The Texas Longhorns have made a second addition from the NCAA transfer portal with Saturday’s commitment from former Arkansas Razorbacks linebacker Brad Spence.
The 6’2, 238-pounder has two seasons of eligibility remaining after entering the portal during the winter window. Spence visited Texas on Friday.
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A Houston Klein Forest product, Spence signed with Arkansas as a member of the 2023 recruiting class as a consensus three-star prospect ranked as the No. 1,000 player nationally and the No. 96 edge, according to the 247Sports Composite rankings. Spence held more than 32 offers, including Arizona State, Cal, Cincinnati, Colorado, Indiana, Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, Nebraska, Utah, and Wisconsin. Texas also offered, but Spence committed to Arkansas in July of 2022 after taking official visits to Fayetteville and Berkeley.
So the Longhorns staff has a familiarity with Spence from his original recruitment. After signing with the Razorbacks, Spence was a rotation player as a true freshman, including making one start, recording 16 tackles with 1.5 tackles for loss, one fumble recovery, and one interception, which came in his collegiate debut against Western Carolina.
In 2024, Spence played the third-most snaps among Arkansas linebackers, recording 34 tackles, 25 defensive stops, and five sacks in 12 pressures. Spence was a steady tackler, too, only missing three tackles for a missed tackle rate of six percent. If the Texas staff needed any more familiarity with Spence’s development, they saw it on display in the road win in Fayetteville when Spence made seven tackles and recorded a sack.
Spence was better coming downhill than dropping into coverage as a sophomore, allowing 16 receptions for 161 yards on 20 targets with a long reception allowed of 23 yards.
With the Longhorns landing the Houston product, Spence projects as a rotation player alongside Anthony Hill Jr. and Liona Lefau with David Gbenda exhausting his eligibility.
