Texas quarterback Arch Manning will be throwing to one of the most talented receivers in college football in 2026.

Former Auburn wide receiver Cam Coleman — arguably the most coveted target in the transfer portal — is heading to Austin, he announced Sunday afternoon.

Texas coach Steve Sarkisian and the Longhorns were expected to be a major player for Coleman from the moment the portal opened on Jan. 2, and the Longhorns were the first among interested programs to host Coleman on an official visit. He later took visits to Texas A&M, Texas Tech and Alabama before committing to the Longhorns, where he’ll join Ryan Wingo to make up one of the most talented receiving duos in the country.

“Best player in the portal,” a Power 4 general manager said of Coleman, who has two years of eligibility remaining. “He’s a freak. The numbers aren’t what you’d expect because of (Auburn’s) quarterback play, but he’s an absolute difference maker.”

If landing Coleman wasn’t enough, Texas made another big splash on Sunday when the Longhorns flipped NC State running back transfer Hollywood Smothers from Alabama, according to program sources.

Smothers, The Athletic’s No. 1 running back in the portal, originally committed to Alabama on Tuesday. Smothers will give Texas a top-tier running back duo in 2026 as the Longhorns also recently landed Arizona State transfer Raleek Brown, another top transfer.

Smothers was a first-team All-ACC selection in 2025. In 11 games, he rushed for 939 yards and six touchdowns, averaging 5.9 yards per rush. He was also a weapon in the passing game, catching 37 passes for 189 yards and a score. He averaged 85.3 rushing yards per game, tops among ACC running backs. Smothers has two years of eligibility remaining.

The 6-foot-3, 197-pound Coleman was one of the only bright spots on a 5-7 Auburn team that struggled mightily in 2025. Coleman finished the year with 56 catches for 708 yards and five touchdowns despite quarterback Jackson Arnold struggling for much of the season before things improved when Auburn benched Arnold for Ashton Daniels.

Coleman was almost certainly a top priority for new Auburn head coach Alex Golesh to retain, but rumors started to circulate nearly two months ago that Coleman might be on his way out. As a true freshman, Coleman finished with 37 receptions for 598 yards and eight touchdowns.

Coleman first committed to Auburn in December 2023 after he flipped to the Tigers from Texas A&M. He is still Auburn’s second-highest rated recruit and highest-rated receiver of the modern era, dating back to 2000, and was expected to command seven figures in the portal market. According to a source familiar with Auburn personnel, Coleman was offered around $2 million to stay with the Tigers. A Power 4 general manager said he expected $2 million to be the floor for teams interested in Coleman, considering how well-funded all the teams in the race for his services are.

With this addition, Texas should be an immediate College Football Playoff contender in 2026, possibly even a trendy pick to win the national championship. The Longhorns opened the 2025 season as the nation’s No. 1 team but took their lumps early as Manning needed time to get accustomed to his duties as QB 1. A costly loss to Florida in October ultimately kept the Longhorns out of the Playoff this year. But Manning only got better as the season progressed, capping things off with arguably his best performance of his career when he threw for 221 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions and rushed for a career-high 155 yards with two more scores in a win over Michigan in the Citrus Bowl.

Manning, who is already confirmed to be returning to Texas in 2026, will have no shortage of weapons in the passing game with Coleman joining Wingo and Emmett Mosley V. Even with Parker Livingstone and DeAndre Moore Jr. entering the portal, the Longhorns should field an elite receiver group, and Coleman could go down as their most important acquisition of the offseason.

What missing out on Coleman means

Texas A&M is getting the speedy Mario Craver back in 2026, and snagging Coleman would have given the Aggies one of the best receiver duos in the country for the second consecutive year. They were hopeful to get a high-level portal receiver just like they did a year ago when signing KC Concepcion, who’s on his way to the NFL after declaring for the draft in December.

For Alabama, two of the Crimson Tide’s top three receivers are departing, Germie Bernard (eligibility) and Isaiah Horton (transfer portal). Adding Coleman would have been a huge boost to the passing game for its next starting quarterback, whether that’s Keelon Russell or Austin Mack. There’s still talent on the receiver depth chart, with Ryan Williams and Lotzeir Brooks, but Coleman would have helped elevate that group to another level.

Texas Tech had been looking to add an impact receiver in this portal cycle, but the Red Raiders have already landed commitments from three transfers at that position: Kenny Johnson (Pitt), Donte Lee (Liberty) and Jalen Jones (Alabama State). Landing Coleman would have been huge for Tech — especially to pair with No. 1 QB transfer Brendan Sorsby — but the Red Raiders have already done well to address that position thus far.

What Smothers’ flip means for Alabama

Losing Smothers after getting his commitment is a major blow to the Crimson Tide, especially this deep into the portal cycle. Smothers was the signature acquisition for Alabama at a major position of need: running back. The Alabama run game struggled mightily at the end of the year, and it’s the top priority that needs to be addressed.

With less than a week remaining until the portal closes, the options at running back are dwindling, at least in terms of the level of back that would be in the same stratosphere as Smothers. Could Michigan running back Justice Haynes return to Alabama, where he began his career? Former Texas running back CJ Baxter is available, but Indiana is in heavy pursuit. Outside of those two, the Tide may have to try to poach someone from elsewhere who isn’t currently in the portal, but time is running short to do so, because the portal closes on Friday.