ESPN Ranks The Offseason For Every Power 4 College Football Team

This week, ESPN ranked the offseason for every Power 4 college football team.

In the SEC rankings, Texas landed at No. 1, followed by LSU at No. 2.

SEC Rankings:
1. Texas
2. LSU
3. Ole Miss
4. Georgia
5. Texas A&M
6. Oklahoma
7. Alabama
8. Tennessee
9. Kentucky
10. Missouri
11. Florida
12. South Carolina
13. Auburn
14. Vanderbilt
15. Mississippi State
16. Arkansas

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1. Texas Longhorns
Key additions: WR Cam Coleman, RB Hollywood Smothers, LB Rasheem Biles

Key departures: LB Anthony Hill Jr., CB Malik Muhammad, S Michael Taaffe

Top incoming recruits: DE Richard Wesley, OLB Tyler Atkinson, RB Derrek Cooper

Biggest coaching move: Texas pulled off the rare surprise firing/hiring with a coordinator change by dismissing respected playcaller Pete Kwiatkowski and replacing him with Will Muschamp, the Longhorns' onetime coach-in-waiting who had not held an on-field role since 2023 at Georgia. Muschamp, who was Texas' defensive coordinator from 2008 to 2010 under Mack Brown, last held a primary DC role in 2015 with Auburn in between head coaching stops with Florida and South Carolina. Texas also brought back secondary coach Blake Gideon, who spent 2025 as Georgia Tech's defensive coordinator.

What went wrong: Texas refreshed its roster and fashioned itself back into a bona fide national title contender with ESPN's No. 4 portal class but still must account for the departures of 12 starters from a year ago. From that group, top running back Quintrevion Wisner (Florida State), second-leading receiver DeAndre Moore Jr. (Colorado) and fourth-leading tackler Liona Lefau (Colorado) left via the transfer portal. Running backs CJ Baxter and Christian Clark left, too, as did wide receiver Parker Livingstone, who looked likely to carve a bigger role in 2026 before his move to Red River rival Oklahoma. There's also veteran experience to replace without defensive backs Taaffe and Jaylon Guilbeau, both out of eligibility, and early NFL draft entrants Hill and Muhammad. Even so, it's hard to argue that Texas did anything but improve across the board in 2026.

What went right: Arch Manning is back, and Texas invested heavily to surround its second-year starter with top talent. Coleman, ESPN's No. 2 portal prospect, joined Emmett Mosley V and Ryan Wingo to form one of the nation's most intriguing pass-catching trios. Running backs Smothers (NC State) and Raleek Brown (Arizona State) promise to give the Longhorns a more consistent run game than they had a year ago, and the additions of offensive guard Laurence Seymore (Western Kentucky) and tackle Melvin Siani (Wake Forest) solidify a seasoned offensive line. Muschamp takes over the Texas defense with a Hill replacement in Pitt transfer Biles, an All-ACC linebacker in 2025, and another big body in former Arkansas defensive tackle Ian Geffrard. Ex-Rutgers cornerback Bo Mascoe is poised to slot into a secondary that returns versatile safeties Jelani McDonald and Graceson Littleton.

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Three SEC teams, Texas, LSU, and Ole Miss, landed in the Overall Top 10:

Overall Top 10:
1. Indiana
2. Miami
3. Texas
4. Oregon
5. LSU
6. USC
7. Texas Tech
8. Ole Miss
9. Notre Dame
10. Ohio State