The 2026 Texas Longhorns football team represents the University of Texas at Austin as a member of the Southeastern Conference (SEC) during the 2026 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The season is Texas' 134th overall season, and their 3rd as a member of the SEC. The team is led by Steve Sarkisian in his sixth year as their head coach and offensive play-caller, with Will Muschamp making his return as defensive coordinator, and offensive coordinator Kyle Flood returning along with co-offensive coordinator A. J. Milwee. The team plays its home games at Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin, Texas.
The year prior to this saw the Longhorns finish 10–3 despite entering the 2025 season as the consensus preseason number one team. They finished ranked 12th in the final APpoll after a Citrus Bowl victory over Michigan. Previous defensive coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski, analyst Duane Akina, and running backs coach Chad Scott were fired that December as part of a major coaching staff shakeup by Sarkisian. The offseason saw the arrival of multiple high profile transfers to the Forty Acres which included wide receiver Cam Coleman and linebacker Rasheem Biles, among others, and the signing of a consensus top-10 nationally ranked high school recruiting class.
Notable players from the 2025 team who returned in 2026 include Citrus BowlMVP and quarterback Arch Manning, second-team All-SEC wide receiver Ryan Wingo, first-team All-American return specialist Ryan Niblett, first-team All-SEC defensive end Colin Simmons, and first-team All-SEC offensive tackle Trevor Goosby.
Their Week 2 home win against Ohio State was their largest comeback win since 2007, and the largest fourth-quarter comeback against an AP No. 1 team in NCAA Football history. It was also the biggest comeback win of Arch Manning's football career.
Offseason
Position key BackBCenterCCornerbackCBDefensive backDBDefensive endDEDefensive linemanDLDefensive tackleDTEndEFullbackFBGuardGHalfbackHBKickerKKickoff returnerKROffensive tackleOTOffensive linemanOLLinebackerLBLong snapperLSPunterPPunt returnerPRQuarterbackQBRunning backRBSafetySTight endTEWide receiverWR
Offseason departures
NFL draftees
Anthony Hill Jr. 2 60 Tennessee Titans LB Malik Muhammad 4 124 Chicago Bears CB Trey Moore 4 130 Miami Dolphins LB Michael Taaffe 5 158 Miami Dolphins S Wuerffel Trophy winner DJ Campbell 6 200 Miami Dolphins OL Jack Endries 7 221 Cincinnati Bengals TE Jack Bouwmeester Undrafted San Francisco 49ers P Cole Brevard Undrafted Kansas City Chiefs DL Ethan Burke Undrafted Baltimore Ravens DE Matthew Caldwell Undrafted Los Angeles Rams QB Jaylon Guilbeau Undrafted Carolina Panthers CB Travis Shaw Undrafted Baltimore Ravens DL Mason Shipley Undrafted New Orleans Saints K
Outgoing transfers
Elijah Barnes LB 6'1'' 230 Dallas, TX 4 Freshman Kentucky CJ Baxter RB 6'1'' 216 Orlando, FL 8 Sophomore Kentucky Nick Brooks OL 6'7'' 360 Loganville, GA 5 Freshman Alabama Aaron Butler WR 6'0'' 165 Calabasas, CA 3 Freshman Oregon State Caleb Chester CB 6'2'' 175 Missouri City, TX 1 Freshman Arizona State Christian Clark RB 5'11'' 195 Phoenix, AZ 8 Freshman South Carolina Daniel Cruz OL 6'3'' 295 North Richland Hills, TX 2 Freshman NC State Jaime Ffrench WR 6'1'' 184 Jacksonville, FL 4 Freshman Michigan Jerrick Gibson RB 5'10'' 215 Gainesville, FL 4 Sophomore Purdue Graham Gillespie DB 6'0'' 195 Cypress, TX 1 Senior North Texas Melvin Hills III DL 6'3'' 275 Lafayette, LA 4 Freshman UConn Lavon Johnson DL 6'3'' 295 Allentown, PA 7 Junior Maryland Nate Kibble OL 6'3'' 315 Humble, TX 3 Freshman Baylor Liona Lefau LB 6'1'' 211 Kahuku, HI 12 Junior Colorado Parker Livingstone WR 6'3'' 190 Lucas, TX 13 Freshman Oklahoma DeAndre Moore Jr. WR 6'0'' 188 Los Alamitos, CA 11 Junior Colorado Trey Owens QB 6'5'' 235 Cypress, TX 0 Freshman Arkansas State Colin Page RB 6'0'' 203 Austin, TX 1 Senior North Texas Ricky Stewart Jr. RB 5'11'' 180 Tyler, TX 0 Freshman SFA Will Stone K 6'0'' 175 Austin, TX 4 Senior UCF Connor Stroh OL 6'6'' 350 Frisco, TX 11 Sophomore Kansas Neto Umeozulu OL 6'4'' 285 Allen, TX 12 Junior North Texas Jordan Washington TE 6'4'' 220 Houston, TX 12 Freshman North Carolina Santana Wilson CB 6'0'' 173 Scottsdale, AZ 2 Freshman Louisville Quintrevion Wisner RB 5'11'' 186 DeSoto, TX 9 Junior Florida State *GP denotes Games played for the Longhorns in the 2025 season by listed player.
