After one season on the Forty Acres, Texas Longhorns redshirt junior tight end Jack Endries is off to the NFL after declaring for the draft on Friday, according to ESPN’s Pete Thamel.
The 6’4, 236-pound former walk on arrived on the Forty Acres in June as a high-profile addition from the NCAA transfer portal to replace former standout Gunnar Helm, a fourth-round draft pick of the Tennessee Titans after a breakout 2025 season. Ranked as the No. 4 tight end in the portal and the No. 131 overall player, according to the 247Sports rankings, Endries led the Golden Bears with 623 receiving yards on 56 receptions (11.13 ypc) as a redshirt sophomore in 2024.
The transition wasn’t always smooth for Endries, whose production as a pass catcher dropped to 28 catches for 311 yards and two touchdowns with both scores coming in the home opener against San Jose State. Accuracy issues from first-year starting quarterback Arch Manning played a role, as head coach Steve Sarkisian schemed Endries open for some big plays that Manning wasn’t able to hit with offensive line issues compounding the situation, particularly the inability to find success in the tight end screen game, a major selling point for Endries when he considered Texas during his portal recruitment.
After the win over the Spartans, Endries had nine receiving yards on six catches over the next five games and didn’t record more than 25 receiving yards until a strong finish that included two catches for 49 yards against the Razorbacks and four catches for 93 yards against the Aggies.
In the Citrus Bowl on Wednesday, Endries finished with five catches for 35 yards and a touchdown.
With Endries entering the draft, it’s possible that his production at Cal will have to speak more loudly than the results at Texas, which made for a compelling argument for him to play another season of college football.
Instead, the Longhorns will have to pursue a starting-caliber player in the NCAA transfer portal after a disappointing season from rising junior Jordan Washington and limited returning experience overall.
