Texas Football: Report: Offensive Lineman Enters Transfer Portal

Redshirt junior Denzel Okafor may be leaving the program

Redshirt junior offensive lineman Denzel Okafor may be entering the transfer portal. 

According to a report from 247Sports, the Lewisville, Texas native may be seeking a graduate transfer to another school after spending four years on the Forty Acres. 

Okafor has played in 39 career games with five starts. After contriuting on special teams and in the Longhorns 18-wheeler package as a freshman, he competed for a starting job as a true sophomore, earning four starts and playing in 12 games. 

The coaching staff elected to redshirt Okafor in 2018. He found himself behind Derek Kerstetter on the depth chart in 2019, earning one start against Iowa State and contributing on special teams. 

With the graduation of senior center Zach Shackelford, many expected Kerstetter to move over to right tackle and clear the way for Okafor to battle Christian Jones for starts at right tackle. 

If this report is true it will likely lead to several shifts upfront for Texas going into 2020 with players moving positions to fill out the depth chart as evenly as possible with potentially only two returning starters up front to protect senior quarterback Sam Ehlinger and block for what could be the Longhorns most talented backfield in quite some time (Roschon Johnson, Keaontay Ingram and Bijan Robinson). 

Texas has a large group of young and talented offensive linemen who have been learning in the program but have yet to prove themselves on the field. Now it looks like the future for these players may come sooner rather than later.