Arch Manning, Cam Coleman and Trevor Goosby give Texas three names on the Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award watch list entering the 2026 season.
Texas enters the 2026 season with championship expectations, and three of the biggest reasons why just landed on another major national watch list.
Quarterback Arch Manning, wide receiver Cam Coleman and offensive tackle Trevor Goosby were named to the preseason watch list for the Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award, giving the Longhorns representation at three premium offensive positions.
The award, named for Texas legend and 1977 Heisman Trophy winner Earl Campbell, recognizes the nation’s top Division I offensive player with ties to the state of Texas.
For Manning, this isn’t new territory.
The Texas quarterback was a semifinalist for the award last season after finally getting his first full year as the Longhorns’ starter.
Manning finished 2025 with 3,163 passing yards, 26 touchdown passes and 10 rushing touchdowns, helping Texas post a 10-3 record.
But the numbers only tell part of the story.
Manning became substantially more dangerous as the season progressed. Over his final six games, he threw for 1,714 yards, added 205 rushing yards and accounted for 20 total touchdowns.
His season ended with perhaps his best all-around performance.
Against Michigan in the Citrus Bowl, Manning produced 376 total yards and four touchdowns, throwing for 221 yards and two scores while rushing for a career-high 155 yards and two more touchdowns in Texas’ 41-27 victory.
That late-season surge is a major reason expectations around Manning are so high entering 2026.
And he has another potentially explosive weapon joining him.
Coleman transferred to Texas from Auburn after leading the Tigers with 56 catches for 708 yards and five touchdowns last season.
His best performance came against Vanderbilt, when he hauled in 10 passes for a career-high 143 yards and a touchdown.
The Longhorns didn’t bring Coleman to Austin to simply fill out the receiver rotation. He arrives as one of the most decorated wideouts in the country, already appearing on the Biletnikoff, Maxwell and Walter Camp watch lists.
If Coleman and Manning develop chemistry quickly, Texas could have one of the SEC’s most dangerous quarterback-receiver combinations.
None of it works, however, without protection.
That’s where Goosby enters the picture.
The senior left tackle earned First-Team All-SEC honors in 2025 after starting all 13 games and establishing himself as one of the anchors of the Texas offensive line.
Goosby’s résumé includes some particularly impressive performances against elite competition.
Against Texas A&M, he allowed zero sacks and zero pressures while helping the Longhorns pile up 218 rushing yards in a 27-17 victory over the No. 3 Aggies.
Texas running back Quintrevion Wisner rushed for 155 yards on 19 carries behind an offensive front that controlled the game.
Goosby also helped Texas produce 456 total yards against Michigan in the Citrus Bowl, including 235 yards on the ground.
The combination is what makes Texas intriguing.
Manning provides the star quarterback. Coleman gives him a proven SEC playmaker. Goosby protects the blind side and gives Steve Sarkisian’s offense stability up front.
That’s three very different paths to the same watch list.
Texas has had players come close to winning the Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award in recent years, including Bijan Robinson and Jonathan Brooks, while D’Onta Foreman actually captured it in 2016.
Manning was already a semifinalist once.
This time around, he may have two teammates competing with him for the trophy.
The Longhorns open the 2026 season Sept. 5 against Texas State at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium, and from the opening snap, Manning, Coleman and Goosby will have a chance to start building their cases.
