The search for a starting-caliber guard added a new chapter when the Texas Longhorns signed Western Kentucky Hilltoppers transfer Laurance Seymore on Tuesday.
According to Pete Nakos of On3Sports, however, Seymore won’t be able to play for the Longhorns unless he receives an extension of eligibility waiver that is currently in progress.
Taking an offensive lineman whose eligibility status remains in question reflects either desperation to salvage a portal cycle that didn’t go to plan for offensive line coach Kyle Flood or confidence that Seymore’s waiver will receive approval. And those are not mutually exclusive 11 days after the portal officially closed.
Seymore’s attempt to secure another season of eligibility would cap a long collegiate journey that started when the 6’2, 320-pounder signed with Miami as a member of the 2021 recruiting class out of Miami Central. 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.
At issue with Seymore’s eligibility is apparently what happened during the 2023 season. Pro Football Focus didn’t chart any snaps for him that season. Seymore’s Akron bio, where he spent the 2024 season, indicates that he played in six games, but that might be a mistake carried over from his 2022 appearances because Seymore’s Western Kentucky bio indicates that he redshirt in his first season at Akron.
What isn’t in question is that Seymore improved tremendously in pass protection while starting at center and left guard for the Zips in 2024, 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.
