Top 5 transfer portal landing spots for Texas running back Tre Wisner

Tre Wisner led Texas with 131 rushing attempts and 597 yards on the ground in nine games this season, racked up 2,191 combined career rushing/receiving yards and 11 touchdowns over three years, routinely delivered in the biggest games and was a fan favorite for the Longhorns.

But he's decided to play out his final season of eligibility elsewhere, as his agent told ESPN he will enter the transfer portal.

Running backs are one of the easiest plug-and-play commodities on the transfer market each year. In fact, the three leading rushers in college football this season (in yards per game) were all transfers in their first seasons with a new school -- Missouri's Ahmad Hardy (from Louisiana Monroe), Jacksonville State's Cam Cook (from TCU) and Liberty's Evan Dickens (from Georgia Tech).

So Wisner will be a coveted asset as he looks to reclaim the workload and production he had as a sophomore in 2024, when he totaled 226 carries for 1,064 yards and 5 touchdowns with 44 catches for 311 yards and a score.

We break down five intriguing potential landing spots for the now-former Longhorn.

(The transfer portal officially opens Jan. 2 with a window until Jan.16 for players to enter the portal. But many have already announced their intentions to transfer. Unlike in past years, there will be no post-spring portal window.)

Oklahoma Sooners

There would be no more intriguing move from a narrative standpoint than for Wisner to switch sides of the rivalry and transfer to Oklahoma, but that's not the reason the Sooners top this list.

First, Wisner had some of his best games in the annual Red River Rivalry.

As a sophomore last season, he rumbled for 118 yards and a touchdown on just 13 carries (9.1 yards per carry) along with 12 receiving yards. That included a 43-yard touchdown run to put Texas up 18 points in the first half on the way to a 34-3 win. And this season, Wisner had a season-high 22 carries for 94 yards (his second-best output this fall) along with 34 receiving yards in a 23-6 Longhorns win.

So the Oklahoma coaching staff is well aware of his abilities.

Also, though, the Sooners could use a proven veteran back. They got almost nothing out of high-profile Cal RB transfer Jaydn Ott this year, turning the backfield over to true freshman Tory Blaylock (120 carries for a team-high 480 rushing yards and 4 TDs), but his production and workload faded over the course of the season, as it was believed he was playing through a shoulder injury since Week 1.

After a strong start, Blaylock had just 33 total carries for 89 yards and 0 TDs over the Sooners' final six games -- including a team-high 36 rushing yards plus 36 receiving yards in OU's CFP loss to Alabama last week.

Blaylock and Xavier Robinson (83-421-4) are expected back at running back for Oklahoma, while Jovantae Barnes is entering the transfer portal, and four-star top-100 prospect Jonathan Hatton Jr. joins the mix.

But the reality is the Sooners ranked 13th in the SEC in rushing yards per game (118.46) despite also having a mobile QB in John Mateer, so they could use a jolt from a proven big-game performer.

Oklahoma was prominent in Wisner's recruitment out of high school and could be the logical move for him now.

Texas A&M Aggies

For all the same reasons Oklahoma is on the list ...

Wisner was at his best in rivalry games, including arguably the two greatest games of his Texas career against the Aggies.

In 2004, Wisner set career-highs with 33 carries for 186 yards (plus 21 receiving yards) in leading Texas to a 17-7 win over Texas A&M. And this year, as the Longhorns dealt the Aggies their first loss of the season in late November, Wisner rushed for a 155 yards on 19 carries (plus 19 receiving yards) in a 27-17 win.

The Aggies' backfield is set to lose one of its top backs in senior Le'Veon Moss (77-404-6), who announced his commitment to play in the Senior Bowl (effectively signaling he won't be petitioning for extra eligibility due to the injuries that limited him the last two seasons).

So that's a big missing piece, even if Rueben Owens II (119-639-5) returns. The Aggies are also set to lose senior RBs Amari Daniels (41-216-1) and EJ Smith (44-205-4).

Jamarion Morrow (43-182-1 as a true freshman) should return, and four-star RB KJ Edwards (the No. 3-ranked RB prospect nationally per the Rivals Industry rankings) is one of the headliners of the Aggies' incoming recruiting class, but pairing Wisner and Owens as a one-two punch makes a lot of sense.

Texas A&M and Oklahoma were also among the schools Wisner visited most as a recruit aside from Texas.

Auburn Tigers

Veteran running back Damari Alston elected to redshirt early in the season after an injury and getting usurped by Jeremiah Cobb as Auburn's feature back, he was reportedly off the roster by mid-October is formally transferring out, leaving Cobb (175-969-5) as the only experienced running back on the roster (assuming he returns).

The Tigers are in a transition and reset with Alex Golesh taking over as head coach after his successful stint at South Florida, so the entire roster should be viewed as a work in progress entering this transfer cycle.

Even if Cobb remains, it's likely the Tigers will need to lean on their ground attack heavily with the QB position in flux -- either turning the position over to second-year Deuce Knight after just one career start or bringing in a transfer -- and Golesh can sell the fact that his USF team ranked 16th nationally this season with 212.8 rushing yards per game.

Florida Gators

This is contingent on what happens with Gators star running back Jadan Baugh, who rushed for 1,170 yards and 8 TDs this season and is a top priority to retain for new Florida coach Jon Sumrall.

But there's been no formal announcement on Baugh's decision, and Texas is among the schools perceived as a likely landing spot for Baugh if he elects to transfer.

So ironically, that would clear a path for Wisner to land at another prominent SEC program, suddenly in need of a feature back.

Florida's second leading rusher among RBs this season was freshman KD Daniels (28-120-1).

Penn State Nittany Lions

There's no indication that Wisner, who is from Texas and primarily considered Texas, Texas A&M and Oklahoma in his recruitment out of high school, would want to leave the SEC footprint.

But Penn State is an interesting consideration for any high-profile running back transfer, with the long-entrenched duo of Kaytron Allen (210-1,303-15 this year) and Nicholas Singleton (123-549-13) both out of eligibility.

Plus, it's a total reset for the program with Matt Campbell coming in as head coach.

The top returning running backs for Penn State are Cam Wallace and Corey Smith, who had 11 combined carries in the regular season.