Confidence or desperation?
Deciding which side the Texas Longhorns fall on will have to wait as Western Kentucky Hilltoppers offensive line transfer Laurance Seymore continues to pursue an extension of eligibility waiver after missing the 2023 season with the Akron Zips because he didn’t transfer during an authorized portal window.
“We haven’t gotten anything back yet,” Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian said on Monday.
Needing to make another offensive line addition from the NCAA transfer portal, Sarkisian
and offensive coordinator Kyle Flood signed Seymore late last month hoping to find a new starting left guard after missing on several top portal targets.
But there was a certain amount of risk involved because Texas still doesn’t know how the NCAA will rule on Seymore’s waiver, which the 6’2, 320-pounder had already submitted when he signed with the Longhorns.
“The NCAA has allowed us to re-submit that waiver with some new information in a way that makes his case really compelling. Nothing has been decided yet, so I’m hesitant to say I’m confident in much, but I do think that with us having the opportunity to submit that waiver with our people, with some of the information Laurence was able to supply us, and some of the previous universities that he was at, we’ll see where it goes,” Sarkisian said.
Seymore’s attempt to secure another season of eligibility would cap a long collegiate journey that started when he signed with Miami as a member of the 2021 recruiting class out of Miami Central as a consensus four-star prospect ranked as the No. 183 overall prospect and the No. 11 interior offensive lineman, according to the 247Sports Composite rankings. Other offers included Arkansas, Florida, Florida State, Georgia, LSU, North Carolina, Oregon, Penn State, and Tennessee.
In 2021, Seymore redshirted while serving on the scout team and appearing in games against Central Connecticut State and Duke. Six appearances the following season included starts against Duke, Clemson, and Pittsburgh, during which he struggled in pass protection, allowing two sacks against the Blue Devils and another sack against the Tigers.
Seymore improved tremendously in pass protection while starting at center and left guard for the Zips in 2024 after missing the previous season, only allowing a single quarterback hurry in 210 snaps, and making steady progress as a run blocker.
A full-time starter at Western Kentucky in 2025, Seymore earned second-team All-American honors from the FWAA and Phil Steele, allowing one sack, three quarterback hits, and four hurries while earning an 82.6 pass-blocking grade and a 63.9 run-blocking grade, although that included some struggles in the running game against Sam Houston in the season opener, the common opponent for Western Kentucky and Texas last season.
If Seymore does receive another year of eligibility to suit up for the Longhorns, he’ll raise the floor of a position that experienced massive struggles in 2025, but if he doesn’t, questions will linger about how Flood handled his first foray into the NCAA transfer portal in Austin.
