Texas is back atop the SEC preseason pecking order.
For the second straight year, the Longhorns were picked to win the conference title in the USA TODAY Sports Network’s 2026 preseason forecast, and they did it with a roster that also dominated the All-SEC selections. Texas placed a conference-high five players on the preseason All-SEC team, the clearest sign that the Longhorns are viewed as the league’s deepest and most decorated group heading into the season.
Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss was voted the preseason SEC Player of the Year, while Texas offensive lineman Trevor Goosby and Auburn linebacker Xavier Atkins stood out as the only unanimous first-team choices.
The preseason ballots were cast by 15 members of the USA TODAY Network who cover the SEC, and the results spread across the league with a few clear winners. Along with Texas, five other schools - Georgia, LSU, Missouri, Oklahoma and Ole Miss - landed multiple players on the All-SEC team. On the other end, Arkansas, Florida, Kentucky, Mississippi State and Vanderbilt were the only programs left without a preseason All-SEC selection.
The order of finish also showed Texas in front, with Georgia collecting six first-place votes and the Longhorns earning nine. After that came LSU, Ole Miss, Texas A&M, Oklahoma, Alabama, Tennessee, Florida, Missouri, Auburn, South Carolina, Vanderbilt, Kentucky, Mississippi State and Arkansas.
It was a preseason snapshot that put Texas in the spotlight, highlighted Chambliss as the league’s top individual pick, and gave Goosby and Atkins the rare distinction of unanimous first-team honors.
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