Ranking College Football’s Best Returning Offensive Guards for 2026 Season

The 2026 college football season marks a significant pivot point for interior line play, as offensive coordinators increasingly prioritize guards with the lateral range to handle creative blitz packages.

While the glamour often follows the tackles on the edge, the upcoming campaign belongs to a battle-tested group of interior blockers who have anchored some of the most efficient rushing attacks in the country.

Roster retention has become the defining theme of this offseason, with several high-ceiling prospects choosing to delay their professional aspirations for another year of collegiate development.

These ten players represent the elite tier of the position, combining the raw power required for goal-line stands with the technical refinement needed for complex zone-blocking schemes.

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Honorable Mentions

Dave Iuli, Oregon Ducks

22-year-old senior in 2026; 6'3", 332 lbs.

Iuli enters the 2026 season as a cornerstone in Eugene, bringing massive size and brute strength to Dan Lanning’s interior front. A native of American Samoa who starred at Puyallup High School, Iuli has logged significant snaps as a rotational piece and is now a projected starter.

Known for his heavy hands and ability to displace defensive tackles on down blocks, he is a primary beneficiary of Oregon’s high-volume rushing attack alongside fellow newcomer Douglas Utu.

Taran Tyo, Cincinnati Bearcats

21-year-old junior in 2026; 6'4", 320 lbs.

Tyo was a quiet force alongside Evan Tengesdahl last season, providing the physical edge that allowed Cincinnati to dominate in the trenches. He returns for his junior campaign after starting every game last fall, helping a unit that ranked in the top five nationally for rushing efficiency.

He is a high-IQ blocker who rarely misses an assignment in gap schemes and finished 2025 without committing a single holding penalty.

Joe Brunner, Indiana Hoosiers

22-year-old redshirt senior in 2026; 6'5", 312 lbs.

A transfer from Wisconsin who is expected to make an immediate impact in Bloomington, Brunner is the quintessential physical interior lineman.

He possesses the upper-body power required to clear lanes in the Big Ten and finished last season allowing just one sack in 14 starts for the Badgers.

Ranking the Top 10 Returning Offensive Guards for the 2026 Season

10. Noah Josey, Virginia Cavaliers

23-year-old graduate senior in 2026; 6'5", 310 lbs.

Josey is an elite technician who has consistently graded among the ACC's most reliable pass protectors. Hailing from Murfreesboro, Tennessee, he enters his final campaign with over 2,000 career snaps and a reputation for technical discipline.

Virginia offensive lineman Noah Josey answers questions from the media during ACC Media Days. | Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

Last season, he surrendered only one sack in 277 pass-blocking snaps and earned a week-high 86.2 pass-blocking grade from PFF earlier in the year.

His decision to return provides Virginia with a foundational piece that has faced elite interior pass rushers for several seasons.

9. Wendell Moe Jr., Tennessee Volunteers

21-year-old senior in 2026; 6'2", 335 lbs.

Moe is a low center of gravity powerhouse who has successfully brought a West Coast playing style to the SEC. Throughout his career, Moe has been incredibly efficient in pass protection, allowing only two sacks over 2,464 offensive snaps.

He finished the 2025 regular season with a 100% pass-blocking efficiency rate in high-leverage conference games, proving his 335-pound frame can handle the SEC’s most physical interior rushes.

8. Laurance Seymore, Texas Longhorns

23-year-old redshirt senior in 2026; 6'2", 320 lbs.

A true wildcard of the 2026 season, Seymore arrives in Austin after winning a landmark NCAA appeal for a sixth year of eligibility. The Western Kentucky transfer is a refined pass-protection specialist who earned Second-Team All-American honors last fall. Statistically, Seymore is a wall; in 2025, he allowed just one sack and eight total pressures across 503 pass-blocking opportunities.

With 1,328 career snaps across stops at Miami, Akron, and WKU, he brings a professional-grade anchor to the Longhorns' interior passing pocket and is the projected starter at left guard for Arch Manning.

