Texas Longhorns land 388-pound ex-Arkansas beast in transfer portal

The Texas Longhorns picked up their first transfer portal commitment on Sunday, just two days after the window officially opened, in the form of nose tackle Ian Geffrard.

Geffrard arrives from the Arkansas Razorbacks with two years of eligibility remaining. Listed between 380 and 388 pounds and standing 6-foot-5 to 6-foot-6, he brings immediate size and experience to the middle of Texas’ defensive front. According to 247Sports, he ranked as the No. 57 overall player and No. 4 defensive lineman in the transfer portal.

A native of Mableton, Georgia, Geffrard played high school football at Whitfield Academy and entered college as a three-star prospect in the 2023 class. He was originally evaluated as an offensive tackle and ranked outside the national top 1,100 prospects before converting full-time to defense at Arkansas. He chose the Razorbacks over offers from programs including Auburn, Duke, Georgia Tech, Louisville, Mississippi State, North Carolina, and Texas.

Geffrard redshirted as a true freshman in 2023, appearing in four games and recording two tackles. His role expanded in 2024, when he saw action in 12 games as part of the defensive line rotation, collecting 13 tackles over 191 snaps. His breakout came this season, starting all 12 games and finishing with 25 total tackles, four tackles for loss, and one pass deflection. Over his Arkansas career, he recorded 40 tackles and 5.5 tackles for loss across 28 games.

Pro Football Focus credited Geffrard with 13 defensive stops and eight quarterback hurries in 2025, grading him as a reliable run defender despite limited pass-rush production. He had one tackle in the Razorbacks’ 52-27 loss to the Longhorns in November.

Texas pursued Geffrard over Auburn, Kentucky, and SMU, with the decision coming during his visit to the Forty Acres. His addition is especially significant after the departures of Cole Brevard and Travis Shaw, both of whom exhausted their eligibility in 2025. The move is the first transfer addition under new defensive coordinator Will Muschamp and continues position coach Kenny Baker’s recent success in developing portal defensive linemen.

Geffrard joins a Longhorns program that’s coming off a 10–3 season, complete with a Citrus Bowl win over Michigan. He is likely to compete for snaps with returning interior defenders such as Hero Kanu, Alex January, and Maraad Watson, particularly on early downs where his size allows him to absorb double teams and stabilize the point of attack.

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