
After the Australian walked on Senior Day last fall, his Monday decision was hardly surprising, but it was not without some additional drama.
After four seasons with the Texas Longhorns, punter Ryan Bujcevski entered the NCAA transfer portal on Monday as a graduate transfer with one season of eligibility remaining.
While that decision was unsurprising since specialists are rarely afforded a fifth season on scholarship, there was some accompanying drama — due to an apparent error, redshirt freshman punter Isaac Pearson’s name was entered into the portal before quickly being removed.
It appears as if Isaac Pearson’s name was entered into the NCAA Transfer Portal by mistake.
Pearson’s name has been withdrawn, and Ryan Bujcevski’s name is now in the portal as a grad transfer, @InsideTexas has learned #HookEm pic.twitter.com/9vkNF2d3IK
— Inside Texas (@InsideTexas) February 21, 2022
A cousin of former Texas punter Michael Dickson, Bujcevski also came through the ProKick Australia academy and was a surprise addition to the 2018 recruiting class for the Longhorns.
Ranked as the No. 1 punter by 247Sports, Bujcevski never lived up to his ranking or to the standard set by Dickson, both admittedly high bars.
In 2018, Bujcevski averaged 40.3 yards per punt with a season-long of 56 yards and 18 punts downed inside the 20-yard line with just one touchback. The following season he improved his average to 41.3 yards per punt, including three of longer than 50 yards and 10 downed inside the 20-yard line, but missed the last four games due to a shoulder injury. A torn ACL limited to Bujcevski to seven games in 2020 as his average once again improved to 43.3 yards per punt with 15 downed inside the 20-yard line.
Bujcevski did not appear in a game in 2021 and likely wasn’t fully recovered for most of the season, although Cameron Dicker also proved to be a more effective punter.
Pearson is expected to serve as the starting punter this year for the Longhorns with special teams coordinator Jeff Banks really saying in an interview on 104.9 The Horn that he would like to add another punter to the roster for the 2022 season.