5 Texas Longhorns Freshmen to Watch During Spring Practice

The Texas Longhorns made some significant headlines in the transfer portal this offseason as the team aimed to rebuild the roster for the 2026 season.

That said, the team's 2026 freshman class is also garnering tons of hype as spring practice begins.

The future of Texas football is bright due to the presence of some elite freshmen. There's multiple to choose from, but here are the five that we think are the most worth keeping eyes on as spring practice continues.

Jermaine Bishop Jr., WR

Jermaine Bishop Jr. entered the spring without an official position, but he took reps at wide receiver during the first spring practice on Monday, and looked solid while doing so.

Here's a look at one of his catches during practice:

Freshman WR Jermaine Bishop in action 👀🤘 pic.twitter.com/E1v36mMHr7
— OnTexasFootball (@ontexasfootball) March 9, 2026

Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian said in December that Bishop Jr. has the ability to play both sides of the ball but it appears the coaching staff is leaning toward making him a full-time wide receiver.

It might be another year until Bishop Jr. is fully unleashed in the Texas offense but there's no doubt he's arguably the most exciting freshmen on the roster entering the 2026 season.

Dia Bell, QB

With Arch Manning sidelined for the 40-minute media viewing window on Monday, reporters got to see more out of Dia Bell than originally anticipated.

He delivered some accurate throws on the outside to receivers and looked about as smooth as fans would hope a true freshman could be.

Some throws from freshman QB Dia Bell in his first spring practice. pic.twitter.com/pkYP1176zH
— CJ Vogel (@CJVogel_OTF) March 9, 2026

Of course, we have yet to see how Bell plays during scrimmage situations, so it remains to be seen where he's at in

Regardless, it's clear that Bell, along with second-year quarterback KJ Lacey, will be the face of the Longhorns once Manning heads to the NFL.

Tyler Atkinson, LB

Tyler Atkinson enters the 2026 season seen as the Texas freshman that will have the biggest impact on Day 1.

With Anthony Hill Jr. and Liona Lefau departing, the Longhorns added three new linebackers out of the transfer portal in Rasheem Biles, Justin Cryer and Markus Boswell along with retaining Ty'Anthony Smith but there's a chance that Atkinson could eventually emerge as the team's third-best linebacker as the season goes on.

Regardless of how things play out, it's clear that Atkinson will be a star on the Forty Acres over the next few seasons before inevitably heading to the NFL.

Derrek Cooper, RB

Texas Longhorns running back Derrek Cooper during an official visit | @derrekcooper.jr - Instagram

Derrek Cooper is a true freshman but hardly looked like from a pure physical standpoint during the first spring practice.

Cooper's impressive stature and size stood out and was certainly not normal for a guy that was playing high school football only a few months ago. He's listed at 6-1, 210 pounds on the official Texas spring roster, and looked every bit of that and then some.

It remains to be seen how he looks during live contact, but the expectation remains that he will operate as the No. 3 running back this fall behind Raleek Brown and Hollywood Smothers.

Jamarion Carlton, EDGE

Though Richard Wesley is certainly a notable true freshman to keep tabs on at edge rusher, we'll give that nod to Jamarion Carlton, who brings some impressive physical measurables to the table entering his first year of college.

The spring roster has him listed at a whopping 6-5, 279 pounds. Despite how much talent Texas has on the defensive line, it's saying a lot that many fans still expect Carlton to have an impact this upcoming season as a depth piece at edge rusher.

With Colin Simmons headed off to the NFL next offseason, Carlton will be a major part of the defense's future.