After each spending four years on the Forty Acres, safeties Jerrin Thompson and Kitan Crawford announced their departure for the NCAA transfer portal on Friday, according to multiple reports. The two both have a year of eligibility left due to the COVID-19 pandemic and will look to utilize the portal to have a more productive season next year.
The Texas secondary will be missing a core player with Thompson’s absence, as he made 38 tackles, broke seven passes and caught three interceptions this season, including one for a touchdown. Head coach Steve Sarkisian mentioned Thompson as one of the players who bought into his plan from the start and have watched it come to fruition.
“I just felt like to be authentic early on was important,” Sarkisian said. “Fast forward now three years later, those guys that are still on our team today that were here three years ago all of those guys were critical: Jordan Whittington, T’Vondre Sweat, Byron Murphy, Xavier (Worthy), Jerrin Thompson, Jahdae Barron.”
Crawford recently had his breakout season in 2022, only having five tackles to his name the year prior and ending his third year with a career-high of 25 tackles after making the switch from cornerback to safety. The Texas native continued to produce this season, acquiring 24 tackles and his first career interception during the Big 12 Championship game versus Oklahoma State.
Another notable player entering the portal is senior defensive tackle DeAngelo Carter, also known as Trill, who only played for Texas for one season. Transferring from Minnesota in 2023, Carter had nine tackles, one and a half tackles for loss and one sack during his time as a Longhorn. Although shadowed by the efforts of Byron Murphy and T’Vondre Sweat, Carter was expected to be next in line for a starting position, but he will now also be capitalizing on his one year of eligibility left using the portal.
With countless key players leaving Texas behind, the safety room will be abundant with fresh faces come 2024. The Longhorns have already seen multiple defensive backs make their decision for departure, including Jalen Catalon, Larry Turner-Gooden, BJ Allen and X’Avion Brice, leaving big shoes for Sarkisian to fill with recruits.
However, the Texas defense has already found commits through the portal, including Clemson transfer and safety Andrew Mukuba. Sarkisian’s recruitment tour also brought in former Florida commit and No. 2 ranked safety recruit in the nation, Xavier Filsaime. The McKinney product wants to be on a team of athletes “who want to win,” he said to Mike Roach of 247Sports.
