After losing its top two pass catchers from last year, Texas is getting some help in the wide receiver room for 2020. Former Michigan wideout Tarik Black announced on his Instagram account Monday night that he would be transferring to the Longhorns. Black entered the transfer portal -- oftentimes the first, but not final, move in leaving a program -- back in December.
Black's three years at Michigan are best described in "what if?" fashion. A four-star recruit and the No. 1 player out of Connecticut in 2017, Black spent a large chunk of his time in Ann Arbor hampered by nagging foot injuries. The injury occurred early in his freshman campaign and sidelined him for most of that season. He suffered another setback with his foot in August 2018 and missed about half of that season as well.
Healthy, Black returned in 2019, but caught only 25 passes for 323 yards and a touchdown in Michigan's so-so passing attack. In all, he finished his Michigan career with 507 yards and two touchdowns. He will be immediately eligible at Texas and will have two years remaining.
Black may be able to help Texas in a way that he wasn't able to help Michigan. Longhorns quarterback Sam Ehlinger has a big arm and Texas employs a deep passing game off of its power running attack. At 6-foot-3 and 215 pounds, Black is the type of big-bodied deep threat who could stretch the field vertically. He showed flashes of that in Ann Arbor and could be more of a natural fit in Texas' offense.
The Longhorns lost two receivers to graduation -- Devin Duvernay and Collin Johnson -- and are in need of a veteran presence in a young, but talented wide receiver room.
