A Major Piece of the Texas Longhorns Secondary Has Withdrawn From the Portal

The Texas Longhorns have taken some hits via the transfer portal over the last couple of weeks, losing a few notable contributors from last year's 9-3 team.

Among those losses were some key contributors, including wide receivers Parker Livingstone and DeAndre Moore, as well as the defensive back trio of Kobe Black, Warren Roberson and Derek Williams.

Fortunately for the Horns, new defensive coordinator Will Muschamp and defensive backs coach Blake Gideon were able to convince Black and Williams both to come back to Austin.

And now, they have pulled off the same with Roberson.

According to reports from OnTexasFootball, Roberson has withdrawn his name from the Portal, and will return to Austin for the 2026 season.

Roberson's Return is more than welcome in Austin

Texas Longhorns defensive back Warren Roberson against the Clemson Tigers | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

This news could not have come at a better time for the Longhorns either.

With the portal getting ready to close and the Longhorns seemingly needing to find one more piece to add to the cornerback room, the options seemed limited.

But now with Roberson back in the fold, the room instantly becomes much deeper and much more talented than it otherwise would have been heading into 2026.

Roberson appeared in just one game as a freshman in 2023 before using his redshirt but got much more involved in 2024, playing in all 16 games while posting six total tackles and one tackle for loss.

In 2025, Roberson played in 12 games while tallying 19 total tackles (15 solo) and two pass breakups. He had a career-high five total tackles and a pass breakup in the Citrus Bowl against Michigan.

After the win over Vanderbilt this past season, Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian mentioned Roberson, among others as key pieces of the special teams unit.

"Warren Roberson, now Jonah Williams, so you're seeing some of those other guys that maybe aren't frontline starters on offense or defense, but are impactful players for us on special teams," Sarkisian said. "And we take a lot of pride in special teams. We have since the day I arrived, and so last year, going kind of the way that it went was a little out of character, I would say, for us, and so for us to get back playing to the standard that we want to play to on special teams, I think, is big for us, because that's a huge component of the game, especially in our conference."

Now, with Roberson on his way back, and the signing of corner Bo Mascoe, the Horns hold one of the deepest corner rooms in the nation, and they seem to be finished in terms of their additions to the secondary