7. Drew Evans, Indiana Hoosiers

22-year-old redshirt senior in 2026; 6'4", 309 lbs.

A foundational piece of the Hoosiers' historic national championship run, Evans has been a model of consistency at left guard for two seasons. He has allowed zero sacks over 656 career pass-blocking snaps, serving as the primary bodyguard for quarterback Josh Hoover.

Evans missed three games last year with a lower-body injury but returned for the playoff run, helping an Indiana line that finished as a Joe Moore Award finalist.

6. Addison Nichols, SMU Mustangs

22-year-old redshirt senior in 2026; 6'5", 315 lbs.

Nichols blossomed into an elite pass protector after moving from center to right guard following his transfer from Arkansas. He did not surrender a single sack last season despite facing a significant jump in weekly passing attempts within the Mustangs’ pass-heavy attack.

Across 875 career pass-blocking snaps, Nichols has yielded only six total pressures, a staggering rate for an interior lineman. His technical refinement was a major factor in SMU ranking among the top 30 nationally in total sacks allowed.

5. Shadre Hurst, Houston Cougars

22-year-old redshirt senior in 2026; 6'2", 295 lbs.

Hurst is a high-motor technician who followed Willie Fritz to Houston after three dominant seasons at Tulane. Despite being slightly undersized, he utilizes elite hand placement to neutralize much larger defensive tackles.

Last season, he recorded 12 big-time blocks, the most of any guard in the nation, and helped his unit rank sixth nationally in sacks allowed per game (0.77). He enters his senior campaign needing to prove his physical style translates to the Power 4 level, but his career efficiency suggests he is more than ready.

4. Greg Johnson, Minnesota Golden Gophers

21-year-old senior in 2026; 6'6", 325 lbs.

Johnson is a prototypical Big Ten blocker who has started at three different positions over the last three years, eventually finding his highest ceiling at left guard. A Prior Lake native, he remained at home to lead the Gophers' front and was statistically one of the nation's most efficient protectors last fall.

Across 406 pass-blocking snaps, Johnson surrendered only one sack and seven quarterback pressures, providing a level of reliability that few units in the country can match.

3. Luke Montgomery, Ohio State Buckeyes

21-year-old senior in 2026; 6'5", 315 lbs.

Montgomery solidified the left side of the Ohio State line last season, earning All-Big Ten honors after starting all 14 games. During the 2025 regular season, he didn't allow a single sack and surrendered only 10 total pressures in Big Ten play.

Ohio State Buckeyes offensive lineman Luke Montgomery (51) blocks for Buckeyes quarterback Julian Sayin (10) during the 2025 Cotton Bowl. | Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

He was particularly effective on zone runs, where he routinely used his 315-pound frame to clear paths for a high-powered Ohio State backfield. Montgomery will continue to pave the way for quarterback Julian Sayin, who ranks No. 1 in my returning college football quarterbacks list.

His return for a senior year makes him the vocal leader of a Buckeyes front looking to reclaim the Big Ten crown.

2. Ezomo Oratokhai, Northwestern Wildcats

20-year-old junior in 2026; 6'4", 315 lbs.

Oratokhai was a revelation for the Wildcats last fall, emerging as a first-year starter who allowed just one sack or hit over 521 pass-blocking snaps.

He possesses a sturdy anchor that essentially stops bull rushes on impact, a rare trait for a player who was just a redshirt freshman a year ago.

A native of Austin, Texas, he is the lone returning starter on the Northwestern front and is expected to take a massive leadership step in 2026.

1. Evan Tengesdahl, Cincinnati Bearcats

21-year-old senior in 2026; 6'3", 320 lbs.

Tengesdahl is the defining power-blocker of the Big 12, having led the nation in run-blocking efficiency last season. A Dayton native, he waited two years for his opportunity before delivering an All-American season at left guard.

He did not allow a sack in over 400 pass-blocking attempts and anchored a Cincinnati rushing attack that ranked second in the country in yards per carry at 5.90.

The senior guard played all 735 offensive snaps last fall without being subbed out once, cementing his status as a premier interior force.