Incoming transfers Sterling Berkhalter WR 6'3" 203 Cincinnati, OH Senior Wake Forest Jan 30, 2026 Rasheem Biles LB 6'1" 220 Pickerington, OH Senior Pittsburgh Jan 10, 2026 Markus Boswell LB 6'1" 230 Austin, TX Sophomore Akron Jan 18, 2026 Raleek Brown RB 5'9" 195 Santa Ana, CA Senior Arizona State Jan 8, 2026 Mac Chiumento P 6'4" 221 Daytona Beach, FL Senior Florida State Jan 8, 2026 Cam Coleman WR 6'3" 201 Phenix City, AL Junior Auburn Jan 11, 2026 Justin Cryer LB 6'1" 237 Katy, TX Senior Florida State Jan 9, 2026 Trey DuBuc LS 6'1" 219 Fort Lauderdale, FL Junior New Mexico Jan 4, 2026 Ian Geffrard DL 6'5" 387 Mableton, GA Junior Arkansas Jan 4, 2026 Nick Hudson DB 5'10" 175 Houston, TX Senior Brown Apr 17, 2026 Bo Mascoe CB 5'11" 185 Kissimmee, FL Junior Rutgers Jan 6, 2026 Michael Masunas TE 6'5" 259 Chandler, AZ Senior Michigan State Jan 5, 2026 MJ Morris QB 6'1" 191 Atlanta, GA Senior Coastal Carolina Jan 22, 2026 Jonte Newman OT 6'4" 275 Cypress, TX Fresh. Texas A&M Jan 14, 2026 Paris Patterson OL 6'4" 355 East St. Louis, IL Junior SMU Mar 31, 2026 Laurance Seymore OL 6'2" 312 Miami, FL Graduate Western Kentucky Jan 27, 2026 Melvin Siani OT 6'6" 275 Kingston, PA Junior Wake Forest Jan 15, 2026 Dylan Sikorski OL 6'5" 290 Sumner, WA Soph. Oregon State Jan 9, 2026 Hollywood Smothers RB 5'10" 190 Charlotte, NC Junior NC State Jan 11, 2026 Darius Snow LB 6'1" 230 Frisco, TX Senior Michigan State Apr 11, 2026 Gianni Spetic K 6'1" 190 Chardon, OH Senior Memphis Jan 5, 2026 Zion Williams DL 6'3" 330 Lufkin, TX Fresh. LSU Jan 8, 2026
Recruits
The Horns signed a total of 24 recruits, 23 on prior to National Signing Day. The 2026 class was a consensus top 10 nationally and top 3 in the SEC according to the 247Sports.com Composite Rankings, On3's Rivals.com, and ESPN.
2026 overall class ranking WebsiteNational rankConference rank5 star recruits4 star recruits3 star recruits2 star recruits1 star recruitsNo star ranking On3 Rivals #7 #3 4 12 10 0 00 247 Sports #6 #2 2 12 12 0 00 ESPN — — 5 9 9 1 00
Returning starters
The Longhorns return twelve starters from the previous season. They return six on offense, five on defense, and one on special teams.
+ Offense Arch Manning Junior QB Ryan Wingo Junior WR Emmett Mosley Junior WR Trevor Goosby Junior OL Connor Robertson Senior OL Brandon Baker Junior OL
+ Defense Colin Simmons Junior EDGE Hero Kanu Senior DL Alex January Junior DL Jelani McDonald Senior DB Graceson Littleton Sophomore DB
+ Special Teams Ryan Niblett Junior KR/PR
Preseason
Outlook and news Texas more aggressively pursued players in the transfer portal compared to a year prior. This decision necessitated the reallocation of NIL money in order to afford high-profile transfers. In total 25 players portaled out of Texas due to disagreements over their contracts or playing time. This was offset by an incoming transfer class of 23 players and 25 incoming freshman recruits. The offensive line was a point of emphasis and Texas brought in LG Laurence Seymore and RT Melvin Siani with the expectation they would start, along with three other OL transfers for experienced depth. The running back room also saw a big impact from the portal with the arrival of Hollywood Smothers and Raleek Brown. Headlining the transfer class were WR Cam Coleman (No. 4 overall transfer according to 247sports.com) and LB Rasheem Biles (No. 1 linebacker transfer per On3).
