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Texas Longhorns rising senior offensive lineman Rafiti Ghirmai entered the NCAA transfer portal on Monday as a graduate transfer after receiving recognition at Senior Day against the Kansas State Wildcats last month.
2018 3-star OL Rafiti Ghirmai has entered the portal as a grad transfer after playing in 13 games during his Texas career @OBWire @AnwarRichardson https://t.co/O36XrdAwm1
— NCAA Transfer Portal (@RivalsPortal) December 6, 2021
A consensus four-star prospect, the 6’5, 296-pounder was ranked as the 303 player nationally and the No. 21 offensive tackle in the 2018 recruiting class, according to the 247Sports Composite rankings. Ghirmai held more than 30 offers during the recruiting process, including Alabama, Florida, Georgia, LSU, Michigan, Ohio State, Oregon, and UCLA.
Ghirmai redshirted during his first season on the Forty Acres before appearing in three games in 2019 and then 10 games in 2020, mostly on special teams. As the reserve center, Ghirmai also made appearances against Kansas State and Colorado.
When new offensive coordinator/offensive line coach Kyle Flood arrived, however, Ghirmai was beat out by redshirt freshman Logan Parr for the backup center job and dropped to third on the depth chart. Ghirmai did not make any appearances for the Longhorns in 2021.
Ghirmai is the fifth Texas player to enter the transfer portal since the season ended.