Texas’s Austin Soon after the December opening of the NCAA transfer window, Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian was faced
with an urgent issue.
And he was about to return three scholarship wide receivers, so it wasn’t just about figuring out how to upset the Washington Huskies
in the Sugar Bowl as the Longhorns made their program’s first-ever participation in the College Football Playoffs.
Replicas Standouts Xavier Worthy and AD Mitchell were almost certain to enter the NFL Draft a year early, and Isaiah Neyor and
Casey Cain had just logged onto the NCAA transfer portal. Jordan Whittington, a senior in his fifth year, was set to run out of
eligibility.
The wide receivers who were returning, all 2023 signees, also lacked experience; Johntay Cook played in all 14
With rumors growing that quarterback Quinn Ewers might return to the Forty Acres for a third season, the topic of who Ewers would
throw to in the SEC began to surface.
Texas was linked to Purdue transfer Deion Burks and South Carolina transfer Juice Wells early in the transfer window, but in the end,
coaching changes determined how the Longhorns reconstructed the wide receiver room through the portal.
Houston let go of Dana Holgorsen shortly before Thanksgiving. The fact that outstanding wide receiver Matthew Golden of the
Cougars was scheduled to enroll surfaced a few days after the portal opened, making him an apparent target for the Longhorns
program.
Texas made an offer to the former Klein Cain star late in the 2022 season after he broke his commitment to TCU, but
A year after retaining Coleman’s services from the previous staff, Sarkisian fired Houston Longhorns wide receivers coach Andre
Coleman due to a tardy evaluation.
Golden, a receiver with the top-end speed to threaten a defense over the top and the dynamic ability to feature on run-pass options
and the screen game after the catch, quickly became the clear top target for the Longhorns, giving him the chance to make up for the
recruiting error.
Golden committed on an official visit to the Forty Acres a few days after logging onto the portal. He brought two years of eligibility and
career totals of 76 receptions for 988 yards and 13 touchdowns with him.
Isaiah Bond, an excellent slot receiver, was recruited by Texas thanks to fallout from Nick Saban’s retirement at Alabama. Bond’s
recruitment process was similar to Golden’s once he entered the portal: the Longhorns were an apparent destination, buzz was
generated, and the Georgia product committed during his visit.
After making his promise to Texas, Bond told ESPN, “Just like in the business world, you make the best decision for your company.”
Right now, my draft stock is my company. I believe I’m positioning myself to have better draft stock and raise that.
Similar to Golden, the coaches had already established a rapport with Bond when Texas selected the No. 52 prospect in the country in
the 2022 high school class.
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