Football
Bullet point summary by AI
- Five college football stars face heightened expectations in 2026 as the upcoming NFL Draft class promises to be one of the deepest in recent memory.
- Two quarterbacks and two skill players must overcome last season’s shortcomings to meet their teams’ championship ambitions and personal career goals.
- Each player’s performance this season will directly impact both their team’s playoff chances and their draft stock in what could be a historic quarterback-heavy class.
It’s the middle of the summer, which can only mean we’re obligated to talk about Arch Manning and the impending pressure to live up to the Manning name this season. He fell way short of expectations in 2025, but the 2026 season could be a lot more optimistic for him. And not just Manning either. There are at least four other players who have the focus on them to carry their respective teams.
Of course this list is the majority of quarterbacks that flopped in 2025, but there are a couple of skill players that didn’t impress at all in 2026. The 2027 NFL Draft class has a chance to be one of the deepest in a long time, and that’s contingent on these players stepping up for their respective teams this upcoming season.
QB Arch Manning, Texas Longhorns
If you thought Arch Manning was under a heap of pressure in 2025, the expectations bestowed upon him for 2026 could crack even the sturdiest of surfaces. Manning is once again the talk of the preseason of college football after a lackluster 2025 season. For what it’s worth, it was his first full season starting, and the name on the back of his jersey won’t make him the best quarterback in college football. He still has to grow and develop, which he did toward the end of last season. Now he has to lead Texas on a College Football Playoff run in 2026.
In 2025, Manning had 3,163 passing yards, 26 passing touchdowns and 10 rushing touchdowns. The offense at times looked stagnant and it was an elite defense that helped Texas stay in contention for a playoff spot. This year, he has to look like five-star prospect Texas recruited him to be. Like last season, I’m not putting expectations on Manning. He still has two more years of eligibility. If this season isn’t as promising, he’ll still have a chance to prove he’s a top quarterback in the 2027 draft class.
QB Josh Hoover, Indiana Hoosiers
Manning might be under a lot of pressure simply because of the name on his back, but Josh Hoover might have more pressure than any player in college football. Hoover is taking over for Fernando Mendoza, who won a Heisman Trophy and national championship in Bloomington last year. The last two quarterbacks that Curt Cignetti has poached out of the transfer portal have each won at least 11 games and have made it to the College Football Playoff.
Hoover has no choice but to pick up where Mendoza left off. In his last two seasons with the Horned Frogs, he passed for at least 3,400 yards and 27 touchdowns. That’s the type of production Cignetti and this new-look offense needs. Indiana has been in the College Football Playoff each of Cignetti’s first two seasons. The standard is the Hoosiers will compete for a Big Ten championship and national championship every year. Hoover will be responsible for carrying this offense.
QB LaNorris Sellers, South Carolina Gamecocks
Shane Beamer is under immense pressure in 2026 after 2025 went awry. LaNorris Sellers was supposed to be a Heisman Trophy finalist and possibly be one of the best quarterbacks in the 2026 draft class. He’s back in Columbia, and now he has the pressure of delivering in 2026. The Gamecocks had a breakout 2024 season and fell well short of expectations. How will Sellers improve in 2026 to not only save South Carolina but also revive his NFL Draft stock?
Statistically, Sellers had a similar year in 2025 as he did in 2024. The difference being he wasn’t nearly as much of a running threat as he was in 2024. He had just 270 rushing yards in 2025 compared to nearly 700 in 2024. His passing numbers were eerily similar, but it’s his ability to create with his legs that made him such a hyped-up prospect. South Carolina won’t have an easy SEC slate with Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee and Texas A&M. Sellers will have a chance to cement his draft stock with a strong season or show just how much of a reach he is in a deep quarterback class.
WR Evan Stewart, Oregon Ducks
This is a name you haven’t heard in a while, and if you’re a college football nerd, you’re wondering if this is the last time you’ll hear about him. Evan Stewart came to Eugene with an abundance of hype and potential. Injuries have decimated all of that potential, for the most part. Now a once-budding star is fighting for relevance. Stewart didn’t play in any games in 2025 due to injury. He was once compared to DeVonta Smith. If there’s one offense he should thrive in, it’s Oregon’s.
With Dante Moore back, this offense should be on pace to be elite again in 2026. This offense won’t necessarily hinge on Stewart being productive, but it will be amplified if he can find the form that brought him to notoriety. This feels very much like the Will Johnson situation at Michigan, except Stewart isn’t a top prospect anymore. He’s just a player with a lot of potential that is getting held back by injuries. This year will be his last to prove he’s still a fraction of that player coming out of high school.
WR Ryan Coleman-Williams, Alabama Crimson Tide
Ryan Coleman-Williams burst onto the college football scene in 2024 as a 17-year-old true freshman and already had people clamoring to name him one of the best receivers to ever play for Alabama. His 2025 season cooled all of the hype around him. Now he has to return to the top of the receivers list in 2026. With a new quarterback and Germie Bernard headed to the NFL, Coleman-Williams will have the pressure of carrying this offense.
Alabama needs that explosive version of Coleman-Williams that terrorized secondaries his freshman year. The Crimson Tide reached the College Football Playoff last year, but an embarrassing loss to Indiana is a reminder they aren’t the same powerhouse they once were under Nick Saban. They can get there, but it starts with players like Coleman-Williams stepping up. Last season, Coleman-Williams had 689 receiving yards and four touchdown receptions, compared to eight touchdown catches his freshman year.
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