Mack Brown Names Breakout Player for the Longhorns This Season originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
The Texas Longhorns have found success using the transfer portal under head coach Steve Sarkisian.
Over the last few seasons, several key players for Texas were acquired via the transfer portal including Quinn Ewers, Adonai Mitchell, Matthew Golden, and Andrew Mukuba among others.
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The Longhorns are hoping to see the same success in 2025 after signing 11 players from the portal. The group is headlined by tight end Jack Endries, several defensive linemen, and two specialists.
Former college football coach Mack Brown has high hopes for one particular transfer that Texas signed this offseason. Brown named former North Carolina defensive lineman Travis Shaw as his breakout player for the Longhorns in 2025 on a recent episode of The Stampede podcast.
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Brown coached Shaw while the two were with the Tar Heels and raved about his potential. “I think Travis will have a breakout year,” Brown said. “He is a great young guy, he’s really smart, I talked to him this spring. He’s excited about what he went through this spring and excited about the opportunity to play.”
As a recruit, Shaw was ranked the No. 5 defensive lineman and No. 1 overall prospect in North Carolina in the 2022 recruiting class, according to 247Sports.
He will likely receive immediate playing time as Texas lost Vernon Broughton and Alfred Collins to the NFL.
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Related: Large Wager Placed on Texas Before 2025 College Football Season
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 28, 2025, where it first appeared.
