AUSTIN — The Texas Longhorns recently landed a commitment from Troy transfer quarterback Matthew Caldwell, and reportedly had to beat out some SEC competition in order to do so.

According to Matt Zenitz of 247Sports (paid content), the Auburn Tigers were another team in the mix for Caldwell. Zenitz reports that an unnamed team that played in the College Football Playoff this past season was also in the running.

An Auburn native, Caldwell could have joined his hometown Tigers but decided to head to Austin to start a new chapter with the Longhorns.

Caldwell began his college career at Jacksonville State before spending two years at Gardner-Webb. However, he had the best season of his career in 2024 with Troy, completing 141 of 223 passes for 1,608 yards, 13 touchdowns and eight interceptions. He also added five rushing touchdowns, which marked the most by a Troy quarterback since 2017.

He started the final five games of the season for Troy and six total. This was highlighted by starting on the road against Iowa in September. Caldwell finished that game 14 of 21 passing for 156 yards, one touchdown and one interception in a 38-21 loss.

Caldwell’s best game of the season came in a win over Georgia Southern when he went 26 of 32 passing for 288 yards, two touchdowns and no picks while adding two more scores with his legs. He was named Sun Belt Offensive Player of the Week and Manning Star of the Week for his efforts.

Caldwell is the sixth transfer to commit to Texas this spring, joining Syracuse defensive lineman Maraad Watson, Texas State kicker Mason Shipley, Stanford wide receiver Emmett Mosley V, Cal tight end Jack Endries and Maryland defensive lineman Lavon Johnson.

These six players joined a transfer group that already included three defensive linemen in North Carolina’s Travis Shaw, Purdue’s Cole Brevard and Ohio State’s Hero Kanu along with Utah punter Jack Bouwmeester and Arkansas linebacker Brad Spence.

The new portal class will get a chance to make their Texas debuts when the Longhorns open up the regular season in Columbus against the Ohio State Buckeyes on Aug. 30.