One of the hardest things to do as we get older is change.
Most of us lock into routines and dare anyone to mess with them. We have our favorite lunch spots. It takes something truly special to convince us to try something new. We have our favorite recliner to watch games. If Matthew McConaughey showed up at your house for a watch party, you would still point him toward that same spot on the sofa. Some folks have a go-to drink after a long day of work or on the weekend, and any attempt to swap it out for a White Claw might result in a Mark Henry-like beatdown. And do not even think about rearranging the aisles at H-E-B and breaking our routines, unless you are ready for Texans to start burning those bright green recycling bags in protest.
Texas football coach Steve Sarkisian arrived in Austin as something of a creature of habit when it came to the transfer portal. It was a new way to improve a roster, but it was not the traditional path most coaches were raised on. Think of it like this: the portal was a brand-new television delivered to Sarkisian’s home, complete with surround sound and every bell and whistle imaginable, while high school recruiting was still the comfort of listening to the game on the radio. At the time, Sarkisian was not alone. He was one of many college coaches who viewed the transfer portal with skepticism, much like your parents when you tried to convince them that upgrading to an iPhone would somehow make their life easier.
Much like those same parents who eventually mastered the iPhone and now use Facebook more than teenagers live on TikTok, Sarkisian has adjusted in real time. Few of us would have imagined him hosting a wave of high-profile transfer portal recruits just a few years ago. Yet here we are, with several elite prospects visiting the Forty Acres this week as Sarkisian makes it clear he is intent on upgrading the 2026 roster through the portal.
Sarkisian’s perspective has shifted so dramatically that it is not hard to envision Texas hosting a transfer portal pool party someday, weather permitting, of course. Junior Day still matters, but a Transfer Portal Day might be even more essential, and increasingly inevitable.
Sarkisian’s evolution with the transfer portal should leave every Longhorn fan confident that Texas is being built to compete for an SEC championship and, ultimately, a national title in 2026.
Now, reel them in, Sarkisian.
“We have a really tough schedule that we are going to have to play next year,” Sarkisian said after his team’s recent bowl victory. “We are going to have to build the depth out for the team next year. Then, we have to build this culture back, because we have a lot of new faces, 20-some-odd high school kids that are going to join these guys. There are going to be some transfers that join these guys. New leaders have to rise up, and then we have to build that culture, winter, spring, summer, fall camp and get ourselves ready to go for another challenging schedule.
“There is no other group I would rather go into that schedule next year with than the group of guys that we have, that is for sure.”
To be clear, Sarkisian has never been against the transfer portal. Sarkisian is not the Texas version of Clemson coach Dabo Swinney. That guy views the transfer portal like a modern-day Sodom and Gomorrah. It is as if Mama Boucher herself told Swinney that the transfer portal is the devil, right along with explaining the Medulla Oblongata: “Mama says that alligators are ornery ’cause they got all them teeth and no toothbrush.”
Sarkisian is the same guy who spent one season juggling Casey Thompson and Hudson Card and decided he was tired of that quarterback circus. When former Ohio State quarterback Quinn Ewers entered the transfer portal, Sarkisian moved mountains to acquire a quarterback who eventually guided this program to a Big 12 Championship, an SEC Championship runner-up finish, and back-to-back College Football Playoff semifinal appearances.
However, Sarkisian previously approached the transfer portal as a coach looking to fulfill a need.
Let’s take a look at Sarkisian’s transfer portal additions since arriving at Texas:
2021
• Keilan Robinson — RB
• Ben Davis — LB
• Devin Richardson — LB
• Ovie Oghoufo — LB
• Ray Thornton — LB
• Darion Dunn — CB
Comment: Sarkisian dipped his toes in the water this season. Oghoufo was a solid player for Texas. Robinson contributed on special teams and was an eventual draft pick. However, this transfer portal class was an experiment.
