AUSTIN, Texas — The Texas Longhorns football team is adding another weapon to its offense for the 2024 season.
On Sunday, the team secured a commitment from Alabama wide receiver Isaiah Bond, according to a report from ESPN's Pete Thamel.
Bond entered the transfer portal after Alabama head coach Nick Saban announced his retirement on Wednesday. The ESPN report cites Saban's retirement and Bond wishing to increase his draft stock ahead of the 2025 NFL Draft as motivating factors in the move.
Bond led the Crimson Tide's in catches in 2023, hauling in 48 catches for 668 yards and four touchdowns. One of those touchdowns was the punctuation mark on one of the season's most memorable plays, when he caught a Hail Mary pass from quarterback Jalen Milroe in the final seconds against Auburn on Nov. 25. The play secured the win for the Crimson Tide and allowed them to remain alive for, and ultimately secure, a College Football Playoff berth.
Bond will join a receiving corps that will be slightly depleted with the departures of starters Xavier Worthy and A.D. Mitchell, both of whom declared for the NFL Draft shortly after the Longhorns lost to Washington in the Sugar Bowl.
Given his experience, Bond will likely become an immediate starter for the Longhorns in 2024. His first action on the Forty Acres will be in the team's Orange-White Spring Game on April 20.