The Horns add another interior defensive lineman from the portal.
From Chapel Hill to Austin — North Carolina Tar Heels transfer defensive tackle Travis Shaw committed to the Texas Longhorns on Sunday evening after a weekend visit to the Forty Acres.
BREAKING: North Carolina transfer DL Travis Shaw has Committed to Texas, he tells @on3sports
The 6’6 340 DL totaled 55 tackles and 4 PD in his time with the Tar Heels
1 year of eligibility remaining https://t.co/RlUbB6Fk7q pic.twitter.com/fwxbfgqiwG
— Hayes Fawcett (@Hayesfawcett3) January 6, 2025
The 6’5.5, 330-pounder has one season of eligibility remaining after entering the portal following the termination of Tar Heels head coach Mack Brown in late November.
Shaw was one of the premier recruiting coups for Brown and his staff in Chapel Hill, signing with North Carolina in 2022 as a consensus five-star prospect ranked as the No. 20 player nationally and the No. 6 defensive lineman, according to the 247Sports Composite rankings. Georgia also hosted Shaw for an official visit during his initial recruitment, which featured nearly 30 total offers.
In three seasons with the Tar Heels, Shaw wasn’t able to translate his strength and athleticism into consistent production, posting 18 tackles, a half tackles for loss and two passes broken up in 13 games as a freshman, 11 tackles, one tackle for loss and a pass broken up as a sophomore, and 26 tackles, four tackles for loss, and a pass broken up as a junior when Shaw made a significant jump in his overall effectiveness, according to his grades from Pro Football Focus, posting a 68.1 overall grade, more than 16 points higher than his grade in 2023.
Shaw fits the profile of defensive tackles who have made late-career jumps at Texas, including Alfred Collins and Vernon Broughton this season — in the transfer portal, the proven interior defensive linemen carry hefty price tags, so landing a former top prospect with solid production and remaining upside is an ideal situation for the Horns.
Texas has already signed former Purdue defensive tackle Cole Brevard, who was in Atlanta practicing with the team in preparation for the Peach Bowl, and the Longhorns likely aren’t done taking interior defensive linemen from the portal with four defensive tackle entrants and four more exhausting their eligibility, leaving freshmen Alex January and Melvin Hills as the only returning defensive tackles for Texas.