Breaking Down Houston Football's Transfer Portal Additions Thus Far
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After bringing in 30 transfers from the portal last offseason, head coach Willie Fritz and staff are once again hard at work to assemble a competitive 2026 roster.
As seen by Houston's success this season, the transfer portal is essential for the Cougars to keep up in the Big 12 Conference.
In response, the Cougars have already landed 11 transfers so far, and there are no signs of them slowing down any time soon.
Houston's Transfer Portal Additions
In back-to-back offseasons, Fritz has shown that revamping the offensive line with experience from the portal is his top priority.
Last year, he brought in five offensive linemen from the portal, and so far he has added four this cycle.
The new additions are junior Tulane transfer Shadre Hurst, junior Miami (Ohio) transfer Drew Terrill, redshirt freshman Northwestern transfer Hayden Wright and redshirt sophomore transfer Anthony Boswell.
Fritz once again brought in three veterans with plenty of experience in Hurst, Terrill and Boswell, along with Wright who has a ton of upside.
With star junior quarterback returning for the 2026 season, the reloaded offensive line is a big win for the Cougars, with veteran offensive linemen being a hot commodity in the transfer portal.
Houston also addressed some other immediate offensive needs this offseason with the additions of UTSA tight end Patrick Overmyer, Oregon running back Makhi Hughes and Oregon State wide receiver Trent Walker.
With the departures of senior wide receiver Stephon Johnson, senior running back Dean Connors and senior tight end Tanner Koziol, the three transfer are all huge pick ups and they most likely would slide in to starting roles.
The Cougars also made some additions on the defensive side of the ball as well, starting with two defensive backs.
Stephen F. Austin transfer defensive back Jalen Mayo was the first to commit, and he logged the highest coverage grade in the Southland Conference this season.
Houston also landed Tulane sophomore defensive back Javion White, who totaled 50 tackles and three interceptions this year.
The final commits so far in the cycle are junior Oklahoma State defensive lineman De'Marion Thomas and senior Yale defensive lineman Ejiroghene Egogbare, who both should be day one starters.
With all the new faces, the Cougars rank No. 43 so far in the 2026 team recruiting rankings, according to 247 Sports.
However, the Cougars will most likely follow a similar formula to last season's success on the portal, which means Houston still has a long way to go before they are finished adding to its 2026 roster.
Ashton Grissom is a staff writer for Houston Cougars on SI. He is currently a senior at the University of Houston and majoring in Sports Media Production with a minor in Marketing and Spanish. He also works for two student organizations: The Cougar and CoogTV. You can find Grissom on his Instagram (@ashtonagrissom8) or Twitter (@ashtongrissom8).