Texas Football: Three potential transfers from UCLA Texas football needs to solve a positional need at defensive lineman in the transfer portal as the spring window approaches, and UT may target them.
The UCLA Bruins’ loss of Chip Kelly was the most significant head coaching departure among the Power Five this offseason, and it may have some effect on the Texas football team.
According to ESPN’s Pete Thamel, Kelly was hired by the Ohio State Buckeyes late last week to take Bill O’Brien’s position as offensive coordinator. Kelly previously attended UCLA. Only a few weeks after joining Ryan Day’s staff at Ohio State early in the spring, O’Brien was named head coach of the Boston College Eagles.
Imaginary transfers to UCLA Football in Texas might continue after the Chip Kelly revelation.
Day was hired in the first place in January, but he will no longer be directing plays for Ohio State’s offense. Kelly will now play that position for the Buckeyes, at least going forward.
Kelly was reportedly offered a three-year contract by Ohio State to become their next offensive coordinator.
Some were caught off guard when Kelly decided to leave UCLA in order to accept the position as offensive coordinator at Ohio State. During his six years as UCLA’s head coach, Kelly experienced his fair share of highs and lows. However, his departure from a Power Five head coaching post to become an offensive coordinator at another P5 institution comes with a pay and title drop.
In addition, UCLA has hired their next head coach to take Kelly’s place. DeShaun Foster, the running backs coach at UCLA, was promoted to head coach on February 12.
In comparison to what it would have been with an outside hire, UCLA may be able to reduce any late-cycle roster attrition by promoting from within. However, given what occurs with the Bruins’ coaching staff over the next several months, it’s still possible that UCLA loses some important players to the portal.
The loss of UCLA’s head coach does allow any players still on the roster to access the portal during a 30-day transfer window.
The Longhorns could consider pursuing the following three UCLA transfers in the transfer portal this offseason.
Gary Smith III, N.T.
Defensive tackle is the position the Longhorns are most focused on filling as the spring season approaches. In order to stabilize the interior defensive line rotation heading into the SEC this coming season, Texas needs one or more defensive tackles with proven Power Five experience.
This offseason, Texas lost several important defensive tackles to the NFL Draft and the transfer portal. Byron Murphy II and T’Vondre Sweat, the top two defensive tackles for the Longhorns, both joined the NFL Draft. After Bo Davis left for LSU last month, Texas also lost its top-ranked defensive lineman from the 2024 class, D’antre Robinson, to the portal, along with senior defensive lineman Trill Carter.
Late this month, the Longhorns gained former Arizona junior defensive tackle Tia Savea, a valuable addition at defensive tackle, through the portal under new defensive line coach Kenny Baker. However, Texas will want more than one defensive tackle in order to have a strong IDL rotation in autumn.
If UCLA lost some of its best defensive lineman to the portal in the weeks following Kelly’s departure to Ohio State, the Longhorns might be able to add depth at defensive tackle come springtime.
Redshirt senior Gary Smith III would be a solid option if Texas could choose any UCLA defensive tackle to add to the team early in the offseason. The large 6-foot-2, 320-pound nose tackle at UCLA and Duke has several years of shown experience as a rotational defensive lineman.
Smith was a strong run defender who supported that defensive line on run plays, even though his effectiveness as an interior pass rusher was restricted during his final two seasons at UCLA. For the previous two seasons, Smith was UCLA’s best-graded defensive lineman in terms of run defense. In terms of run defense, he was among the top three interior defensive linemen in the Pacific-12.
Sweat and Murphy, Texas’s two greatest interior run defenders, are leaving the team this offseason. To strengthen the defensive line rotation for the upcoming season, the Longhorns should consider adding a large person who can play zero or one tech and has several years of high level, proven expertise as a P5 run stopper.
When Texas considers a hypothetical pursuit of a DT like Smith, Smith’s injury status is the main area of uncertainty. Smith’s season ended last fall due to a catastrophic injury, and he will need to recover for a considerable amount of time.
Smith may be a good potential portal target this offseason if Texas thought he could recover in time to be ready for the start of the 2024 season and to become accustomed to the defensive scheme in practice.
NT Jay Toia
Rising senior nose tackle Jay Toia is another seasoned interior defensive lineman who is back with the Bruins this season. He has several years of verified experience in the Power Five. For the Bruins, the large and robust 6-foot-3, 325-pound Toia started double-digit games in each of the previous two seasons.
This season, Toia is the most seasoned defensive tackle returning for UCLA.
Toia has been a dependable member of the Bruins’ defensive tackle lineup for the past two seasons. From 2022 to now, he has accumulated more than 50 combined tackles, eight tackles for loss, two sacks, and eight quarterback pressures.
Toia is a powerful defensive tackle with superb hand placement, a strong base, and lots of force. With his strong drive off the line of scrimmage and tremendous motor, he may overwhelm lesser interior offensive linemen.
Texas and Toia do have a history together. Following his transfer from USC in 2021, he played his first season at UCLA under the tutelage of new Texas co-DC/LB coach Johnny Nansen.
During the 2021 season, Toia was a teammate of Savea, a new defensive lineman from Texas who had transferred to UCLA.
When Texas considers a possible pursuit of a defensive tackle like Toia, his consistency is the main concern. Over the past two seasons at UCLA, Toia has shown mixed results as an inside pass rusher and in run defense.
In addition, because of his limited upside in terms of speed and agility at the line of scrimmage, he can occasionally be hesitant to locate the ball carrier and get to his gaps.
Texas would see Toia more as a depth player to support the quantity and caliber of players along the interior defensive line coming into the 2024 campaign.
Keanu Sherman, DT
Rising redshirt junior defensive tackle Keanu Williams is the third and final potential transfer target the Longhorns might target from UCLA, should he walk through the portal following Kelly’s early offseason departure. For the Bruins, the 6-foot-5, 310-pound Williams is more akin to a typical three-tech defensive lineman.
Williams is another West Coast-born defensive tackle from UCLA who had previous connections to Texas staff instructors. Pete Kwiatkowski, the co-DC/LB coach at Texas, made an offer to the high school prospect when UT’s defensive playcaller was the co-DC at Washington.
Before deciding to commit to the Oregon Ducks in the 2021 class, he was also aggressively courted by Nansen and the Bruins during his high school years. Williams spent two seasons at Oregon before joining UCLA over the previous offseason.
Of the three defensive linemen on this list that the Longhorns might theoretically target from UCLA in the offseason, Williams likely has the most upside. Despite being a first-time starter in most of the Bruins’ games during the previous season, he is also the most raw of the three.
Physically speaking, Williams meets many of Texas’s requirements for a three-tech defensive lineman capable of competing in the SEC trenches this coming season. Williams can establish leverage on opposing offensive lineman in the pass rush and maneuver around blockers to get a hand on the ball carrier in run defense because to his large stature and long arms.
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