New Jersey Numbers For Eight Texas Summer Additions Revealed

Eight new numbers and eight new faces enroll at the University of Texas for summer practice, looking forward to Week 1 against Colorado State

Texas Longhorns Head Coach Steve Sarkisian watches from behind the play during the first quarter of the Longhorns' spring Orange and White game at Darrell K Royal Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin, Texas, April 20, 2024. | Sara Diggins/American-Statesman / USA

Texas Longhorns football has added eight new players to its roster between transfers and freshmen as summer practices swing into full gear.

Though the college football world has shifted expectations towards early enrollees, bypassing one spring semester to join the new school at the start of the calendar year when joining a new school, players like former Oregon State wide receiver Silas Bolden will arrive in the summer with their new team. 

Bolden headlines the new class of Longhorns who will have to work their way through the depth chart throughout summer workouts, and head coach Steve Sarkisian has never been shy about making those tough. Between running during the morning at DKR and intensive conditioning training, some of these new faces will need to hit the ground running.

Bolden will officially wear No. 11 for the Longhorns, while transfer cornerback Jay’Vion Cole dons No. 13, DL Bill Norton wears No. 15 and former Oklahoma commit Jermayne Lole takes No. 99. Bolden is the sole transfer of the group to have committed before the second transfer window in April, but was unable to be at the school beforehand.

Oregon State Beavers wide receiver Silas Bolden catches a pass while Oregon defense attempts to block during thefirst half of the annual rivalry game on Friday, Nov. 24, 2023 at Autzen Stadium in Eugene, Ore. | Abigail Dollins/Statesman Journal / USA

Norton and Lole will look to sure up a shaky-looking defensive line that lost two top 40 picks in the draft this past year. Norton, Lole, transfer Tiaoalii Savea, Vernon Broughton and Alfred Collins will work in a five-man rotation throughout the season, hoping to replace Byron Murphy and T’Vondre Sweat in a vacuum.

Cole will join a secondary that was desperate for depth after surprisingly losing Terrance Brooks to the portal. Cole committed to the Horns on May 5 after entering the portal from San Jose State two weeks before, and will likely start the season behind guys like Manny Muhummad and Gavin Holmes. 

Alongside the four transfers that got new numbers, early enrollee Andrew Mukuba initially wore Cole’s No. 13 but swapped to No. 4 in the summer.

The Longhorns also added four new freshmen. Punter Michael Kern, now No. 39, is set to start at punter for Texas as a freshman and brings a powerful leg to the 40 acres. Cornerback Santana Wilson will wear No. 28, defensive lineman Melvin Hills choose No. 55 and Atascocita product Nate Kibble will wear No. 70 on the offensive line. 

All four freshmen were ranked as three stars, so all but Kern will likely start as redshirted players, which makes the time lost with the team in the spring less impactful.

Texas now has a 110-man roster heading into the fall, a fully reloaded team after losing a record 11 players in the NFL Draft in May.