Texas Football Transfer Portal Rumors: Longhorns find starting RB

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The portal window rolls on and the Longhorns continue to sit in a precarious position, particularly on the offensive line. There are still eight days to right the ship, but the frustration is starting to set in among the fanbase. Now, good news did come through this morning and hopefully more is on the way over the next 24 hours. 

Let’s jump into a frustrating day yesterday and what could be a great day today:

Raleek Brown – RB Arizona State 

This is the fantastic news that came through this morning. Raleek Brown, a big play waiting to happen at RB, has committed to Texas and solved (some of) the problems for the Longhorns run game. Brown earned first-team All-Big 12 last year, rushing for over 1,100 yards and averaging 6.1 yards/carry. Brown isn’t as fast as Jaydon Blue, but there are similarities in their game. Brown is an elite pass catcher and if you give him a crease at the LOS, he’s out the door for an explosive play. It’s possible Texas still needs to add a “bruiser” to the RB room, but the Longhorns officially have their RB1. 

LB Debacle 

This is where the bad news came in yesterday and early today. Outside of RB and OL, LB is the most important position for Texas to fill in the portal and it just got more important. Yesterday, it was reported Bo Barnes would enter the transfer portal. It seems Will Muschamp is doing everything he can to keep him and hopefully he can because without Barnes, Texas is down to two scholarship LBs. 

The bad news continued into today with top LB target, Christian Alliegro, committing to Ohio State. Alliegro would’ve filled a major hole for the Longhorns at MLB, but he opted to stay in the conference and play for the Buckeyes. Texas has found a new target however, with Cade Uluave, All-ACC LB from Cal, is on campus today. If Texas can lock up a commitment from Uluave and keep Barnes, the LB position will go from disaster to promising very quickly. 

Zion Williams – DT LSU

Moving forward to the players on campus today, Zion Williams has made his way to Austin. The LSU DT did not play much during his freshman year, but Texas was very interested when he was coming out of high school and his size fits the bill for nose tackle. This is one Texas seems to be leading and I would expect a commitment to come soon. Obviously, that doesn’t mean much in the portal era, but it seems Texas is far and away the favorite right now.

Donta Simpson – DT Miami 

Another young DT the Longhorns could be looking to add is Donta Simpson. Simpson played 100+ snaps for Miami this season and showed promise. He will continue to take visits, so this could be a more drawn out recruitment, but Texas seems to be in a solid position here as well. It’s unknown exactly how many guys Texas is looking to add up front, but Simpson would be a low-risk, high-reward addition. 

Wendell Gregory – EDGE Oklahoma State

With the news that Jayden Woods is returning to Florida, the Longhorns have turned their attention to Wendell Gregory. Gregory was the Big 12 Defensive Freshman of the Year in 2025, racking up 12 TFLs and 4 sacks on the season. This would not only be a top-tier pass rusher to put across from Colin Simmons, but would likely play a Trey Moore type role, playing outside LB as well as pure pass rusher. This would make the Texas pass rush as twitchy and dynamic as any in the country heading into 2026, with Colin Simmons, Lance Jackson and Gregory leading the way. 

Tre Richardson – WR Vanderbilt 

Over on the offensive side, Sarkisian is eyeing a speedster WR from Vanderbilt. Tre Richardson is one of the most dynamic playmakers in the country, coming off an 800 yard, 7 TD season for the Commodores. It’s expected he will be on campus this weekend, coming off visits from Georgia, Louisville and Florida looking to get involved as well. Richardson would fit Sarkisian’s system perfectly and I don’t believe this impacts the Longhorns recruitment of Cam Coleman. 

Texas Transfer Departures/Commits 

Jordan Washington expected to enter the portal: This was a rather unsurprising exit, among some surprising ones. Washington was likely buried behind newly added Michael Masunas, Nick Townsend, Spencer Shannon and Emaree Winston. Seems North Carolina is the early team to watch in Washington's recruitment.

This article originally appeared on Longhorns Wire: Texas Transfer Portal Rumors: Longhorns lock up RB1, LB concerns

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