Two Longhorn freshmen named to On3’s True Freshman All-America Team

As Texas continues to barrel towards the season, the freshman class continues to prove their importance. The Longhorns will have multiple impactful freshmen and there was another sign of that today. On3 released their 2026 Preseason True Freshman All-America Team, with WR Jermaine Bishop Jr. and LB Tyler Atkinson making the cut. The pair of Longhorn freshmen have shined throughout fall camp and On3 expects it to continue into the season. 

Jermaine Bishop Jr. is a name Texas fans have heard constantly as of late. He’s been the story of camp over the last two weeks, seemingly earning himself a role in the offense this season. Tyler Atkinson took more time to find his footing, but once he did, showed his remarkable athletic ability. It’s unknown his usage early in the season, but with Ty’Anthony Smith’s dismissal, he’ll need to step into a major rotational role this season. Based on offseason reports, this duo is more than deserving of this recognition. 

NEW: On3 College Football Preseason True Freshman All-America Team🇺🇸https://t.co/7nu5Dctt3epic.twitter.com/jmQZjKuGdR

— On3 (@On3) August 25, 2026

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Adding to the good news, Bishop and Atkinson are far from the only freshmen ready to impact this season for Texas. Derrek Cooper is pushing to add another head to the two-headed monster of Raleek Brown and Hollywood Smothers. Jamarion Carlton and Richard Wesley have proved their worth on the DL. Samari Matthews has had a quieter fall camp, but could be a consistent piece of the secondary rotation this season. That’s leaving out Atkinson’s running mates, Kosi Okpala and Rocky Cummings, who will both factor into the LB rotation during SEC play. 

Richard Wesley might be better than Colin Simmons, per Simmons.

Jermaine Bishop had one of the best weeks of any player on the Texas campus.

Derrek Cooper continues to cement his spot as RB3.

And Tyler Atkinson is now a clear part of the Texas two-deep at LB.

These four in… pic.twitter.com/LwYo3NkOkr

— Evan Vieth (@EvanVieth) August 23, 2026

This freshman class has exceeded expectations this offseason. It was known Bishop Jr. and Atkinson would be widely praised, and that will continue until kickoff. The depth of freshmen ready to contribute in Year One is very impressive and incredibly important in modern college football. While the praise is focused on just Bishop and Atkinson now, I expect that praise to spread across this entire freshman class.

This article originally appeared on Longhorns Wire: Two Longhorn freshmen named to On3’s True Freshman All-America Team