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Kendrick Blackshire to transfer from Texas football, leaving the Horns short at linebacker

thomas jones, austin american-statesman
·2 min read
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Texas linebacker Kendrick Blackshire, who played at Alabama last season before transferring to Texas in January, will leave the Longhorns after four months. He submitted his name into the transfer portal Tuesday.
Texas linebacker Kendrick Blackshire, who played at Alabama last season before transferring to Texas in January, will leave the Longhorns after four months. He submitted his name into the transfer portal Tuesday.

Kendrick Blackshire, Longhorn Nation hardly knew you.

The former Alabama linebacker, who transferred into the Texas program in January, has entered the portal on the final open day for the transfer window.

The 6-foot-2, 261-pound Blackshire, a Duncanville native who spent his first three seasons with the Crimson Tide, had been projected as a rotational player at inside linebacker. He had packed on more than 25 pounds from his listed playing weight at Alabama, and when spring workouts began in March, Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said that Blackshire, along with a few other players, “were a little heavier than we wanted.”

More: After historic NFL draft, can Texas' Steve Sarkisian reload and not rebuild? | Golden

The loss of Blackshire adds to a sudden concern about depth at linebacker. Sophomore star Anthony Hill Jr., last season’s Big 12 defensive freshman of the year, solidified himself this spring as the starting middle linebacker. David Gbenda returns as a fifth-year senior starter, and Mo Blackwell Jr. has proven himself over the past three years.

But with the departures of Blackshire as well as fellow portal entrant S’Maje Burrell, the position could become a portal priority. Sophomore Liona Lefau, redshirt freshman Derion Gullette and true freshman Ty’Anthony Smith are the only other scholarship linebackers on the roster.

More: UPDATED: Texas football transfer portal tracker: Who's left, and who's arrived?

Players had to announce their intentions to enter the portal by the end of Tuesday but can sign with a program any time before the start of the fall semester.

Texas now has 81 scholarship players on its roster, which is four players short of the scholarship limit. The Longhorns seem to be in the market for a cornerback, another defensive tackle and, now, a linebacker. Defensive tackle Damonic Williams, an All-Big 12 player at TCU, visited Texas last week but has several more visits before making a decision.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: LB Kendrick Blackshire to transfer from Texas football,