The transfer portal remains open and some of the bigger dominoes are starting to fall. Late Saturday night, Texas picked up a huge transfer in former Houston wideout Matthew Golden. How does Golden fit with Quinn Ewers, and what does his commitment mean to Texas?
How Matthew Golden Fits With Quinn Ewers at Texas
Golden is a Houston native who was originally a huge recruiting win for Dana Holgorsen’s Houston Cougars squad. Golden made an immediate impact with the Cougars, catching 38 passes in both of his first two seasons while racking up 17 touchdowns in the process.
Golden is a versatile playmaker, impacting the game as a return man and receiver. Golden averaged 35.7 yards per kick return and took two of his nine kickoff returns for touchdowns this season.
Golden excels at working in the middle of the field and finding the soft spot in the coverage. He is a reliable target, though he dropped several passes to start the season.
After Ewers announced his return to school, Texas began to work the portal for secure receiving targets as current starters Xavier Worthy, Adonai Mitchell, and Jordan Whittington are all expected to leave next season. Whittington is a redshirt senior, while Worthy and Mitchell are expected to enter the NFL Draft.
Ewers needs a possession receiver who can be counted on to get open. Golden provides just that. Additionally, since return man Keilan Robinson is also graduating, Golden will immediately slot in as an experienced and explosive kick returner.
In the portal, the Longhorns have aggressively targeted some of the top receivers in the country.
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Experts thought Golden was the Longhorns’ top target at the position, and now that they’ve landed the rising junior, they’re likely to shift their efforts elsewhere. Texas has been linked to other receivers, such as South Carolina transfer Juice Wells, but the expectation is that the Longhorns shift focus to other positions now that they’ve landed Golden.
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