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Seven Texas players land in On3's Top 100 Players in College Football for the 2025 Season list

by:Evan Vieth•05/15/25
Arch Manning
Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

Few programs have as strong a chokehold on On3’s newest top 100 players list as the Texas Longhorns.

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Featuring seven of the top 100 players and three of the top 10, no team boasts both the volume and top-end talent that the Longhorns do in On3’s post-spring rankings.

The highest-ranked Longhorn is Colin Simmons. The sophomore edge rusher is the fourth overall ranked player, the second overall edge rusher, and eclipses the likes of Anthony Hill Jr. and Arch Manning, who are also in the top 10. Here’s what writer Clark Brooks had to say:

“Like fellow sensational sophomore Dylan Stewart, Simmons is tenacious, active, and quite good at disrupting offenses. If logging 9 sacks wasn’t enough, his 17.6% Impact Rate – or percentage of snaps that result in a havoc play or defensive stop) is the best figure of any returning P4 defender.

“To do that as a first-year in the Land Where It Just Means More is special stuff.”

Texas fans may disagree with Simmons sliding behind Stewart, but it’s hard to argue that any Texas player in the Sarkisian era has been more hyped heading into a season than the young phenom off the edge.

As mentioned earlier, Hill and Manning also make the top 10, sitting side by side at nine and 10. Hill is the No. 1 linebacker, unsurprisingly, and Manning is only behind Arizona State’s Sam Leavitt and South Carolina’s LaNorris Sellers at the QB position. No other team had three players in the top 20, let alone the top 10.

Brooks had this to say about Manning, who ranks higher than returning stars like Garrett Nussmeier and CFB veterans Drew Allar and Carson Beck:

“You might have heard about this kid. Well like many, we at On3 expect big things out of Manning 3.0. In previous years, labeling a Sarkisian QB as a Checkdown Charlie or Offensive Executive would be a given. But in this case, it would be downright reprehensible.

“Like his uncles, he has premier passing abilities. He can layer throws, hit targets all over the yard, and stay in attack mode from the pocket with excellent balance, timing, and anticipation. Like his grandpa, he has noticeable twitch and burst that do him well outside of structure and as a designed rusher. Yes, Manning ought to benefit from his environment. But he’s also talented enough to elevate Texas to planes it hasn’t been in a generation.”

Texas then has a pair of outside players in the top 50, with CB Malik Muhammad ranking 43rd (No. 6 CB) and WR Ryan Wingo ranking 45th (No. 6 WR). The final two Longhorns stay in the 90s, with rising star LT Trevor Goosby ranked No. 90 (No. 13 OT) and S Michael Taaffe at 93 (No. 8 S).

Texas is truly in a league of its own with its talent profile. No other team has six or more players, with Clemson (among others) having five as the next most impressive. Texas has top 100 players at arguably the five most important positions in the sport, and this list doesn’t even include returning starters like Tre Wisner, DJ Campbell, and Trey Moore—not to mention players like Jelani McDonald, Jack Endries, and DeAndre Moore Jr., who have chances of becoming Day one or two NFL picks by season’s end.

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On3 is very bullish on the talent structure of this Longhorn team, and the Longhorns have built a roster capable of taking down any opponent in the country. A date with the No. 1 and No. 3 players, Jeremiah Smith and Caleb Downs, awaits them in Columbus in late August, but Texas has the depth, star power, and staff to get it done on any stage.

Texas Players in the Top 100

No. 4: EDGE Colin Simmons
No. 9: LB Anthony Hill Jr.
No. 10: QB Arch Manning
No. 43: CB Malik Muhammad
No. 45: WR Ryan Wingo
No. 90: OT Trevor Goosby
No. 93: S Michael Taaffe

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