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At first glance, the list of outgoing Texas football transfers this offseason won’t send many Longhorns fans spiraling into the depths of despair.
Nor should it. Nobody who played more than 115 snaps for the Longhorns last season elected to move on in the winter transfer portal period.
Still, hidden beneath a few layers of nuance, the Longhorns lost some pieces that could have impacted their hopes of putting together a successful 2025 campaign.
Here’s a look at three of them.
TE Amari Niblack (Texas A&M)
The hype didn’t match the production for Amari Niblack last season.
After he caught 20 passes for 327 yards and four touchdowns for Alabama in 2023, Niblack never earned consistent playing time in a Texas jersey. Gunnar Helm handled almost all of the receiving work at tight end for the Longhorns, while Juan Davis occupied a specialist role when coach Steve Sarkisian elected to deploy two-tight-end sets.
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As a result, Niblack’s 2024 stat line looked meager. He caught five passes for 33 yards and did not find the end zone.
Still, it’s difficult to look at the Longhorns’ tight-end situation heading into 2025 and come away thinking Niblack wouldn’t be a useful piece at the very least.
Texas lost both Helm and Davis to graduation, leaving Spencer Shannon as the most experienced tight end on the Longhorns’ roster unless Texas adds one in the spring transfer portal window. Shannon played 58 career snaps.
DT Sydir Mitchell (LSU)
Listen to Sarkisian speak for long enough and you’re bound to hear him talking about “big humans.”
The phrase encapsulates Sarkisian’s recruiting philosophy. He wants to build Texas’ roster using players who possess either exceptional speed or exceptional size.
Listed at 6-foot-6, 369 pounds, Mitchell certainly…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/article/transfer-departures-could-hurt-texas-062021575.html
Author : Austin American-Statesman
Publish date : 2025-02-20 06:20:00
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