Texas wide receivers Matthew Golden and Isaiah Bond are both forgoing their remaining eligibility and entering the 2025 NFL Draft. The Longhorns, fresh off a run to the College Football Playoff semifinal round, are now tasked with having to replace their top two wide receivers entering the 2025 season.
Both Golden and Bond spent just one season in Austin, Texas, after arriving via the transfer portal. Golden spent the first two seasons of his career at Houston, while Bond, a former top-50 prospect in the class of 2022, played at Alabama for two years.
As things stand in the draft process, Bond is widely regarded as one of the top wide receivers in the 2025 NFL Draft. He is the No. 35 overall prospect, which puts him in the first-round conversation, and the No. 5 player at his position in CBS Sports’ Prospect Rankings.
The buzzword with Bond is “upside.” He’s got plenty of athleticism and speed to stretch the field, but he didn’t put up eye-popping numbers while battling through various injury issues and inconsistencies with the Longhorns. Bond finished the 2024 season fourth on the team with 34 catches, third on the team with 540 yards and fifth on the team with five touchdowns, a personal career high.
The 6-foot, 195-pound Golden, meanwhile, came on strong down the stretch after a slow start. He had at least 50 yards receiving in five of Texas’ last six games, including 100 plus-yard performances against Georgia in the SEC Championship Game and Arizona State in the College Football Playoff quarterfinal round.
Golden ended the season as Texas’ leading receiver with 58 catches for 987 yards and nine touchdowns. He also averaged 17.02 yards per catch as one of the SEC’s premier big-play threats.
“For my two years at the University of Houston and an amazing past year on the 40 acres at the University of Texas, I want to thank God, my family, friends, and all of the amazing staff I have had the privilege to work with during my time playing college football,” Golden wrote in his draft declaration on social media.
What it means for Texas
This will be the second year in a row that Texas experiences major turnover at the wide receiver position, so coach Steve Sarkisian at least has a solid blueprint to follow when navigating the offseason. In addition to Golden and Bond, the Longhorns also lost former blue-chip wide receiver Johntay Cook II to the transfer portal.
The Longhorns should, at least, return rising junior DeAndre Moore Jr., who flashed as a reliable option in 2024 with 456 yards and seven touchdowns. Former five-star prospect Ryan Wingo, after a solid freshman season, is poised to take on a bigger role as well.
It helps that Texas has recruited the wide receiver position extremely well under Sarkisian. The Longhorns signed Wingo, the No. 7 wide receiver in his class, in 2024 and followed that by signing two top-10 wide receivers in 2025. Kaliq Lockett (No. 2 WR) and Jaime Ffrench (No. 8 WR) could be hard to keep off the field early in their careers.
Five-star athlete and fellow 2025 signee Michael Terry III could also see playing time at receiver for the Longhorns, though he has the versatility to try multiple positions. Sarkisian has also utilized the transfer portal to find help for his receiver room.
Bond and Golden both arrived via the transfer portal. So did shifty slot Silas Bolden, who played a good bit on offense and starred as Texas’ punt returner. Since 2023, Texas has signed four wide receiver transfers with at least a four-star pedigree in 247Sports’ Transfer Rankings.
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