Texas isn't short on star power this season.
The Texas Longhorns will see several players depart the program after this 2026 season and head to the NFL.
Head coach Steve Sarkisian has returned Texas to being one of the biggest pipelines to the NFL, but the Longhorns are still looking to channel that talent and star power into meaningful wins in a CFP run.
This season, the preseason No. 5-ranked team in the country will yet again be filled with upper-echelon players at several positions.
Who, exactly? ESPN ranked the 100 best college football players as the preseason comes to an end. Texas is tied with defending national champion Indiana with seven representatives, the second-most of any team and one behind Oregon's eight.
3. Colin Simmons
The SEC sack leader from a year ago has 21.0 total sacks across his two seasons in Austin. The former 5-star recruit is definitively ranked as the best pass rusher in the country, and the second-best defender overall behind Notre Dame cornerback Leonard Moore.
"A preseason All-America candidate, Simmons has played in 29 career games and has the experience and ability to lead a strong defensive front with big plans to help get the Longhorns back to the CFP," said writer Andrea Adelson.
12. Trevor Goosby
Goosby headlines an experienced Longhorns offensive line, which should allow quarterback Arch Manning all the confidence he might need to thrive in this loaded offense.
The junior left tackle is ranked as the second-best offensive lineman in college football behind Georgia tackle Carter Smith.
13. Arch Manning
The preseason hype was deafening - and so was the noise after Manning got off to his slow start last year as the new full-time starter.
This year, the high expectations remain high, but they're justifiable after his stellar end-of-season was punctuated with a four-touchdown showing against Michigan in a bowl win.
A potential top-five draft pick waits for Manning, whom several NFL teams will be eyeing as maybe the next face of their franchise, but he wants to bring the Longhorns back to glory first, and there are still refinements to be made for him to get there.
15. Cam Coleman
Helping Manning in those efforts is the third-highest-ranked wide receiver on this list, who is also the top among pass-catchers entering his first season with a new team.
At Auburn, Coleman proved himself against SEC competition. Who knows how much he can build on his stardom with a better quarterback now looking in his direction?
Four Longhorns in the top 15? No other team has more than two.
44. Rasheem Biles
"The Pitt transfer was one of the best defensive players in the ACC last year and did a little bit of everything for the Panthers from his linebacker spot," Adelson said.
Biles is the center of the Texas defense after Anthony Hill Jr. moved on to the Tennessee Titans. In 2025, Biles secured 101 tackles, recovered two fumbles, and was effective at covering the pass with six pass breakups and a pair of interceptions.
47. Hollywood Smothers
Smothers was not ranked in the preseason list this time last year, but he makes the cut in 2026 after starring for NC State over the last two seasons. Analyst Bill Connelly says Smothers sharing the backfield could "could keep him fresh and maximize the potentially extreme physicality of the Texas run game."
85. Raleek Brown
The other side of that duo is Brown, who transfers to Texas from Arizona State, where he was voted a first-team all-conference rusher by Big 12 coaches last season.
Brown also brings a pass-catching versatility that Sarkisian has maximized in other running backs. That will be a big advantage for a running back unit that is completely remodeled from last season.
