Steve Sarkisian Raves About Overlooked Transfer On Defense

Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian spoke highly of one of Texas' more overlooked transfers.

The Texas secondary is made up of a few players that have transferred in with Ohio State corner Ryan Watts locking down one side and Arkansas safety Jalen Catalon anchoring the back.

However, those two aren't the only members of the secondary who have transferred in and had an impact, as lost in the noise by flashy names like Georgia wide receiver transfer AD Mitchell or Catalon's addition, the Longhorns brought in a veteran transfer by the name of Gavin Holmes. 

The Wake Forest transfer played in 28 games and started 14 for the Demon Deacons before transferring to Texas, and when head coach Steve Sarkisian was asked about him on Thursday, he lit up.

"I think Gavin has played well you know?" said Sarkisian. "We talk a lot about a lot of the other guys it feels like, and Gavin has flown under the radar a little bit but he's a very steady player, he's got great coverage skills. He is very natural, especially when he can play off coverage, that's something that he did at his previous spot and so he's very comfortable doing that even when he's in kind of man principles, and he's got elite speed..."

Steve Sarkisian looks on ahead of Texas' game with Alabama  / © Scott Wachter-USA TODAY Sports

While names like Watts, five-star Malik Muhammad, and Terrance Brooks have been more commonly discussed in Austin, Holmes has the second-highest grade on the team in terms of overall performance and coverage according to PFF. The only player with higher grades is Muhammad, who has played 17 fewer snaps than Holmes. 

This much depth at the corner position is something that Texas has been lacking in years past, but now they have an embarrassment of riches, which is another key reason that the Longhorns rank within the top 25 in total defense and are contenders.