The Texas Longhorns are about a week from opening the 2026 season, and the quarterback slate waiting on the other side is already taking shape.
Steve Sarkisian brings back Arch Manning for his second year as the full-time starter, and Texas will lean on one of the most talented rosters in the country as it chases a national title. But Manning is not going to spend the fall in a vacuum. All 12 regular-season opponents have now identified their starting quarterbacks, and the Longhorns have a real mix in front of them: proven passers, dangerous runners, and a few complete unknowns.
The toughest name at the top of the list is Julian Sayin. He enters his third season with Ohio State after his first full year as the starter, and he made the most of it with 3,610 passing yards.
The downside is clear too: he was not a factor on the ground, finishing with negative 44 rushing yards. Even so, he walks into Austin backed by one of the best rosters in the sport, and the matchup with Manning has the feel of a true quarterback showcase.
Just behind him is Trinidad Chambliss, who became one of the stories of the season last year. Across 15 games, he piled up 3,937 passing yards, 22 touchdowns and only three interceptions, while adding 527 rushing yards and eight scores on the ground.
With Lane Kiffin now at LSU, the big question is whether Chambliss can recreate that level of production without him. The talent is still obvious.
A few spots later comes Marcel Reed, who burst onto the scene last year with 3,169 passing yards and 25 touchdowns against 12 interceptions. He also helped lead the Aggies to their first College Football Playoff appearance, which pushed him into Heisman conversation midway through the season. Reed did fade over the final four games, throwing half of his interceptions during that stretch, but the arm talent is still there for him to rank among the SEC’s top quarterbacks.
Garrett Nussmeier’s successor at Texas A&M, if you want to call him that, isn’t in this group; instead, the Longhorns will also see a pair of quarterbacks who could swing wildly from one week to the next. Devon Simmons opened last year as the starter ahead of Trinidad Chambliss before an ankle injury cut short his run.
Before that injury, he completed 60 percent of his passes for 744 yards and four touchdowns, though he also threw five interceptions. That kind of profile makes him a true boom-or-bust threat.
So does Sam Leavitt, who spent last season battling injury but is only one year removed from being the story of the College Football Playoffs with Arizona State. Now in Lane Kiffin’s offense, he should have plenty of chances to create plays. The ability is there for him to turn into one of the better passers in the country this season.
The Longhorns will also face John Mateer, one of the most hyped quarterback transfers from a year ago. He returns to Oklahoma after a season he’d probably rather forget, looking for something closer to his 2024 form.
Texas saw him last season and held him to 202 yards, no touchdowns and three interceptions. He can still hurt defenses both through the air and on the ground, and that makes him dangerous no matter what the previous stat line says.
In the Group of Five, there are several quarterbacks who would make life uncomfortable for Texas. Owen McCown might be the best pure passer in that group.
He has thrown for 2,900 yards or more in the previous season, including 3,424 two years ago, and this will be his fourth season with the Road Runners and fifth in college football overall. He had Power Four interest but chose to stay put, and he brings a complete game at every level of the field.
Will Hammond is another name worth watching. He transferred from Georgia Tech with limited snaps but still finished with 373 passing yards, one touchdown and one interception while completing 75 percent of his throws.
The sample size is small, but he has the frame to succeed, and Florida’s rebuilding roster may not give him much help. Even so, his arm strength can still show up as the season moves along.
Then there’s Taylen Taylor, a run-first quarterback who can still do damage with his arm. In the Egg Bowl against Ole Miss last year, he totaled more than 150 yards through the air and on the ground. If he sharpens his passing accuracy, he could climb much higher on a list like this because his running ability may be the best Texas sees all season.
The most intriguing true freshman in the bunch is Brandon. He was the No. 2-ranked quarterback out of high school and a top-five prospect in the 2026 class, and he arrives as a complete wildcard.
He can beat defenses on the ground and in the air, and earning the job as a freshman says plenty about how the staff views him. Texas will be the first SEC opponent he faces, so the test comes fast.
And then there’s Austin Jackson, who may be the most under-the-radar quarterback on the schedule. He’s coming off a huge season in which he rushed for 744 yards and 17 touchdowns while also throwing for 3,224 yards, 21 passing touchdowns and only seven interceptions. If he does that again, there’s a real case that he belongs near the very top of this list.
The Longhorns won’t just be measuring themselves against names. They’ll be measuring themselves against styles - runners, passers, and quarterbacks who can flip a game in a hurry. That’s the road in front of Arch Manning and Texas in 2026.
In Other News...
Texas Has A Real Stake In The SECs New Eligibility Fight
The SECs new eligibility guidelines have given Texas another thing to monitor as the conference sorts through what counts as an amateur, what counts as a pro, and who gets to stay on a roster while those lines are being tested. The policy bars athletes who have declared for professional drafts without properly withdrawing, or who have signed professional contracts, from being on SEC team rosters, and it arrives with enough uncertainty that it could ripple beyond one school or one player.
For Texas, the issue has a direct edge because the Longhorns have their own roster questions to weigh as the league works through the fallout. Steve Sarkisian addressed the situation as it develops, while Cole Hutsons eligibility status has also come into the conversation, underscoring how quickly a conference rule can become a week-to-week concern for a team trying to settle its lineup. The next step may come in court, which is where this sort of fight often gets decided. [Read more 🡒]
Texas May Have Found Its New Starting Linebacker Duo
Justin Cryer has spent spring football adjusting to a new system and a new opportunity, and both have come at the right time for Texas. The Florida State transfer is settling into Will Muschamps defensive scheme while carving out a role next to Rasheem Biles, giving the Longhorns a clearer look at a linebacker pairing that could matter this fall. With TyAnthony Smith out after shoulder surgery, the door opened for Cryer to make the most of his final college season.
What has stood out is how quickly Cryer and Biles have built chemistry while learning the defense side by side. That kind of partnership can be hard to manufacture in a short window, especially with a new coordinator installing his approach, but Texas appears to be getting early signs that the middle of its defense may already be taking shape. The next question is whether that spring momentum carries over once the games start to count. [Read more 🡒]
Texas Fans Finally Have Clarity On Cole Hutson's Eligibility
Cole Hutsons path back to Texas has been unusually complicated, but it now has a clearer ending. The offensive lineman was granted an additional season of eligibility after suing the NCAA and getting a temporary restraining order, a move that kept his college football future alive after he had already spent time around the professional game with rookie minicamps for the Dallas Cowboys and Cleveland Browns.
For Texas, the key point is simple: Hutson did not sign a pro contract, which matters under the SECs new policy barring players who have signed professional deals from returning to college sports. Arch Manning said he was surprised by the situation but welcomed Hutson back, and for a Longhorns team always looking to stabilize the line, having one more available body with this kind of backstory is a welcome development. [Read more 🡒]