College Football Position Battles 2026: Key Jobs That Remain Unsettled

As college football teams wrap up summer conditioning and prepare for the start of fall camp, coaching staffs across the country are staring at depth charts full of question marks. The 2026 season — with the second year of the 14-team College Football Playoff — has raised the stakes on every personnel decision, and several high-profile programs enter August with key jobs still unsettled. Here are the most important position battles that will be decided over the next four weeks.

Ohio State: The Quarterback Room Beyond Sayin

Julian Sayin has won the starting quarterback job, but Ohio State’s QB room is more interesting than the headline suggests. The backup competition between Lincoln Kienholz — a talented dual-threat who has waited his turn — and true freshman Tavien St. Clair will shape the Buckeyes’ depth chart for years. Kienholz has the experience edge and the trust of the coaching staff in relief situations. St. Clair has the higher ceiling and represents the future. How head coach Ryan Day manages this dynamic — keeping Kienholz engaged while developing St. Clair for a starting role in 2027 or 2028 — is one of the more delicate personnel challenges in the country. The Buckeyes have national championship aspirations, and quarterback depth has been the difference between a playoff run and a playoff disappointment for recent Ohio State teams.

Texas: The Offensive Line Rebuild

Arch Manning is the starting quarterback — that much is settled. What is not settled is the offensive line in front of him. Texas lost its two best offensive linemen — the highest-graded tackles in the country — to the NFL and rebuilt the unit through the transfer portal. Three new starters are expected to join two returning pieces, and the chemistry of a unit that has never played a snap together is the single biggest variable in Texas’s 2026 equation. Manning is not the scrambler that Quinn Ewers was; he operates best from a clean pocket with defined throwing lanes. If the offensive line gels quickly, Texas’s skill-position talent — deep at running back and wide receiver — makes the Longhorns a legitimate national title threat. If the line struggles, Texas could lose games it should win on talent alone. The competition for the final two starting spots on the line will dominate camp coverage in Austin.

Georgia: Edge Rusher and the Pass Rush Rotation

Georgia’s defense has been defined by its front-seven depth for a decade, and the 2026 unit has a fascinating battle brewing at edge rusher. The Bulldogs added Damon Wilson — one of the most coveted transfer portal entries of the cycle — and he is expected to start. But the rotation behind him is unsettled, with several young players competing for snaps in obvious passing situations. Georgia’s defensive scheme under Glenn Schumann relies on fresh bodies to maintain pressure in the fourth quarter, and identifying the right two-deep at edge rusher will determine whether the Bulldogs’ pass rush is elite or merely good. In an SEC that features several of the nation’s best quarterbacks — including DJ Lagway, Arch Manning, and Garrett Nussmeier — getting pressure with four rushers is non-negotiable. Georgia’s ability to do so will define its playoff ceiling.

Oregon: The Receiver Rotation

Oregon’s offense enters 2026 with the most accomplished quarterback in college football history — Dillon Gabriel, who has broken nearly every major NCAA passing record and returns for his seventh season — but the Ducks lost their top two wide receivers to the NFL. The competition for the WR1 and WR2 roles is wide open, with several transfers and young players vying for targets in coordinator Will Stein’s offense. Gabriel’s statistical production has remained elite regardless of who lines up at receiver — that is the benefit of seven years of college experience — but identifying reliable targets early in the season will be essential for an Oregon team with playoff expectations. The Ducks open their season with the most anticipated Week 1 game on the schedule — a matchup against Oklahoma State — and the receiver rotation that takes the field in that game will likely be the one that defines the season.

Alabama: Secondary Rebuild

Alabama’s 2025 defense was not up to the program’s historic standard, and the secondary was the primary culprit. The 2026 unit will feature at least three new starters in the defensive backfield, and the competition for those spots is the most intense of any position group on the roster. Alabama’s recruiting pipeline ensures that the talent is there — the question is whether the experience gap can be closed before the Crimson Tide face a September schedule that includes a neutral-site opener against Florida State and a road trip to Texas A&M. Defensive coordinator Kane Wommack prefers a scheme that asks his cornerbacks to play man coverage on an island, and that requires athletes who can win one-on-one battles against elite receivers without safety help. Finding two outside corners who can hold up in coverage — and developing depth behind them — is the mission of Alabama’s fall camp.

Sources

1. CBS Sports — 2026 college football quarterback battles: Ohio State, Texas jobs settled (July 2026)
2. ESPN — College football’s biggest position battles entering fall camp (August 2026)
3. FanSided — 2026 College Football Quarterback Battles: Winners and Losers (July 2026)
4. CBS Sports — Coaches Poll top 25: Ohio State starts 2026 at No. 1 (August 2026)