Houston Cougars Linebacker Entering Transfer Portal
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As the Houston Cougars gear up to face the LSU Tigers in the Kinder's Texas Bowl at the end of the month, some roster news has forced a slight detour in their defensive game plan.
Thursday morning, it was announced by 247Sports that linebacker Jesus Machado was entering the transfer portal for a second time in his career, ending a long-standing relationship with head coach Willie Fritz that went back to their time with the Tulane Green Wave.
After suffering a knee injury that cost him his entire 2024 season with the Green Wave, Machado returned to the field in 2025 with the Cougars, but it wasn't exactly one of elite production.
Machado Enters Transfer Portal
Machado was a three-star recruit out of Champagnat Catholic High School in Hialeah, FL in the class of 2020, committing to Tulane over the Miami Hurricanes, Texas A&M Aggies, and Pittsburgh Panthers.
In his freshman year in 2020, he played in six games for the Green Wave and recorded two tackles and 0.5 sacks.
His sophomore year in 2021 saw some promise in his play, Machado nabbing 10 tackles, including one for loss in 11 games played.
The 2022 season saw even more of an increase in production from the Florida native, playing in 14 games and getting 40 tackles, 23 of them solo.
In 2023, Machado absolutely broke out, playing in all 14 games and tallying 98 tackles (56 solo) and also snagging an interception.
The 2024 campaign was where the linebacker's career began doing a 180, as a knee injury suffered during the team's bowl game way before the season even began sidelined him for the entirety of the campaign.
At the conclusion of the 2024 season, Machado would enter the transfer portal for the first time and eventually signed with the Houston Cougars, reuniting him with Coach Fritz right before his second season as head coach in Space City.
Hoping for a rebound after being back with his head coach, Machado didn't exactly get what he was anticipating with the Cougars, recording a single assisted tackle in the 35-9 win over the Rice Owls and four total tackles (three solo) in the 36-20 win over the Colorado Buffaloes, his only two games he saw play time in over the season.
Machado will now look for a new school to call home in what will be his first season without Fritz as his head coach as he enters his final season of collegiate eligibility.
The Cougars and Tigers meet in the Texas Bowl on December 27.
