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Texas finds its Gunnar Helm replacement with pledge from top transfer portal tight end
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Texas added a depth piece on the defensive side of the football Friday afternoon. Shortly after, coach Steve Sarkisian added a transfer portal pledge from an offensive weapon who could step right into a starting role.
According to multiple reports, Cal transfer tight end Jack Endries has signed with Texas. On3’s Pete Nakos was the first to report the news.
Endries spent 3 seasons at Cal, redshirting in 2022 before appearing in each of the Golden Bears’ next 26 games. A former walk-on, Endries started every game for Cal over the last 2 seasons. He’ll have 2 years of eligibility remaining.
While replacing the NFL-bound Gunnar Helm won’t be easy, Endries seems up to the task. He’s a 6-foot-4, 240-pounder with 91 career receptions for 1,030 yards. He was a second-team Freshman All-American selection by The Athletic in 2023 when he caught 35 balls for 407 yards and 2 scores. As a redshirt sophomore last fall, he was Cal’s leading receiver with 56 receptions for 623 yards.
Thirty-three of his 56 receptions went for first downs in 2024. He forced 4 missed tackles and was only flagged for 1 penalty. Cal quarterbacks had a 120.2 rating when throwing at Endries.
Pro Football Focus ranked him as the second-best returning tight end in the country back in February. According to the service, Endries made 9 contested catches last season and dropped only 1 catchable ball on 61 targets. PFF gave Endries an 85.4 receiver grade last season, the eighth-best mark among qualified FBS tight ends. He has 16 contested catches in his career.
Helm was a huge part of the Texas offense last season, catching 60 balls for 786 yards and 7 scores. No Texas player had more receptions, and only Matthew Golden had more touchdown catches. Endries provides Sarkisian with the same kind of receiving threat.
The Cal transfer has work to do as a blocker — PFF gave him a 48.2 run-blocking grade last season — but the Bears used him more in the slot (41% of his snaps) than they did as an in-line tight end. Helm was more of the latter. Regardless of where he lines up, though, he’ll give Arch Manning a reliable option underneath.
Endries becomes the eighth transfer to join Texas this offseason. The Longhorns also signed 4-star Houston product Nick Townsend and 3-star Georgia prospect Emaree Winston out of the high school class.
Derek Peterson does a bit of everything, not unlike Taysom Hill. He has covered Oklahoma, Nebraska, the Pac-12, and now delivers CFB-wide content.
