Oklahoma's defense will be tested by some 2026 Manning Passing Academy standouts

The best college quarterbacks in the country were all in the same place last weekend at the 2026 Manning Passing Academy in Thibodaux, Louisiana. The event not only showed who could have incredible seasons in 2026, but also unveiled how much elite quarterback talent Brent Venables' Oklahoma defense will have to take on this season.

On3 released a list of standouts from the Manning Passing Academy, and of the 11 quarterbacks mentioned, four are on the Sooners' schedule. OU quarterback John Mateer also stood out as his physical transformation went viral and he showed off his new throwing motion.

Read more: John Mateer went back to work and Oklahoma fans should already love the results

The Sooners will clearly face stellar quarterback play almost on a weekly basis, but between the likes of Arch Manning and Gunner Stockton, how do the quarterbacks on Oklahoma's slate rank in the top 10?

Where Arch Manning ranks among quarterbacks on Sooners 2026 schedule

The Gators will have a position battle over fall camp between Aaron Philo and Tramel Jones Jr. Regardless who it is, though, they'll be the worst SEC QB the Sooners will face.

After redshirting in 2024, Philo was Georgia Tech's backup last season. A program like Florida relying on a backup ACC quarterback is a red flag for the start of the Jon Sumrall era. Jones, though, couldn't get on the field over DJ Lagway last year while redshirting.

After losing the starting job to CJ Carr last year at Notre Dame, Kenny Minchey transferred to Kentucky. But don't immediately knock him as a former backup because Carr is one of the best young QBs in the country. Minchey himself is a former four-star recruit and will now get to play for one of the best quarterback developers in college football right now in new head coach Will Stein.

Austin Simmons actually won the starting job last year at Ole Miss over (spoiler alert) the guy who tops this list. That means he's obviously good, but there's also the chance Lane Kiffin just flat out made the wrong choice. An injury ultimately lost Simmons his job, but he made three starts and threw a pair of interceptions in both full games he played, including against Georgia State. And neither outing was notable.

Simmons could skyrocket up this list or also fall flat.

The fact LaNorris Sellers is at No. 7 shows just how much elite quarterback talent Brent Venables will have to plan for in 2026. This time last year, there was Heisman Trophy hype for Sellers and even talk of him going in the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft.

Sellers' team at South Carolina drags him down, though. He might be more talented than some of the guys ahead of him, but it won't look like it on the field or when the Sooners have to defend him.

The Sooners got Bryce Underwood at his worst last season when he made his first career road start inside Gaylord Family - Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. Venables had the freshman prodigy's head spinning. But now, Underwood has a full season under his belt and a new head coach in Kyle Whittingham.

Underwood was the No. 1 recruit in the country in the 2025 class. If he taps that potential in 2026, then he probably belongs at No. 1 on these rankings.

No one raised more eyebrows at the Manning Passing Academy than KaMario Taylor. He's unknown, but side by side with the best quarterbacks in college football, he still stood out. He got the reigns in just two games last season at the very end and gave the Bulldogs life despite both being losses. He had 351 total yards against Ole Miss while making his first career start in a rivalry game.

It's an extremely small sample size, but the flashes have been enough for me to buy into the hype and believe Taylor will quickly earn this top-5 spot.

Gunner Stockton will be unrattled and win football games, but he's still just not as special as the quarterbacks ahead of him. Most of his success stems from being surrounding by unlimited talent at Georgia. He averaged 206.71 passing yards a game last season, which was 10th among the 16 starting SEC quarterbacks. Still, he's going to win games and that's what you want from a quarterback.

Marcel Reed is really underrated considering what he just accomplished at Texas A&M in 2025. He led the Aggies to the CFP after losing just one regular-season game. He averaged 243.77 passing yards a game, which was fourth in the SEC, while also throwing 25 touchdowns and rushing for another six scores.

The Sooners will at least get the benefit of playing Reed in front of their home crowd.

Arch Manning is overhyped, but it's to no fault of his own and it still doesn't mean he's a bust just because he didn't reach impossible expectations in 2025. He showed tremendous improvement as the year went on and threw only two picks in the last eight games of the season after settling in.

It's hard for Sooner Nation to stomach, but if Manning even sniffs the hype surrounding him, he'll be one of the best quarterbacks in college football. And might already be.

After a legal battle and a time when Trinidad Chambliss' college career seemed complete, he's back as maybe the best QB in the country. He got Ole Miss all the way to the CFP semifinals last season after taking over as QB1 because of an injury two games in. It would be no surprise if he's the Heisman Trophy winner come December.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow