In a major development for the Texas Longhorns, news broke on Friday morning that junior running back Quintrevion Wisner intends to enter the NCAA transfer portal.
Wisner’s plan to depart the Forty Acres for his final season of eligibility marks the biggest transfer portal departure of the Steve Sarkisian era at Texas and ensures that the position room of new running backs coach Jabbar Juluke will require a total rebuild with Wisner, redshirt sophomore CJ Baxter, sophomore Jerrick Gibson, and freshman Rickey Stewart all entering the portal when it opens in January.
That leaves only three returning running backs on the roster — redshirt freshman Christian Clark, freshman James Simon, and freshman Michael Terry — and delivers a blow to the team’s leadership and toughness, two high-level attributes that Wisner provided to Texas in addition to serving as the team’s leading rusher over the last two seasons.
In the current era of college football, the added element to postseason exit meetings with coaches is negotiations and Wisner’s departure indicates that Texas was unwilling to meet Wisner’s price.
A two-way standout at Waco Connally before transferring to DeSoto as a senior and spending a significant amount of time at wide receiver due to injuries, Wisner finished the 2023 cycle as a consensus three-star prospect ranked as the No. 494 player nationally and the No. 33 running back, according to the 247Sports Composite rankings. Wisner pledged to Texas over offers from Arkansas, Auburn, Florida, Florida State, LSU, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Ole Miss, Oregon, Texas A&M, and USC.
Wisner began showing signs of becoming a contributor for the Longhorns despite arriving on campus with modest expectations for his career by becoming a special teams standout, making seven tackles on kickoff coverage and playing on the punt return unit. At running back, the 6’0, 194-pounder took advantage of limited opportunities, gaining 73 yards on 12 carries and scoring a touchdown.
The breakthrough for Wisner came in 2024 after Baxter and Clark suffered season-ending injuries in preseason camp with 1,064 yards and five touchdowns on 226 carries with 100-yard performances against Oklahoma, Kentucky, Texas A&M, and Clemson.
As the leading returning rusher in the SEC, the expectations for Wisner increased commensurate with his performance, but the 2025 season was ultimately a disappointing one for Wisner and Texas. A hamstring injury sustained in practice after the season opener sidelined Wisner for three games and issues along the offensive line contributed to his struggles when he returned. Wisner finished the season with 597 yards and three touchdowns on 131 carries, adding 146 yards and a touchdown on 22 catches.
With four running backs heading into the portal, Juluke will need to multiple starting-level players when the window opens as reports link Texas with Florida standout Jadan Baugh, who was recruited and coached by Juluke in Gainesville.
