The Texas Longhorns enter the 2026 college football season with more hype than any other program. After entering last season as the Nation's top ranked team, the Longhorns will likely have that honor once again with the roster Steve Sarkisian built. Given how invested Texas is on a yearly basis, this is truly a championship or bust season.
Most National Championship winning teams are veteran led, but they also get major contributions out of freshmen. This season, Texas may need to turn to several highly touted recruits to help get this team over the top.
These 3 Texas freshmen will serve pivotal roles in 2026
Jermaine Bishop - Wide Receiver
This offseason, Texas made a major splash to bring Cam Coleman into an already deep wide receiver room. While Texas has a room filled with veterans, freshman Jermaine Bishop has been the talk of Spring practice. Bishop looks incredibly polished for a freshman wide receiver, and it's going to be impossible to keep a player with this much talent on the sidelines.
Tyler Atkinson - Linebacker
The Texas Longhorns made one of the statements of the recruiting cycle when they went into Kirby Smart's backyard and landed linebacker Tyler Atkinson who looked like he was built in a lab for the Georgia defense. As Will Muschamp takes over the Texas defense, Atkinson has to be a player he deploys in some level of role as he has the talent to make a major impact from Day 1.
Derrek Cooper - Running Back
Texas picked up a big win when the Longhorns outdueled Miami for Florida running back Derrek Cooper. Last season, Texas wasn't nearly good enough running the ball leading to a complete overhaul of the room. While Cooper won't have a major role with Hollywood Smothers and Raleek Brown carrying the load, he'll almost certainly receive touches throughout the season.