Spring practices for the team began on March 9 with limited media presence. The annual Longhorn spring game (sometimes referred to as the Orange & White game) was set to return on April 18, 2026, after a one-year hiatus to conclude the spring. In 2025, head coach Steve Sarkisian had cancelled it due to roster turnover and attrition from the previous two seasons. On April 6, Sarkisian announced that the spring game was being replaced with Football Fan Day instead due to a series of injuries. Fan Day included an open practice at Memorial Stadium.
On July 22, Texas offensive lineman Cole Hutson was granted an injunction against the NCAA for an age-based request for an additional fifth season of eligibility, allowing him to play in the 2026–27 season. The following day, it was revealed that cornerback John Meredith III would be reclassifying, forgoing his senior year of high school to enroll at Texas in the fall. Fall camp began on Wednesday, August 5, in Austin. In the preseason coaches poll the team was ranked fourth nationally, and received two first place votes. In the preseason AP Poll, the team was ranked fifth nationally, but with no first place votes.
On August 22, Texas linebacker Ty'Anthony Smith was dismissed from the program. Fall camp concluded for the Horns in late August, the new defense under Will Muschamp outperformed the offense throughout.
Award watch lists Listed in the order that they were released Lott Trophy Colin Simmons EDGE Junior Dodd Award Steve Sarkisian HC – Maxwell Award Arch Manning QB Junior Cam Coleman WR JuniorBronko Nagurski Trophy Colin Simmons EDGE Junior Rasheem Biles LB SeniorOutland Trophy Trevor Goosby OL Junior Brandon Baker OL Junior John Mackey Award Michael Masunas TE Senior Rimington Trophy Connor Robertson OL Senior Lou Groza Award Gianni Spetic K Senior Paul Hornung Award Ryan Niblett WR Junior Wuerffel Trophy Colin Simmons EDGE Junior Lombardi Award Trevor Goosby OL Junior Rasheem Biles LB Senior Colin Simmons EDGE Junior Jim Thorpe Award Jelani McDonald DB Senior Butkus Award Rasheem Biles LB Senior Walter Camp Award Arch Manning QB Junior Cam Coleman WR Junior Colin Simmons EDGE Junior Rasheem Biles LB SeniorDoak Walker Award Hollywood Smothers RB Junior Raleek Brown RB SeniorBiletnikoff Award Cam Coleman WR Junior Ryan Wingo WR Junior Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award Arch Manning QB Junior Polynesian Football Player of the Year Award Brandon Baker OL JuniorChuck Bednarik Award Colin Simmons EDGE Junior Rasheem Biles LB Senior Manning Award Arch Manning QB JuniorEarl Campbell Tyler Rose Award Arch Manning QB Junior Cam Coleman WR Junior Trevor Goosby OL JuniorShaun Alexander Freshman of the Year Jermaine Bishop Jr. WR Freshman Tyler Atkinson LB Freshman Richard Wesley EDGE Freshman
Preseason All-Americans Pre-season All-American HonorsArch Manning QB Junior 1st Team Offense (WCFF)2nd Team Offense (SN) – – – – –Colin Simmons EDGE Junior 1st Team Defense (AP)1st Team Defense (CBS)1st Team Defense (ESPN)1st Team Defense (SI)1st Team Defense (WCFF)1st Team Defense (SN) –Trevor Goosby OL Junior 1st Team Offense (AP)1st Team Offense (CBS)1st Team Offense (ESPN)1st Team Offense (SI)1st Team Offense (WCFF)1st Team Offense (SN) –Rasheem Biles LB Senior 1st Team Defense (AP)1st Team Defense (CBS)1st Team Defense (ESPN)1st Team Defense (SI)1st Team Defense (WCFF)1st Team Defense (SN) –Cam Coleman WR Junior 1st Team Offense (AP)1st Team Offense (CBS)1st Team Offense (ESPN)1st Team Offense (SI)2st Team Offense (WCFF)1st Team Offense (SN) –Ryan Niblett PR Junior 1st Team Specialists (CBS)1st Team Specialists (ESPN)1st Team Specialists (SI)1st Team Specialists (SN) – – –
Preseason SEC awards 2026 Preseason All-SEC teams
Media + First Team Position Player Class Offense WRCam ColemanJR OLTrevor GoosbyJR Defense EDGEColin SimmonsJR LBRasheem BilesSR Special Teams PRRyan NiblettJR
+ Second Team Position Player Class Offense QBArch ManningJR APRyan NiblettJR Special Teams LSTrey DubucJR
+ Third Team Position Player Class Offense RBHollywood SmothersJR WRRyan WingoJR OLBrandon BakerJR Defense DBJelani McDonaldSR
Coaches