Longhorns No Longer Favorites To Add USC Transfer LB Palaie Gaoteote?

Have the Texas Longhorns fallen behind in the chase for USC Transfer linebacker Palaie Gaoteote?

Matt Galatzan | May 12, 2021

Looking to add some depth on both sides of the ball, the Texas Longhorns have been immersed in the NCAA Transfer Portal, hoping to find replacements for their recent losses.

Last week, that search had taken a positive turn, with the Longhorns seemingly the front runners to land talented USC transfer inside linebacker Palaie Gaoteote.

However, that pursuit of Gaoteote may have hit a major roadblock in recent days, when, per a report from Horns247's Mike Roach, the Ohio State Buckeyes became involved in his recruitment.

With the Buckeyes now involved, the Longhorns, per Roach are not only no longer considered the runaway favorites for the linebacker's services, but likely seen as the underdog's in the pursuit behind the defending Big 10 champions.

Gaoteote, who was one of the top linebacker recruits in the country coming out of Bishop Gorman High School (Las Vegas, NV), originally committed to the Trojans in the 2018 recruiting cycle.

The 6-foot-2 250-pound Gaoteote picked USC over a host of impressive programs, including Alabama, Ohio State, Florida, LSU, Michigan, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Ole Miss, Texas A&M, and many more.

Appearing in 17 games over his three seasons with the Trojans, Gaoteote made 105 tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss, and two sacks, but played just two games in the 2020 season due to both an injury and his decision to transfer.

The addition of Gaoteote would give the Longhorns their fifth linebacker transfer since Steve Sarkisian took over the program, after Devin Richardson (New Mexico State), Ovie Oghoufo (Notre Dame), Ben Davis (Alabama), and Ray Thornton (LSU).

Gaoteote would also help to replace the void left by the departed Juwan Mitchell who transferred to the Tennessee Volunteers earlier this month.

However, with the Buckeyes now involved, it seems that Texas may have to loo elsewhere to fill those voids.

CONTINUE READING: Recruiting Tracker: Longhorns Offer Talented DFW Area OT Cameron Williams

What do you think of the addition of Gaoteote? Comment and join in on the discussion below!

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Published May 12, 2021

MATT GALATZAN

Matt Galatzan is the Managing Editor and Publisher of Texas Longhorns On SI and Texas A&M Aggies On SI and a long-time member of the Football Writer’s Association of America. He graduated from the University of Mississippi, where he studied integrated marketing communications, with minors in journalism and business administration. Galatzan started in the sports journalism industry in 2014 covering the Dallas Mavericks and SMU Mustangs with 247Sports. He then moved to Sports Illustrated's Fan Nation network in 2020, eventually being taking over as the Managing Editor and Publisher of the Longhorns and Aggies sites a year later. You can find Galatzan on all major social media channels, including Twitter on @MattGalatzan.