RB Brandon High Jr. is back at UTSA as boomerang transfer
Remember the Alamodome.
Brandon High Jr. certainly took that to heart when he entered the transfer portal for the second straight season. The former UTSA running back transferred to California last offseason. But after one season in Berkeley, the Spring, Texas, native returned to his original home in San Antonio. High is a Roadrunner again.
High spent the 2023 and 2024 seasons with UTSA, accumulating 509 rushing yards and eight touchdowns during his first stint. Almost all of that production came during his breakout 2024 campaign, in which he shared carries with Robert Henry Jr. for 12th nationally in offensive yards per game. High averaged 5.3 yards per carry en route to a 495-yard season (second on the team) where he reached for at least 60 yards and a touchdown in five of 12 appearances.
Advertisement
During the 2024 Myrtle Beach Bowl domination of Coastal Carolina, High recorded a career-high 103 yards from scrimmage and a touchdown, fueling the Roadrunners’ 44-15 victory on the teal turf of Conway, South Carolina. After that contest, he packed his bags west to California, where he supported Kendrick Raphael. In one season as a Golden Bear, High rushed for 98 yards and a touchdown, with all of his production occurring before October.
High was limited by injuries starting in October and was therefore limited to only five games at Cal. He returned to San Antonio where he reunited with his former head coach Jeff Traylor and quarterback Owen McCown. High joins a backroom led by former (and current) teammate Will Anderson III, who has produced 866 rushing yards and six touchdowns on a 6.9 average in 2025. When High trades on Jan. 9, the Roadrunners are expected to retain backups A’Marion Peterson and Bryson Donnell, forming an experienced group of tailbacks in San Antonio.
Boomerang transfers like High are not uncommon in the modern era of the transfer portal. For example, Ohio running back Sieh Bangura played for the Bobcats from 2021-23, made a brief pit stop in Minnesota, and returned to Ohio in 2025 where he produced a 1,392-yard, 15-touchdown season. High is looking at something similar at UTSA, hoping his return to San Antonio will spark his best year yet.
