The Texas Longhorns suffered a significant blow on Monday when reports emerged that junior linebacker Liona Lefua was not with the team at practice and is expected to enter the NCAA transfer portal, according to reports from Inside Texas and Horns247.
It’s the type of loss the Longhorns haven’t suffered often during the Steve Sarkisian era — the departure of a two-year starter expected to play a prominent role on next year’s team.
As a member of the 2023 recruiting class out of Laie (H.I.) Kahuku,
Lefua pledged to Texas following a June official visit over Utah and Oregon. Lefau held 26 total offers, including Arizona, Arizona State, BYU, Cal, Michigan, Michigan State, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Stanford, Tennessee, Texas Tech, and USC, among others. When Lefau signed with the Horns, he was a consensus four-star prospect ranked as the No. 405 player nationally and the No. 32 linebacker, according to the 247Sports Composite rankings.
As a true freshman in 2023, Lefau appeared in all 14 games, playing almost 300 special teams snaps across five units and flashing his upside with eight tackles.
The following season, Lefau broke into the starting lineup with 63 tackles, five tackles for loss, two sacks, one interception, and one forced fumble. The Hawaiian developed a reputation as a sterling teammate, sure tackler, and made plays in pass coverage with three pass breakups in addition to his interception.
During Lefau’s junior season, now cut short before the Citrus Bowl with the 6’1, 227-pounder’s departure from the program, he still started every game and remained productive with 69 tackles, three tackles for loss, one sack, and three passes broken up, but saw his overall snap count decrease as sophomore Ty’Anthony Smith earned more playing time.
Despite Smith’s emergence, with junior linebacker Anthony Hill Jr. declaring for the 2026 NFL Draft, Lefau once again projected as a starter for Texas, but now there’s increased pressure on co-defensive coordinator/linebackers coach Johnny Nansen to land a starting-caliber linebacker when the NCAA transfer portal opens in January.
