Former No. 1 QB Viewed as 'Top SEC Spring Answer' in 2026

This former No. 1 quarterback prospect is viewed as the "top answer" in the SEC heading into the 2026 spring football season.

Texas Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning (16) warms up before a game against the Vanderbilt Commodores | Scott Wachter-Imagn Images

The spring football season offers a month-long period of entertainment for fans during the long wait for the college football regular season.

Spring football presents an opportunity for programs to get a look at their new acquisitions from the high school recruiting and NCAA transfer portal cycles. It also presents an opportunity for returning players to show signs they are ready to take a leap forward in the upcoming season.

One team who hopes to take that leap in 2026 is Texas. The Longhorns are coming off a 10-3 campaign in 2025 that featured a surge in the later months of the season, a run fueled by the play of quarterback Arch Manning.

Manning ranked as a five-star prospect and the No. 1 overall player in the 2023 recruiting cycle, per 247Sports. Manning barely saw the field in 2023 and was utilized sparingly in run packages during the 2024 season, although an injury to Quinn Ewers early in the 2024 season gave him the opportunity to start against ULM and Mississippi State.

Texas Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning (16) runs the ball in the second half against the Mississippi State Bulldogs | Daniel Dunn-Imagn Images

Early struggles for the Longhorns largely diminished their hopes of a return to the College Football Playoff. However, the Longhorns won seven of their last eight games, a stretch that featured four top 25 wins. Manning finished 2025 with 3,163 passing yards, 26 touchdowns and seven interceptions to go with 399 rush yards and 10 more touchdowns.

The Longhorns brought in proven commodities such as running backs Hollywood Smothers (NC State) and Raleek Brown (Arizona State), and wide receiver Cam Coleman (Auburn) from the portal to upgrade their offense from a year ago. J.D. PicKell of On3 discussed how these acquisitions and Arch have helped Texas' offense become one of the top answers fans may receive in the SEC spring football season.

"All of the ingredients are there. This is something during spring ball that we're going to get a pretty good gauge on of 'Hey, Arch looks different right now.' Yes, he's always been talented, we were hearing that last spring," PicKell said.

"Similar to what we said about Marcel Reed, similar thing to what we said we want to hear out of spring ball from Miami with Darian Mensah, you just get a really good gauge during spring practice of how special a year a quarterback is going to have."

What are some other top SEC spring answers in 2026?

The other side of the Red River shootout was involved in the second biggest spring answer on PicKell's list, specifically if John Mateer can look like he did in September of 2025. In the four games prior to his surgery, Mateer passed for 1,215 yards, six touchdowns and three interceptions while rushing for 190 yards and four touchdowns. Other quarterbacks featured in the list include Byrum Brown at Auburn and Marcel Reed at Texas A&M.

The third, fourth and fifth answers on PicKell's list related to the offensive line play of Alabama, LSU and South Carolina. The Crimson Tide, Tigers and Gamecocks all lacked adequate play up front in 2025, something evident in their subpar rushing performances.