The third-year running back started his career at wide receiver for the Longhorns.
Texas Longhorns junior running back Savion Red will enter the NCAA transfer portal, his agent confirmed to Inside Texas on Monday.
The 5’10, 240-pounder has two seasons of eligibility remaining.
A consensus three-star prospect out of Grand Prairie in the 2022 recruiting class, Red was ranked as the No. 1,414 player nationally and the No. 107 athlete, according to the 247Sports Composite rankings. As position coach Andre Coleman and the Longhorns struggled to recruit at the wide receiver position during that cycle, Red picked up an offer from Texas in late November of 2021, five days after ending his longtime commitment to SMU. Red signed with Texas on Early Signing Day several weeks later over other offers from Kansas and Mississippi Valley State.
At Grand Prairie, Red played quarterback, running back, and wide receiver and was named District 8-6A MVP in 2021 after completing 70-of-138 passes for 857 yards and seven touchdowns with 157 rushing attempts for 1,367 yards (8.7 ypc) and 20 touchdowns, along with 10 receptions for 128 yards and one touchdown. Red also punted 13 times, returned six punts, and blocked a field goal.
After arriving on the Forty Acres, Red started his career with the Longhorns as a wide receiver despite a prototypical build for the running back position, catching six passes for 34 yards in nine games as a true freshman.
With improved depth at the wide receiver position after Texas signed three recruits in the 2023 class, Red made the move to running back last spring and served as the fifth-string running back until the late-season injury to starter Jonathon Brooks elevated Red on the depth chart. Because of struggles to run the ball in short yardage and in the red zone, Red saw snaps as a Wildcat quarterback, converting 6-of-9 opportunities in short yardage on third or fourth down and running for a touchdown in the win over Houston.
On the season, Red carried the ball 30 times for 131 yards with a career-high nine carries for a career-high 72 yards in the blowout win over Texas Tech.
During the spring, however, Red showed up at 240 pounds, up 26 pounds from his listed weight in 2023, prompting head coach Steve Sarkisian to note that the staff wanted him to drop some of that excess weight.
Red also faced increased competition at the position with the improvement of sophomore Tre Wisner and the arrival of two heralded 2024 signees in Jerrick Gibson and Christian Clark.
When Red officially enters the portal, he will become fifth Texas player to do so since the spring transfer window opened last week, leaving the Longhorns at 84 scholarships for the fall with Monday’s addition of Arizona transfer defensive tackle Bill Norton.