Ranking College Football’s Best Returning Offensive Tackles in 2026

Offensive tackle depth is something most programs spend entire offseasons trying to solve. In 2026, several of the best ones in the country are coming back. Carter Smith anchored a national championship run at Indiana without allowing a sack in the regular season.

Trevor Goosby replaced a first-round pick at Texas and started all 13 games. Jordan Seaton showed up to LSU's Pro Day 23 pounds lighter than his listed weight at Colorado and drew praise from Lane Kiffin before spring practice even started.

What defines this group is not just talent but circumstance. Several of these players turned down legitimate NFL Draft opportunities to come back, chasing titles, hardware, or unfinished business.

The returning class is deep, experienced, and spread across nearly every major conference. Here is how it ranks.

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Honorable Mentions

Anthonie Knapp, Notre Dame Fighting Irish

Junior in 2026; 6'4", 300 lbs.

Notre Dame offensive lineman Anthonie Knapp — Notre Dame quarterback Steve Angeli (18) knocks helmets with offensive lineman Anthonie Knapp (54) before a NCAA college football game against Florida State. | MICHAEL CLUBB/SOUTH BEND TRIBUNE / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Knapp has started 27 games over two seasons at Notre Dame, every game since arriving except the national championship game in January 2025. He started 12 games at left tackle in 2025 on a line that did not allow a sack in multiple outings, including against Navy and at Stanford.

This spring he has moved to left guard to make room for redshirt freshman Will Black at left tackle, a shift the coaching staff initiated and one Knapp has embraced without reservation. With captains Billy Schrauth and Aamil Wagner gone to the NFL, he has stepped into the primary leadership role on an offensive line that is rebuilding around him.

OL coach Joe Rudolph has been direct about what Knapp brings his production beyond, calling his mentality and detail something the entire roster models itself after.

Michael Carroll, Alabama Crimson Tide

Sophomore in 2026; 6'6", 318 lbs.

Carroll played in all 14 games as a true freshman at Alabama, making six starts primarily at right tackle and earning Freshman All-America honors from the FWAA and True Freshman All-American recognition from On3. He was tabbed to the Shaun Alexander Freshman of the Year Watch List and did not allow a sack or a pressure or a quarterback hit in multiple outings, including against Missouri.

This spring he has shifted to right guard, a move the coaching staff initiated to address Alabama's run game after the Tide finished 125th nationally in rushing last season. Carroll has embraced it. Alabama returns him as its only returning offensive line starter from 2025, and wherever he lines up, he is the most experienced piece of a unit being rebuilt almost entirely from scratch.

Howard Sampson, Texas Tech Red Raiders

Senior in 2026; 6'8", 330 lbs.

Sampson arrived at Texas Tech after two seasons at North Carolina and started all 14 games at left tackle in 2025, earning All-Big 12 Third Team and DCTF All-Texas College First Team honors. He allowed four sacks on the season across 479 pass-blocking opportunities and posted the highest PFF grades of his career, ranking seventh in the country in fewest sacks and pressures allowed since becoming a starter. The Red Raiders' offense ranked 14th nationally in passing and third in rushing behind his blocking.

A Houston native out of Humble High School who was a three-star prospect before his stock rose sharply at the college level, Sampson enters his senior year as the anchor of a Texas Tech line that reached the Big 12 Championship game in 2025.

Ranking the Top 10 Returning Offensive Tackles for the 2026 Season

10. Andrew Sprague, Michigan Wolverines

Junior in 2026; 6'8", 315 lbs.

Sprague started all 12 games at right tackle as a sophomore in 2025, earning honorable mention All-Big Ten recognition from both coaches and media. He was named Shared Offensive Player of the Week for his performance at Nebraska and started against Arkansas State, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Wisconsin, USC, at MSU, at Purdue, and Northwestern among others on the way to the Big Ten Championship and CFP semifinals.

