Texas Longhorns Land New Punter out of the Transfer Portal

Texas football adds a new punter as they look to fill out roster through the transfer portal.

Nov 28, 2025; Austin, Texas, USA; Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian before the game against the Texas A&M Aggies at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Scott Wachter-Imagn Images | Scott Wachter-Imagn Images

Texas football is playing host to a slew of transfer portal visits this offseason, looking to fill spots across the roster that have now been vacated.

Special teams will especially need attention, with the Longhorns set to lose both their starting place kicker, Mason Shipley, and punter, Jack Bouwmeester, this season.

Texas has now found a replacement for Bouwmeester quickly, earning a commitment from Florida State punter Mac Chiumento today on the Forty Acres, he announced on Instagram.

Texas Lands A Punter Replacement for Bouwmeester

Sep 3, 2022; Gainesville, Florida, USA; Utah Utes punter Jack Bouwmeester (34) during the second half at Steve Spurrier-Florida Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-Imagn Images | Kim Klement-Imagn Images

At 6-foot-4 and 227 pounds, Chiumento recently wrapped up his junior season with the Florida State Seminoles. This season marked the first time Chiumento was the starting punter for FSU, a role he held from 2022 through 2024, during his redshirt freshman and sophomore seasons.

In his lone season as a starter, Chiumento punted the ball 27 times with an average of 44.0 yards per punt, ranking seventh in the ACC. Among his 27 punts, 13 ended up inside the 20, with a season-long punt of 56 yards. A solid performance for Chiumento in 2025, he may now look to continue his college journey with Texas.

He is now following in the steps of Bouwmeester, who performed well for Texas this season. Bouwmeester had more than twice as many punts as Chiumento, taking 59 kicks for Texas, which was among the most in the SEC.

On average, Bourmeester's punts traveled 44.5 yards per attempt, with a season-long of 62 yards in October against Florida. Among his 59 attempts, 23 ended up inside the 20 and 14 traveled for 50-plus yards.

The 2025 season was Bouwmeester's fifth in college football and now he will likely take his talents to the NFL. Before playing with Texas, the fifth-year punter spent three seasons with Utah and a single season with Michigan State. He has not yet announced if he will declare for the NFL Draft, but with his eligibility exhausted, it is likely the NFL will be Bouwmeester's next step.

Chiumento now looks to be the answer to the loss of Bouwmeester, though Texas fans don't expect to have as many punts in the upcoming 2026 season, after the Longhorns' surprising struggles this past year. With a young team that has had an entire season to develop under head coach Steve Sarkisian, with Chiumento now choosing the Longhorns, Texas fans hope he won't have to be as active as Bouwmeester was in 2025.