Coveted tight end linked to four major college football programs in transfer portal

One of the more promising tight ends in the college football transfer portal is currently looking into four programs coming out of the SEC.

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One of the more promising and coveted tight end prospects in the college football transfer portal has expressed interest in four notable programs as he looks for a new school for the 2026 football season.

Theo Melin Öhrström has decided to leave the Texas A&M program this offseason and several schools have emerged as contenders to sign the tight end as he embarks on his final college football season, his representatives said to CBS Sports.

Ohrstrom is looking at two programs in the Big 12, one in the ACC, and another from the SEC as he prepares for the 2026 campaign.

What schools are in the mix?

Houston is one of the programs the tight end is looking into as Willie Fritz comes off his best season with the school and enters his third year at the helm as head coach.

Tight end is considered need for the Cougars, which are also scouting more along both lines, at running back, and in the defensive secondary.

Houston is poised to lose Tanner Koziol, who had 727 yards and 6 touchdown catches at the tight end position this past season.

The other Big 12 school in consideration is Kansas State, which is in the market for running backs and linemen on both offense and defense.

ACC program in consideration

SMU is the program mentioned with arguably the biggest need at tight end after not only losing its coach at the position, but also its top four productive players there.

RJ Maryland and Andrew Hibner combined for over 750 receiving yards and six touchdowns for the Mustangs this past season.

The SEC school being scouted

Alex Golesh lands in the SEC in one of college football’s major head coaching moves and he’ll need to make some big improvements to the tight room at Auburn, the final school that the former Aggies’ hopeful is scouting.

Auburn didn’t get anywhere near the production at tight end it expected this season, as Brandon Frazier led the group with just 97 total yards, and he’s out of eligibility.

So is Tate Johnson, and Hollis Davidson is entering the transfer portal, leaving the program with a target of two or three tight ends it will likely want to sign for 2026.

What he’s done on the field

Öhrström is a native of Sweden who signed with the Texas A&M recruiting class in 2022 under then-head coach Jimbo Fisher, and he had some notable playing time this past season as the Aggies embarked on their first College Football Playoff appearance in 2025.

The tight end played 472 total snaps in seven starts, trailing only tight end Nate Boerkircher’s 484 snaps, catching 19 passes for 168 yards and a touchdown.

Öhrström appeared in 12 games on offense and special teams in his second season and started in the Texas Bowl against Oklahoma State.

The next year, he had 10 receptions for 184 yards with an average of more than 18 yards per receptions, and two touchdown grabs. He made four starts in his redshirt sophomore season.

At the time of his recruitment, the Swede was considered the No. 16 tight end in the 2022 recruiting class and the top-ranked player in his country, attending the RIG Football Academy in Uppsala, the fourth-largest city in Sweden.

(CBS)