He entered the transfer portal this offseason following the Sherrone Moore situation at Michigan and had what appeared to be a visit to Texas before withdrawing and announcing his return to Ann Arbor after the hire of Kyle Whittingham. At 6'8", he is one of the longer tackles in the country and enters 2026 as the returning starter and one of the most experienced players on a Michigan line in transition.

9. Jacarrius Peak, South Carolina Gamecocks

Redshirt Senior in 2026; 6'4", 310 lbs.

Peak spent four seasons at NC State before transferring to South Carolina, arriving as the Gamecocks' highest-rated portal addition in the 2026 class. He started all 13 games at left tackle for the Wolfpack in 2025, earned Honorable Mention All-ACC honors, and ranked as the ACC's second-highest graded pass blocker at the position. He led NC State with 50 pancake blocks and added 18 knockdowns on the season.

He is currently missing spring practice after sustaining a lower-leg injury during a team basketball tournament, but coach Shane Beamer confirmed he expects Peak to be ready when the season opens in September. With over 2,200 career offensive snaps and 32 career starts across left and right tackle, he steps in as the anchor of a South Carolina line that went 4-8 last season and is looking to rebuild.

8. Austin Siereveld, Ohio State Buckeyes

Senior in 2026; 6'5", 325 lbs.

Ohio State Buckeyes offensive lineman Austin Siereveld (67) celebrates following the NCAA football game against the Michigan Wolverines. | Adam Cairns / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Siereveld played in all 16 games for Ohio State's national championship team and started six, logging 499 snaps on a line that allowed just four sacks total through the College Football Playoff. He is a versatile lineman who practiced at both guard and tackle positions this spring before a minor procedure sidelined him, with no long-term concern expected.

A four-star prospect out of Lakota East who enrolled in January 2023, he enters his senior year as one of the returning starting tackles for a program that just won a title and will look to defend it. His bio notes Ohio State's offense ranked 7th nationally in tackles for loss allowed per game and 10th in fewest sacks allowed in 2025, numbers he was part of building.

7. Trevor Lauck, Iowa Hawkeyes

Junior in 2026; 6'5", 310 lbs.

Lauck won the starting left tackle job at Iowa in 2025 and held it for all 13 games, earning Third-team All-Big Ten recognition from coaches and honorable mention from the media on a line that won the Joe Moore Award. It was his first significant action after appearing in just three games in 2024 and sitting out entirely in 2023.

Part of the Iowa developmental pipeline that Kirk Ferentz has run for decades, Lauck is the kind of player the program builds rather than recruits into stardom. He enters 2026 as the returning starter on a line that proved it could produce at the highest level, with unfinished business after Iowa's season ended short of its goals.

6. Earnest Greene III, Georgia Bulldogs

Redshirt senior in 2026; 6'4", 320 lbs.

Greene has been part of three College Football Playoff runs at Georgia and was a freshman on the 2022 national championship team, though he missed that season recovering from back surgery. Injuries have been a recurring theme throughout his career, and 2025 was no different. He started the year at right tackle, couldn't finish the Marshall or Tennessee games due to a back issue, and didn't play a full second half until the Ole Miss game in week seven. From that point on he was a consistent presence.

He enters 2026 moving back to left tackle, where he has made 23 of his career starts, and becomes the most experienced member of a Georgia offensive line that lost Monroe Freeling and Micah Morris to the NFL. For a program that has made two straight playoff appearances without finishing the job, Greene returns with one stated goal: a national title he can call his own.

5. PJ Williams, SMU Mustangs

Redshirt senior in 2026; 6'5", 313 lbs.

Williams has started 30 games since arriving at SMU ahead of the 2023 season, including all 13 in 2025, when he earned Second Team All-ACC honors and an 80.0 PFF grade that ranked him second among offensive tackles in Texas behind only Goosby. He was named team captain and served on a line that allowed just 19 total sacks, good for 29th nationally and fifth in the ACC.

