Longhorns Hosting UTEP Transfer Ze'Rik Onyema for Visit

Ze'Rik Onyema played for Texas Longhorns coach Rodney Terry during his final year as head man of the UTEP Miners during the 2020-21 season.

AUSTIN -- Texas Longhorns coach Rodney Terry is still searching for that first commitment from the transfer portal this offseason. Maybe a familiar face could be the solution.

The Longhorns are targeting UTEP Miners transfer forward Ze'Rik Onyema, and the interest appears to be mutual. Onyema is set to visit Austin soon for an official visit, per The Portal Report. A date has not been revealed as of now.

Onyema is also set to make visits to Vanderbilt, Texas Tech and Ole Miss.

Onyema played for Terry during RT's final year as head coach at UTEP during the 2020-21 season. A native of El Paso, Onyema was apart of Terry's 2020 recruiting class for the Miners.

This past season, he averaged 7.1 points, 4.4 rebounds and shot 55.4 percent from the field in 31 starts. The Longhorns played UTEP in the season opener, coming out with a hard-fought 72-57 win at the Moody Center. But Onyema was a major reason the game was a bit closer than expected, as he led the Miners with a team-high 10 points to go along with four rebounds off the bench. This marked the only time he didn't start all season for coach Joe Golding.

"His story is unique," Golding said, per the El Paso Times. "I wasn’t here his first year with Rodney, but I think it was a tough year for him as far as his growth and his development. We got him in the spring (of 2021), we went to work with him and you saw some flashes last year of him doing some good things, especially later in the year."

The Longhorns will be hoping that Onyema's familiarity with Terry helps put Texas in front of a race that appears competitive as of now.

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You can follow Zach Dimmitt on Twitter at @ZachDimmitt7

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