Indiana, but he re-entered the Portal at the end of April. At 6-1, 232 pounds, McDonald led Troy in tackles last year with 75, while also recording 9.5 tackles for loss. He's a grad transfer with one year of eligibility left and could give the Longhorns some veteran depth behind Anthony Hill, but would that be enough for a guy looking for a place to make a name for himself in front of NFL scouts?
3. Cincinnati's Dorian Jones
The pickings are pretty slim at this point. Jones is a somewhat proven Big 12-level player who recorded 56 tackles and 2.5 tackles for loss a season ago in his only season with the Bearcats. I'm not sure that he's any better than what the Longhorns already have on its second- and third-team portions of the depth chart, but he does bring experience.
Do any of these guys do anything for you? The lesson being learned as we get more years of the Portal under our collective belts is that if you're going to shop for players in the Portal, you probably need to do so before the calendar flips to May.
