Texas flipped its portal fortunes, landing elite playmakers like Cam Coleman and bolstering defense with game-changers.
If you were a Texas fan when the transfer portal opened last week, you probably went through the five stages of grief before your morning coffee.
Two dozen departures, a couple of early whiffs on targets, and the usual social media doom scroll had folks acting like the roster had been shipped to Antarctica.
Then the weekend hit, Texas started stacking commits, and suddenly everyone remembered the portal works both ways.
According to 247Sports, the Longhorns now sit with the No. 1 transfer portal class in the country.
The headline grabber is Auburn wide receiver Cam Coleman, one of the biggest names to hit the portal and a player Texas had to fight for. The Horns beat out Alabama, Texas Tech, and Texas A&M to land the former five-star.
Coleman has been Auburn’s primary playmaker for two seasons, totaling 93 catches for 1,306 yards and 13 touchdowns. He’s also lived in that sweet spot Texas fans love ... explosive production without needing 15 targets a game to do damage.
Then Texas hit the running back reset button like someone finally found it under the couch cushions.
Hollywood Smothers flipped from Alabama to Texas after only six days committed, which might be the shortest engagement in portal history. He’s the No. 2 RB in the portal, and when you pair him with Arizona State transfer Raleek Brown - ranked No. 4 at the position - you’re talking about immediate juice for a running game that, bluntly, needed resuscitation in 2025.
Defensively, Texas addressed linebackers like it was a fire drill.
Pitt standout Rasheem Biles, the No. 1 linebacker in the portal per On3, looks like a plug-and-play starter for new defensive coordinator Will Muschamp. Biles posted 101 tackles, 17 tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks, and scored three defensive touchdowns.
Florida State linebacker Justin Cryer adds depth and starting experience after eight starts and 43 tackles, plus real backfield disruption.
Up front, LSU defensive lineman Zion Williams arrives as a high-upside former four-star out of Lufkin, and Arkansas transfer Ian Geffrard brings the kind of nose tackle value that doesn’t always show up on a box score but absolutely shows up when opponents can’t run inside.
Portal wins aren’t about collecting stars; they’re about fixing problems. Texas did that in one weekend, and the panic posts are already in witness protection.