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Posted
2 minutes ago, HenryJames said:

Played 463 snaps for Arkansas this year and started every game.

Sure, but he only made it two seconds into those 463 snaps before he was too tired to continue. 

Posted (edited)

Monday Portal Mash Up | December 22nd

Latest on the Portal Entrances and Rumors

***

The news of DeAndre Moore's departure should not come as a surprise for anyone who has been following OTF for the last month. Though, the destination likely comes as a new twist. Moore was originally expected to enter the NFL Draft.

From an outsiders' view, the loss of DeAndre Moore is significant. 

However, this was a move that had been building up more and more in the past. You can revisit a post I made on OTF from December 9th that alluded to Moore departing. So in reality, this announcement did not catch anyone off guard inside of Moncrief.

But there is something else I wanted to mention in regards to the news of Moore's departure.

The Longhorns sit currently at 12 portal announcements. Following the 2024 season, Texas saw a total of 13 players enter the portal. The only one to record a career start was the kicker, Bert Auburn. I still expect this number to rise to the high teens with 20 portal departures still on the table.

Looking back, Texas did not lose anyone a year ago who contributed on a week to week basis.

That is not the case this season.

Already, five players who have entered the portal from Texas' 2025 roster have started a game in their career. In fact, there were a combined 54 starts among those five players.

Their departures are obviously is two-fold.

The Bad: Leadership voids created.

For a guy like DeAndre Moore, he was a lead-by-example guy. Moore came in every day with the idea to be the first on the field for practice and to win his job by hard work and attention to detail. He did exactly that. 

Liona Lefau, much of the same. Lefau was a quieter guy by nature, but on the field he was as sturdy a player you could find.

And of course, CJ Baxter. Very high character prospect who, even when injured, was a significant contributor to the locker room and culture behind the scenes.

The Good: Texas is going all in.

We have said it time and time again, but for folks still not fully on the train here, in no other portal offseason had we seen Texas willingly let a guy like DeAndre Moore or Liona Lefau depart. Shoot, a CJ Baxter would have been retained.

If Texas is comfortable in allowing guys with starting level experience walk out the door, that means they are equipped and prepared to replace when the portal opens.

***

What hasn't and won't change is this: Texas is set to be as aggressive as they have ever been in the portal this winter.

Nationwide, there are plenty of large, all-conference level players who have yet to announce their intention to enter the portal. There are some former five-star names that will enter who would certainly move the needle for Texas.  

Some of those five-stars were on campus in high school while being recruited by Texas. Does that mean they will have a Longhorn logo on their helmet, no. But this is to point out more movement is obviously expected.

The portal opens officially in 11 days.

The Citrus Bowl kicks off in 9 days.

Expect plenty of movement in the time leading up and immediately following both. Without tipping my hand too much, my expectation is Texas will be replacing previously starter-level players with all-conference-level players out of the portal.

Again. All-in for 2026.

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Edited by MuellerHorn
  • Hook 'Em 1
Posted
28 minutes ago, MuellerHorn said:

For a guy like DeAndre Moore, he was a lead-by-example guy. Moore came in every day with the idea to be the first on the field for practice and to win his job by hard work and attention to detail. He did exactly that. 

 


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