In the wake of speculation about the future of Texas Longhorns junior wide receiver Deandre Moore Jr., Inside Texas reported on Monday that the California product is not expected to return in 2026, setting
up a departure through the NCAA transfer portal or a declaration for the 2026 NFL Draft.
A member of the 2023 recruiting class, Moore was a late addition to the class for Texas after decommitting from Louisville during the early signing period and inking with the Longhorns. Previously committed to Oklahoma, Moore also took an official visit to Georgi and held offers from Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Florida State, LSU, Miami, Ole Miss, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas A&M, and USC, among others. Out of Bellflower (Calif.) St. John Bosco, Moore was a two-way standout who finished the cycle as a consensus four-star prospect ranked as the No. 105 player nationally and the No. 20 wide receiver, according to the 247Sports Composite rankings.
During the 2023 season, Moore played in nine games, primarily appearing on the punt return unit and returning a kickoff for 15 yards while failing to record a catch on two targets in 58 snaps over six games on offense.
As a sophomore, Moore had a breakout season for Texas, playing 95 snaps on special teams with regular roles on the kickoff return, punt return, and punt coverage units and a larger role on offense, catching 39 passes for 456 yards and seven touchdowns, including setting career highs with nine receptions and 114 yards while scoring a touchdown against Georgia in the SEC Championship game.
The anticipation was for Moore to continue building on that success as a junior. After spending a season learning from Jordan Whittington, Moore was well regarded as a hard worker and team leader, but wasn’t always able to translate those qualities into success on the field.
With 38 receptions for 532 yards and four touchdowns, the 6’0, 192-pounder wasn’t able to match his success from the 2024 season, disappointing as a blocker, struggling to create explosive plays, and making several critical mental mistakes like running out of bounds when Texas was trying to kill the clock late in the Kentucky game and fielding a bouncing punt near the goal line against Arkansas.
Given Moore’s lack of steady improvement and high-profile lapses in situational awareness in 2025, there’s a sense that things just didn’t work out as anticipated for Moore with the Longhorns, along with a concurrent belief that his unfulfilled potential doesn’t necessarily represent an indictment of either party even though he would become one of the biggest departures for Texas in the Steve Sarkisian era if he doesn’t return to the Forty Acres in 2026.
