After spring game, Texas football coach Steve Sarkisian still searching transfer portal

For those fans that looked closely enough at the sidelines during Saturday’s Orange-White Game at Royal-Memorial Stadium, they might have seen a couple of future Longhorns.

Defensive tackles Jay Toaia and Bill Norton, two touted players now available in the portal, watched the game while on official visits with the Longhorns. Texas coach Steve Sarkisian hasn’t kept his desire for more big bodies in the defensive interior a secret, and that unit got a bit thinner Saturday when seldom-used lineman Zac Swanson announced his intentions to enter the portal.

More:Texas coach Steve Sarkisian knows he must get his defensive front SEC-ready | Golden

Swanson’s departure will leave Texas one spot short of the 85-player scholarship limit, and Sarkisian confirmed his priority after the spring game.

“I think, obviously, the depth on the defensive line is not where we need it to be,” he said. “We don't have enough bodies; there's not enough big humans. I mean, it's simple math, so we've got to address it.”

According to Sarkisian, depth on the defensive front is especially important in Austin, where early-season games are often played in temperatures exceeding 100 degrees.

More:Texas football's Vernon Broughton misses spring game for marriage to Mrs. Broughton

“You've got to rotate players,” he said. “In September (of 2023), we were playing upwards to 30-32 guys on defense in the first half of the games, nevermind in the  total game. And so to do that, you have to have enough quality people that you feel comfortable rotating in there to make that happen.”

Norton and Toaia seem to have that quality. The 6-foot-3, 325-pound Toaia, a graduate transfer from UCLA, played one season at UCLA for current Texas co-defensive coordinator Johnny Nansen. He started 24 games over the past two seasons with 58 total tackles, seven tackles for a loss and two sacks.

The 6-6, 325-pound Norton also has tied with Nansen, playing for him at Arizona last season after starting his collegiate career at Georgia. The graduate transfer had 32 stops in 2023.

More:Arch Manning sizzles for Texas, but Quinn Ewers is clearly the Longhorns' starter | Golden

Texas will also host former TCU star defensive tackle Damonic Williams this upcoming week, although the former freshman All-American has plenty of other suitors. On Saturday, Williams attended Oklahoma’s spring game.

“We've got a good quality football team,” Sarkisian said. “We've got a lot of great depth at multiple positions on both sides of the ball, on special teams. But naturally, (some) areas are not quite where you need it to be. There's nothing wrong with that, and we'll address it. I love our frontline players. We've just got to make sure that we have enough bodies in there that can really contribute.”