Texas Lands Top-Ranked Linebacker Rasheem Biles From Pittsburgh in Transfer Portal Win
Texas just got the best linebacker in the transfer portal. Pittsburgh just lost him.
Rasheem Biles is heading to Austin, the latest big-name addition to Steve Sarkisian’s defense and a major piece in the Longhorns’ run at another College Football Playoff appearance. Biles was ranked No. 1 at his position in the On3 portal rankings, and Texas beat a long list of programs to get him.
That is the kind of headline that defines an entire portal cycle for an SEC program. Biles is a downhill, instinctive linebacker who fits Texas defensive coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski’s scheme almost perfectly. He played 850-plus snaps last season at Pitt and was one of the most productive defenders in the ACC.
Why Texas Needed This
The Longhorns finished 12-2 and made the College Football Playoff again last season, but the defense bled out in the semifinal loss to Ohio State. Texas had trouble matching the size and speed of Big Ten lineups in the middle of the field. Biles helps directly.
Pete Kwiatkowski loves coaching linebackers who can play sideline to sideline and cover backs in space. Biles does that. He also has the physicality to hold up against power running games, which Texas saw too much of last year. The Longhorns lost the line of scrimmage in the playoff, and a player like Biles is the kind of piece that flips one possession a game.
Texas is also pushing for SEC supremacy in only its second year in the league. Georgia is still Georgia. Alabama is regrouping under Kalen DeBoer. LSU is loaded. Texas needs every defensive piece it can get to compete with that depth, and a top-ranked portal linebacker is exactly that piece.
Sarkisian has been quietly building one of the most efficient portal programs in the country. The Longhorns have used transfers to fill specific gaps rather than chase headlines, and the strategy has paid off in two straight playoff appearances. Biles is the second-most important defensive add of the cycle behind a previously announced edge rusher commitment from a former five-star.
Pittsburgh is the loser in all of this, which has become a pattern. The ACC continues to leak talent to the SEC and Big Ten at every level. Biles started at Pitt as a freshman, developed into an all-conference player, and is now going to a program with twice the resources. Pittsburgh coach Pat Narduzzi has had multiple cornerstone defenders walk this way in the past two years.
The financial component matters here too. Texas has one of the deepest NIL collectives in the country. Biles can sign endorsement deals in Austin that would not be available in Pittsburgh. The transfer portal is, in part, a market signal about which programs are paying market value.
Biles’ eligibility runs through 2027, which means Texas gets two years of him if he stays for both. He could also test the NFL Draft next spring depending on how the year goes. Linebackers who play like Biles do not usually stick around for the senior year.
The Longhorns open 2026 against Ohio State at home in Week 1. That game is going to look very different with Biles on the field. Pittsburgh fans are going to be watching with mixed feelings.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
