With Alabama Crimson Tide transfer tight end Amari Niblack trending to the Texas Longhorns on Thursday with
two 247Sports Crystal Ball predictions and an On3 RPM following the news that Niblack is on a two-day visit to
Austin, reports from On3 and On Texas Football suggest that the Tuscaloosa to Austin pipeline may be about to
continue.
There are no staff connections for the 6’4″, 233-pound player, unlike several former Alabama players who used the
NCAA transfer portal and ultimately ended up at Texas. Additionally, he is not a product of Lone Star State like
linebacker Kendrick Blackshire, who signed with the Longhorns earlier this week.
But Texas urgently needs to find a starting-caliber player in the portal after star tight end Ja’Tavion Sanders left for
the NFL, and Niblack seemed like a perfect fit when it was announced on Sunday that he was planning to leave
Alabama following head coach Nick Saban’s retirement last week.
The news of Niblack’s visit to the Forty Acres immediately made the Horns the favorites, with the likelihood high
that the Florida product will commit before leaving campus and in fact stay on campus to enroll in classes, which
began on Tuesday, despite the buzz about Niblack and Texas remaining around the margins over the previous few
days.
Niblack, a unanimous four-star prospect in the 2022 recruiting class, came into the 247Sports Composite rankings
out of Lakewood High School in Clearwater as the 99th best player in the country and the 5th best athlete. Niblack
camp-ed in Tuscaloosa and received an offer among camps at Florida State and Georgia prior to rising in the
rankings. A few days later, Niblack
committed and, after finishing with 650 receiving yards as a senior, shot up into the top 100 nationally.
As a true freshman at Alabama, Niblack caught one pass for 15 yards and a touchdown in his lone start. Niblack had
a breakout year in 2023, catching 20 passes for 327 yards and four touchdowns in four starts. In the game against
Texas, Niblack caught two catches for 45 yards and a touchdown; he also made an outstanding catch and run over
the middle that resulted in numerous broken tackles, as well as a 39-yard reception early in the fourth quarter that
reduced the deficit to three points.