A four-star prospect out of Dickinson High School who began his college career at Texas A&M, Williams has developed into one of the ACC's most reliable blindside protectors across four seasons and three programs. He is expected to be a preseason All-ACC selection heading into 2026.

4. Trevor Goosby, Texas Longhorns

Junior in 2026; 6'7", 325 lbs.

Texas Longhorns offensive lineman Trevor Goosby (74) against the Clemson Tigers during the CFP National playoff first round at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Goosby stepped into the starting left tackle role at Texas in 2025 after filling in for an injured Kelvin Banks Jr. late in 2024, and held it for all 13 games. He ranked 15th among offensive tackles nationally per PFF and allowed three sacks on the season while protecting Arch Manning's blindside through the College Football Playoff.

He entered the offseason as a legitimate draft prospect before returning to Austin, citing unfinished business and a stated pursuit of the Outland and Lombardi Trophies. At 6'7" and 325 pounds with a full year of starting experience now behind him, Goosby enters 2026 as one of the most physically imposing blindside protectors in the SEC.

3. Jordan Seaton, LSU Tigers

Junior in 2026; 6'5", 307 lbs.

Former Colorado Buffaloes offensive tackle Jordan Seaton (77) during the 2025 spring game at Folsom Field. | Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images

Seaton started 22 games over two seasons at Colorado, arriving as the consensus No. 1 offensive tackle in the Class of 2024 and living up to it. His sophomore season was cut short by injury after nine games, but he still allowed just one sack and five pressures across 561 snaps and earned Second-Team All-Big 12 honors.

He arrived in Baton Rouge this offseason listed at 330 pounds at Colorado, and showed up to LSU's Pro Day at 307, a transformation Lane Kiffin addressed directly in a press conference, calling Seaton's work ethic something he wants to become the standard for the program.

With 1,421 career offensive snaps banked entirely at left tackle, Seaton steps in as the blindside protector for quarterback Sam Leavitt in his first season under Kiffin.

2. Cayden Green, Missouri Tigers

Senior in 2026; 6'5", 324 lbs.

Missouri Tigers offensive lineman Cayden Green (70) in action during the first half against the Massachusetts Minutemen at Warren McGuirk Alumni Stadium. | Eric Canha-Imagn Images

Green moved to left tackle two weeks before the season opener with an injury keeping the starter out, and by year's end had earned First Team All-SEC recognition from the Associated Press and a 89.6 pass-blocking grade from PFF, which ranked 13th among all offensive linemen nationally.

A former Oklahoma standout who transferred to Missouri, he allowed just two sacks and seven pressures across 750 snaps in 2025, numbers that placed him among the most efficient pass protectors in the SEC. His 78.2 run-blocking grade led the entire Missouri roster by a wide margin. The Rock M Nation breakdown of the Tigers' offensive line was blunt about the gap between Green and everyone else on the depth chart.

He enters his senior year protecting a left-handed quarterback in Austin Simmons, whose blind side falls on the right, adding another layer to an already compelling final season.

1. Carter Smith, Indiana Hoosiers

Redshirt senior in 2026; 6'5", 313 lbs.

Indiana Hoosiers offensive lineman Carter Smith (65) celebrates with the trophy after defeating the Alabama Crimson Tide in the 2026 Rose Bowl. | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Smith became the first Indiana player to win the Big Ten's Rimington-Pace Offensive Lineman of the Year award in 2025, and the first Hoosier to earn first-team All-conference recognition at offensive tackle since 1977. He started all 16 games at left tackle, was named a consensus All-American, and was an Outland Trophy finalist on a line that produced six 300-yard rushing games, the most in program history in a single season.

He has made 41 consecutive starts at left tackle dating back to 2023, a streak that ran through the national championship. This spring he is recovering from labral tear surgery on his left shoulder, a procedure he cited as part of his decision to return rather than enter the NFL Draft. He is expected to be fully available for fall camp.

At 6'5" and 313 pounds, Smith enters his final season as the standard-bearer for a program that just won a national title, and the most experienced returning left tackle in the Big Ten.

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