Former Texas WR Jake Smith releases statement following entrance into NCAA transfer portal

After entering the NCAA transfer portal 10 days ago, former Texas Longhorns junior wide receiver Jake Smith released a statement via Twitter on Friday that provided some confirmation his time in Austin is over.

The decision to evaluate options outside of Austin came after the 6’0, 195-pounder missed the spring with a broken foot suffered on the first day of spring practice under new head coach Steve Sarkisian. The injury marked another setback for Smith after his sophomore season was marred by a hamstring strain that caused him to miss three games early in the season.

The Arizona product was able to return against TCU and caught six passes for 49 yards and a touchdown, but then aggravated his injury and missed the following game against Oklahoma.

When Smith returned, he didn’t play as large a role in the offense as anticipated, catching seven passes for 70 yards and a touchdown in his most prolific performance of the season against Oklahoma State. In the season finale, Smith did not catch a pass in the Alamo Bowl against Colorado, finishing the year with 23 catches for 294 yards and three touchdowns.

The former consensus four-star product had a promising freshman season with 25 catches for 274 yards and six touchdowns as the primary backup for Devin Duvernay and was expected to play a big role in the offense during the 2021 season.

Given the early flashes by Smith with the Longhorns and the national, high-profile nature of his recruitment as a prep star, expect Smith to receive interest from around the country. Originally a contender for Smith, USC could loom as a potential landing spot given the Texas ties on that staff, including former Texas Director of Recruiting Bryan Carrington.