Spring football is on the horizon for the 13 FBS programs in the state of Texas and that means it is time to shift focus forward toward the 2026 season and rank the 10-best players at each position, starting with quarterbacks. 

The Lone Star State sent 10 programs to bowl games and two to the College Football Playoff in a historic year for college teams here in Texas. Five of the 13 finished inside the AP Top 25 and only Baylor, Sam Houston, and UTEP failed to reach the postseason. Nine of the 13 teams finished with a winning record. 

A quick look at the quarterback situations at our 13 schools suggests that the 2026 season could be even better. This list is meant to predict who has the best 2026, not necessarily who would get drafted first or demand the most money in the transfer portal. Think of it like a pound-for-pound ranking in boxing. 

1. Arch Manning, Texas 

2025 stats: 3,163 passing yards, 26 TDs, 7 INTs; 399 rushing yards, 10 rushing touchdowns 

Manning was overrated early in the 2025 season and underrated by the time it ended. He accounted for over 3,500 total yards and 36 touchdowns in his first full season as a starter and registered 15 total touchdowns to just one interception over his last five games. 

Maybe the media rushed his coronation heading into 2025, me included, but he seems like the obvious choice for the top quarterback in Texas and will be one of the favorites to win the Heisman Trophy and be the No. 1 pick in the NFL Draft alongside Oregon’s Dante Moore. Texas also improved around him with a strong portal class that includes WR Cam Coleman, RBs Raleek Brown and Hollywood Smothers, and a pair of instant starters along the offensive line. 

2. Kevin Jennings, SMU 

2025 stats: 3,641 passing yards, 26 TDs, 13 INTs; 4 rushing touchdowns

Jennings is entering his third year as the starter at SMU and that continuity alongside head coach and play caller, Rhett Lashlee, counts for something. Jennings took a step forward as a pocket passer in 2025 while nagging lower body injuries kept him from exploiting his running talents as much as he did in 2024 when he ran for 354 yards and five touchdowns. Jennings is 14-2 against ACC opponents over the last two years and the Mustangs are 18-6 with him as a starter and that includes a trip to the CFP. Jennings does throw too many interceptions and that almost dropped him to No. 3 on the list. 

3. Brendan Sorsby, Texas Tech 

2025 stats: 2,800 passing yards, 27 TDs, 5 INTs; 580 rushing yards, 9 rushing touchdowns (Cincinnati) 

I understand the argument from some that Sorsby should be ranked ahead of Jennings after a stellar 2025 and a big paycheck from Texas Tech. The Lake Dallas native returns to the state after a breakout performance in Year 2 as the starter at Cincinnati, accounting for over 3,300 total yards and 36 touchdowns a year ago. Sorsby, who began his career at Indiana, was arguably the most important transfer portal addition in Texas because he’s an upgrade over Behren Morton and the loss to Oregon in the Orange Bowl showed that the Red Raiders needed a difference maker at the position to get over the next hump. He’ll be a great fit in OC Mack Leftwich’s offense and his mobility will be a huge addition for Texas Tech. 

4. Conner Weigman, Houston 

2025 stats: 2,705 passing yards, 25 TDs, 9 INTs; 700 rushing yards, 11 rushing touchdowns

If we were ranking the quarterbacks in tiers, the second tier would start at the four spot and there are arguments for a few players here. I’m picking Weigman after he led the Cougars to a 10-win season, six more than the year before he arrived. Weigman racked up 3,400 yards of total offense and scored 36 total touchdowns. His 11 rushing touchdowns accounted for 65 percent of Houston’s rushing scores on the year and he was second on the team in rushing yards. 

The Houston offense is a perfect schematic fit for Weigman, who was served well in the move away from Texas A&M. He’s gotten healthy and away from Jimbo Fisher’s 55-page binder and that’s allowed him to look more like the five-star prospect he was out of Cypress Bridgeland. 

5. Brad Jackson, Texas State 

2025 stats: 3,224 passing yards, 21 TDs, 7 INTs; 744 rushing yards, 17 rushing touchdowns 

The most prolific dual-threat quarterback in Texas resides in San Marcos. Brad Jackson ran for more yards than any other signal caller at the FBS level here in Texas and nearly hit 4,000 yards of total offense to go with his state-high 38 total touchdowns. There is a world in which B-Jack accounts for over 4,000 yards and 40 touchdowns in 2026. Keeping him at Texas State was one of the bigger offseason wins for any G6 program in America and he returns two 1,000-yard receivers as the Bobcats head into the Pac-12. 

6. Marcel Reed, Texas A&M 

2025 stats: 3,169 passing yards, 25 TDs, 12 INTs; 493 rushing yards, 6 rushing touchdowns 

Ranking Reed this low might cause controversy and, frankly, I understand the pushback considering he was a Heisman candidate in November and led the Aggies to an 11-0 start and into the College Football Playoff. But I can’t get over how pedestrian he looked against Texas and Miami down the stretch when he threw for zero touchdowns and four interceptions over those two games. In three games against ranked opponents, Reed threw for two touchdowns compared to five interceptions. He only threw for 13 touchdowns and 11 interceptions in games against P4 opponents. The 2026 slate is much tougher for Texas A&M in 2026 and it’ll require another big jump from Reed this offseason for the Aggies to come close to last year’s success. 

7. D.J. Lagway, Baylor 

2025 stats: 2,264 passing yards, 16 TDs, 14 INTs; 1 rushing touchdown (Florida)

The quarterback with the best chance to rocket up the rankings by the end of 2026 is Lagway, a former Mr. Texas Football who spent his first two seasons in college at Florida. He’s back in the Lone Star State and teamed up with OC Jake Spavital to lead the Baylor offense. If healthy, Lagway could be the Comeback Player of the Year in college football. Remember, he was 6-1 as a starter down the stretch as a true freshman, including back-to-back wins over Top 25 teams. The 2025 season was a dumpster fire for the Gators and Lagway was never healthy. He’ll need to cut down on his turnovers in Waco. 

8. Owen McCown, UTSA 

2025 stats: 2,995 passing yards, 30 TDs, 7 INTs; 1 rushing touchdown 

McCown quietly had an outstanding season for a Roadrunners team that was great at home and awful on the road. He registered over 3,000 yards of total offense and had one of the best TD-to-INT rates on the list. He will be playing for a new offensive coordinator in 2026, so there are some variables there when projected him the UTSA offense in 2026. McCown’s floor is high.   

9. Jaden Craig, TCU 

2025 stats: 2,869 passing yards, 25 TDs, 7 INTs; 3 rushing touchdowns (Harvard)

One of the more interesting quarterback additions in the portal was Craig to TCU after Josh Hoover bolted for Indiana. Craig left Harvard as the program’s all-time leading passer and head coach Sonny Dykes has a great track record finding quarterbacks who fall through the cracks. Craig will team up with new offensive coordinator Gordon Sammis for the Frogs and we could look back and laugh that he was this low. My reservations come from the jump from Ivy League to the Big 12. 

10. Tayven Jackson, North Texas 

2025 stats: 2,151 passing yards, 10 TDs, 8 INTs; 3 rushing touchdowns 

There were other candidates for the No. 10 spot, including UTEP’s EJ Colson, Rice’s Jacurri Brown, and Sam Houston’s Landyn Locke. We chose Jackson because of his experience at Power Four programs, including Indiana and UCF. He began his career at Tennessee. Jackson started the final five games for UCF in 2025 and looked better with each successive start. 

Honorable mention: EJ Colson (UTEP), Jacurri Brown (Rice), Landyn Locke (Sam Houston).