2022
• Quinn Ewers — QB
• Agyie Hall — WR
• Tarique Milton — WR
• Isaiah Neyor — WR
• Jahleel Billingsley — TE
• Diamonte Tucker-Dorsey — LB
• Ryan Watts — CB
Comment: Quinn Ewers and Ryan Watts. Neyor was on course to become a starter before tearing his ACL in a preseason scrimmage. Texas fulfilled needs in this class, but everyone else was a big bag of “meh.”
2023
• Adonai Mitchell — WR
• Trill Carter — DT
• Gavin Holmes — CB
• Jalen Catalon — S
• Ryan Sanborn — P
Comment: Mitchell had a standout season with 55 receptions, 813 yards, and 11 touchdowns in 14 games. This is arguably the moment when Sarkisian realized he could add true difference-makers in the portal.
2024
• Velton Gardner — RB
• Isaiah Bond — WR
• Matthew Golden — WR
• Silas Bolden — WR
• Amari Niblack — TE
• Jermayne Lole — DT
• Bill Norton — DT
• Tia Savea — DT
• Trey Moore — DE
• Kendrick Blackshire — LB
• Jay’Vion Cole — CB
• Andrew Mukuba — S
Comment: Sarkisian went all in on acquiring difference-makers. The majority of players acquired in this class made an impact at Texas. It was fair to believe this would be a sign of things to come.
2025
• Matthew Caldwell — QB
• Emmett Mosley V — WR
• Jack Endries — TE
• Maraad Watson — DT
• Lavon Johnson — DT
• Hero Kanu — DT
• Cole Brevard — DT
• Travis Shaw — DT
• Brad Spence — LB
• Mason Shipley — K
• Jack Bouwmeester — P
Comment: Texas decided to focus on development entering the 2025 season and rely on the transfer portal to address specific needs. The class was solid, but there probably is not a day one or day two 2026 NFL Draft pick from this group.
To Sarkisian’s credit, he is going all in on the 2026 transfer portal class.
“I think the offensive line is something that we’re going to address in the portal,” Sarkisian recently said. “An interior defensive lineman is something we’ll address in the portal. Potentially a linebacker, potentially something in the secondary, potentially a running back. I mean, there are needs there that we’re going to address.
“But again, do they fit us? Do they fit us physically in the style in which we want to play? Do they fit us culturally, from a character standpoint? And that’s the homework that we need to do to get that done.
“And so, again, the transfer portal is great. Like I said, it fills needs for us. But at the end of the day, when you really look at us year in and year out, the bulk of what we do is in high school recruiting.
“Going into this year, we were one of the younger football teams in the country. We knew that going into the season. We knew there were going to be growing pains. And going into next year, I think we’re going to see the benefits of that.
“We had a lot of young players, first- and second-year players, play for us this year that are going to be a lot better players next year. So we’re going to grow up again, and we’ll become a veteran football team again. You’re just going to have years like this when maybe you’re a little bit younger, and that’s okay.”
The Longhorn staff spent this weekend hosting several key transfer portal prospects. I was told that if 70 percent of those players committed, it would be viewed as a success.
My response?
Hell to the yeah.
I have been waiting for Texas to stop being Mr. Nice Guy and acquire bad *** talent in the transfer portal. Texas has prided itself on shopping at Saks Fifth Avenue while still hunting for deals on the clearance rack. Everyone loves a good deal, but sometimes it pays to grab the outfit you love and justify the price because you look, and feel like a superstar when wearing it.
Please, give me more of this Sarkisian. Say goodbye to average to below-average players with unreasonable NIL demands. Say hello to players who can make an immediate impact for the same price, or slightly higher.
Do high school players matter?
Sure.
But if Texas stops overpaying for guys who may or may not start and instead rewards players who can throat-punch Ohio State, or every team on the SEC schedule, go for it. The goal is to win championships, not friendships.
Sarkisian’s evolution with the transfer portal should leave every Longhorn fan confident that Texas is being built to compete for an SEC championship and, ultimately, a national title in 2026.
Now, reel them in, Sarkisian.
