Texas Longhorns 2026 Two-Deep: Arch Manning's Backup Order and New Skill-Position Mix

Texas enters the 2026 preseason with an established first name at quarterback and much more movement around him. The July 25 review for this site matches every active player in the working depth chart against the Texas Athletics roster and the Ourlads preseason projection. ESPN and CBS Sports provide an additional roster check for the 79 unique active players used by the site's team page and tools.

The result is a useful preseason snapshot, but it is not an official Texas game-week depth chart. The order can change during camp. The value of the current version is that it removes departed players, keeps only roster-confirmed options, and shows where the Longhorns have experienced transfers competing with younger players.

Quarterback: Manning First, Bell and Morris Behind Him

The working quarterback order starts with Arch Manning. Dia Bell and MJ Morris are the next two active names in the public projection. Bell is listed as a freshman, while Morris is a redshirt senior transfer. That creates an unusual backup decision: Texas can develop a younger quarterback with long-term upside while also carrying an older transfer option.

This page does not treat the backup order as settled by the coaching staff. Instead, it records the current public sequence and the class contrast that makes the competition relevant. In the Shockwave simulator, removing Manning promotes the next verified quarterback rather than an outdated roster name. In the team comparison tool, Texas' quarterback room is measured as one projected starter plus two active backups.

The most important August signal will be which backup consistently receives second-team work. Until Texas releases a game-week chart or the practice rotation becomes clear through attributable reporting, the site will keep the order labeled as a preseason projection.

Running Back and Receiver: Transfers Change the Shape of the Offense

The running back list begins with Hollywood Smothers and Raleek Brown, both identified in the roster data as transfers, followed by Derrek Cooper, James Simon, and Michael Terry III. That is not simply a list of five names. It is a room where older additions sit ahead of multiple younger options, so the first month of the season should reveal whether Texas prefers experience, role specialization, or a broader rotation.

At wide receiver, the first projected line includes Cam Coleman, Ryan Wingo, and Emmett Mosley V across the three receiver alignments represented by the source chart. Sterling Berkhalter, Kaliq Lockett, and Daylan McCutcheon appear in the next layer. The transfer and returning-player mix makes receiver one of the more useful groups to monitor in the position battle tool because the depth is distributed across separate alignments rather than one generic WR list.

Tight end also uses more than one alignment in the source chart. Spencer Shannon and Emaree Winston lead those working groups, with Michael Masunas, Nick Townsend, Charlie Jilek, and Will Randle among the active alternatives. That structure matters when evaluating personnel packages: a two-tight-end look draws from two projected lanes, not just the first two names in one combined column.

Secondary: Multiple First-Line Roles, Not One Simple Ranking

The secondary should not be read as a single cornerback ladder. Bo Mascoe, Kade Phillips, and Graceson Littleton occupy separate first-line corner or nickel roles in the source structure. Warren Roberson, Kobe Black, Wardell Mack, and other active players form the next rotation behind those distinct assignments.

At safety, Jelani McDonald and Xavier Filsaime lead separate projected roles. Derek Williams Jr., Jonah Williams, Jordon Johnson-Rubell, Jonathan Cunningham, and Zelus Hicks provide the next layer. The site's simplified position groups combine these assignments for comparison, but the team page preserves the broader roster depth and avoids presenting every defensive back as if he were competing for one identical job.

What the Verified Two-Deep Can and Cannot Tell Us

The verified roster can answer who is currently available in the public preseason projection and who moves up when a starter is removed in a simulation. It cannot establish a coach's final starter decision, predict snap counts, or convert class year into guaranteed performance.

For Texas, the most useful preseason questions are therefore concrete: who wins QB2, how quickly the transfer-heavy backfield settles into roles, and whether the secondary's multiple young options hold their current places once camp becomes more physical. Those are the changes this page will track when stronger official evidence appears.