Texas WR Casey Cain set to enter NCAA transfer portal

Texas wide receiver Casey Cain is expected to enter the Transfer Portal, Horns247 has confirmed.

The New Orleans (La.) Warren Easton native came to Texas as part of the class of 2021. He committed to Tom Herman’s staff before Steve Sarkisian took over in early 2021.

Cain’s biggest showing of his Longhorns career came against Washington in last year’s Alamo Bowl where he caught four passes for 108 yards in the loss. He’s one of only nine Longhorns to ever reach the century mark at wide receiver in a bowl game. Through two years in Austin, Cain caught nine passes for 214 yards and no scores.

Cain is the fifth Texas player either in the portal or expected to enter the portal since the window opened on Monday. He joins safeties Jalen Catalon and B.J. Allen Jr., offensive lineman Sawyer Goram-Welch, and defensive back X’Avion Brice.

The Longhorns are targeting wide receivers both at the prep level and in the Transfer Portal ahead of their debut in the Southeastern Conference next fall. The Longhorns could potentially lose all three starters at the position to the 2024 NFL Draft this offseason. Five-star wide receiver Ryan Wingo headlines the next wave of talent coming in from the high school ranks. We’ll see who the Longhorns land from the portal with names like Deion Burks and Juice Wells, among others, in consideration.

What is the NCAA transfer portal?

The portal is an online database where players will enter their names if they decide to pursue a transfer. Players notify their current school’s compliance office that they wish to put their name into the portal — typically, players’ names show up within 48 hours. Coaches have access to the database and can contact any player who has entered.

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When will the transfer portal open?

Technically, players can enter the portal at any time. But unless they do so within their sport’s official “windows,” they will have to sit out one season. College football has two windows: one following the regular season and one following spring practice. The fall portal window opened on Sunday, Dec. 3, one day after the conference championship games. It will remain open for 30 days, closing at the end of the day on Jan. 1, 2024.

Before this school year, players had 45 days to enter their names in the portal following the end of the regular season. The NCAA amended that rule this fall, cutting down the window to 30 days.

Is a player forced to leave his school after entering the portal?

No. Players sometimes withdraw their names from the portal and end up staying with their respective programs.

Often, however, the decision to enter the portal comes with some amount of displeasure on either the player’s side or the program’s side. Most players who enter the portal do not return to their previous school, and they’re often removed from the team immediately upon entering.