Texas Longhorns redshirt sophomore offensive lineman Connor Stroh will enter the NCAA transfer portal when the window opens in January, he announced on social media Tuesday.
Stroh prepares to depart the Texas program as head coach Steve Sarkisian holds exit meetings with players following the conclusion of the regular season.
The 6’7, 341-pounder was a member of the 2022 recruiting class for the Longhorns, signing with position coach Kyle Flood in the cycle
after Texas took seven offensive linemen. Out of Frisco Wakeland, Stroh chose Texas over 17 other offers, including Arkansas, Auburn, Baylor, Cal, Florida, Florida State, Ole Miss, Stanford, and Tennessee, among others. Stroh finished the cycle as a consensus three-star prospect ranked as the No. 613 player nationally and the No. 41 offensive tackle, according to the 247Sports Composite rankings.
Stroh didn’t see the field over his first two seasons on the Forty Acres before emerging as the starting left guard during preseason camp, surprisingly passing one of the higher-rated linemen from that 2022 recruiting class, top-100 prospect Neto Umeozulu.
Balance issues quickly became apparent for Stroh in getting pulled to the ground early in the season-opening loss to Ohio State and experiencing similar early issues as a pass blocker and run blocker against San Jose State.
The number of total pressures allowed by Stroh wasn’t as ugly as his replacement against Florida, freshman Nick Brooks, a tackle by trade, but Stroh did receive a 19.9 pass-blocking grade from Pro Football Focus in the loss to the Gators.
After that game, Stroh returned to the starting lineup against Mississippi State, allowing a sack and two quarterback hurries, but was benched after Cole Hutson’s return from injury, playing only three snaps in the blowout win over Arkansas, the final snaps of Stroh’s Texas career.
