The 2026 Heisman race already has the feel of a loaded quarterback derby, and the top names come with plenty of production, big expectations and, in a few cases, a real chance to pile up numbers on teams built to win.
One of the most intriguing candidates is Carson Beck at Miami. The redshirt junior was one of the biggest pickups in college football in 2026 after a second-team All-ACC season at Duke, where he threw for 3,973 yards, 34 touchdowns and six interceptions.
He helped lead Duke to nine wins, and now he gets a far more dangerous situation in Coral Gables. Malachi Toney, former Duke teammate Cooper Barkate and senior running back Mark Fletcher are all back, which gives Beck a chance to put up even bigger numbers.
The one question mark is the offensive line, after Francis Mauigoa, Markel Bell and Anez Cooper were all drafted in the spring.
Austin Simmons also enters the conversation after a huge 2025 at Ole Miss. He was one of the most electric players in the sport and finished with a 22-3 touchdown-to-interception ratio, 3,937 passing yards and 527 rushing yards with eight scores on the ground.
That performance earned him SEC Newcomer of the Year honors and a second-team All-SEC nod, and it helped push the Rebels into the College Football Playoff semifinal in a thriller against Miami. The sixth-year senior gets one more run, though Kewan Lacy could take some of the Heisman shine away.
Arch Manning is another quarterback with the kind of profile that turns Heisman voting into a national obsession. The redshirt junior wasn’t quite ready to take over the sport in 2025, but he closed strong enough to make the hype feel justified.
From the Red Rivalry win against Oklahoma on, Manning threw 15 touchdowns and just two interceptions, added six more scores, and helped Texas finish 7-1 after a 3-2 start. For the year, he accounted for 36 total touchdowns, with 26 through the air and 10 on the ground.
With his dual-threat ability and what the source calls arguably the deepest receiver room in college football, he looks like a legitimate Heisman contender.
At Notre Dame, Carr is expected to make the jump from promising starter to national star. He’s being talked about as the next great college quarterback and a possible No. 1 overall pick, and his sophomore season backed up the buzz: 24 touchdown passes, six interceptions, 2,741 passing yards and a 66.6 percent completion rate.
The numbers should climb after Notre Dame lost its top two backs, Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price, to the NFL. He also gets a schedule with major tests at BYU on October 17 and against Miami on November 7, giving him a path to big performances on what could be an undefeated team.
Then there’s Moore, who, based on the 2025 formula with Fernando Mendoza, is being treated as the favorite because he should be the best player on the best team in college football. Oregon took a hit with first-round tight end Kenyon Sadiq gone, but the Ducks still have another projected first-round tight end in Jamari Johnson, who is expected to build on a strong CFP showing.
The receiver group is loaded too, with Dakorien Moore, Jeremiah McClellan and Evan Stewart, who missed the entire 2025 season. Moore is coming off a season with 3,565 passing yards, 30 touchdowns and a 71.8 completion rate, and a Big Ten schedule that includes USC, Ohio State and Michigan gives him plenty of chances to prove it.
In Other News...
DeAndre Moore Just Reopened A Texas Debate Quinn Ewers Never Escaped
Several notable Texas players moved on to new programs this offseason, and DeAndre Moore Jr. is one of the most interesting voices to leave behind a fresh set of parting thoughts. After three years in Austin, Moore has settled in at Colorado, where hes already drawing attention not just for the move itself but for what he had to say about the quarterbacks he played with at Texas, Arch Manning and Quinn Ewers.
Moores comparison of Colorado quarterback Julian Lewis to Ewers is the part Longhorns fans will latch onto, because it reopens an old conversation about style, comfort and what the offense was asking for in Austin. He also made clear he wants to help Lewis develop, which gives the story a forward-looking edge even as it circles back to a Texas debate that never really went away. [Read more 🡒]
Texas Faces An Early CFP Test With Arch Manning In Focus
Before Texas even reaches October, the Longhorns are looking at a stretch that should tell plenty about where they stand in the national picture. The 2026 schedule opens with four games before the lone bye week, and the early runway includes Texas State, UTSA, Ohio State and Tennessee. For a program with College Football Playoff expectations, that kind of September leaves little room for easing in and plenty of room for the season to take shape fast.
A clean 4-0 start would not guarantee anything, but it would give Texas a real foothold in the playoff conversation and some breathing room before the rest of the schedule tightens. The bigger challenge is that the season does not end after that opening burst, with more significant games still waiting later on. For Arch Manning and the Longhorns, the early test is only part of the story, but it may end up carrying outsized weight. [Read more 🡒]
Tre Johnson Just Got A Veteran Mentor Texas Fans Will Notice
Tre Johnson has already made a favorable first impression in Washington, where his work ethic has stood out enough to earn respect from teammates early in his rookie year. For Longhorns fans following his next step, that kind of buy-in matters just as much as highlight plays. Johnson landed in a Wizards situation that is still very much in development mode, and any young guard in that setting can benefit from having a steady veteran presence around him.
Khris Middleton fits that role well, bringing the kind of experience the Wizards want around a player like Johnson as they try to raise the floor of a young roster. His presence gives Johnson another established voice to lean on while he adjusts to the league and keeps building on the habits that already won him notice in the locker room. For Texas backers, it is the sort of pairing that can make a rookie year feel a little less like a leap into the unknown. [Read more 🡒]