What are the best position units in college football?
That’s a popular question during preseason magazine season — a time on the calendar when top wide receiver and defensive line rooms are debated just as fiercely as the College Football Playoff rankings will be in a few months.
Let’s address that question at CBS Sports — but with a twist. What if you could build a college football all-star team by picking the best position groups in the country? The only caveat: You can pick just one unit per program. No doubling up.
Want Oregon’s loaded quarterback room? You can’t have the Ducks’ tight ends or edges. Like Texas‘ wide receivers? Then you can’t have Arch Manning or the Longhorns’ elite wide receivers.
Got it? Here’s the best possible Frankenstein all-star team you could build for the 2026 season.
Quarterback: Oregon Ducks
There isn’t a better quarterback room in the country. It’s not up for debate. Dante Moore is on the shortlist for the best quarterback in the sport — he’d likely go No. 1 overall if the 2027 NFL Draft happened today. His new backup, Dylan Raiola, was an above-average starter for Nebraska the last two seasons. In this era where even solid Power Four starters cost $2 million-plus, it’s really difficult to have two good quarterbacks on the same roster, especially when both have played. Oregon has two great ones. They’re both former five-star recruits with elite upside. There isn’t a better one-two combination at quarterback in the sport.
Running Back: Ole Miss Rebels
If Ahmad Hardy were fully healthy and cleared, Missouri likely gets the nod in this category. But the Rebels are a very worthy inclusion. Kewan Lacy enters the season as college football’s top back following a 1,567-yard, 24-touchdown campaign. Lacy forced 89 missed tackles last season and created more than 1,000 yards after contact. What separates him from some of the other top backs in the sport is his breakaway speed. He hit 10.79 seconds in the 100-meter dash in high school and had 14 rushes of 20-plus yards.
Ole Miss‘ second option is strong, too, after adding Makhi Frazier from Michigan State. The Spartans’ leading rusher from a season ago, Frazier totaled 520 yards and two touchdowns on 4.5 yards per carry. He’s a proven No. 2 option who can lighten Lacy’s workload. The Rebels also added another intriguing transfer in Southern Utah’s Joshua Dye. The 5-foot-11, 205-pounder ran for 1,831 yards and led the FCS with 28 touchdowns last season.
No backfield has more proven collegiate production.
Wide Receiver: Indiana
Indiana’s wide receivers may not have the crossover name recognition of Texas, Ohio State or even Miami, but NFL scouts view Charlie Becker and Nick Marsh as two of the top pass-catching prospects for the 2027 cycle. No receiver is as talented as Jeremiah Smith, but some scouts view Becker as on the same tier as Cam Coleman. It’s easy to understand why if you dive into his numbers and measurables. Becker is a 6-foot-3, 207-pound contested catch machine — he caught 13 of 17 contested balls thrown his way last season — and combines that with high-end speed that saw him hit 22.5 miles per hour on the GPS, per an Indiana source. He should build on his 679-yard, four-touchdown 2025 campaign. Marsh arrives in Bloomington from Michigan State, where the 6-foot-3, 203-pounder caught 100 passes for 1,311 yards and nine touchdowns as an underclassman. He has first-round upside and should be even better in a more stable offensive environment with improved quarterback play.
That’s the best one-two wide receiver pairing in the country, and the Hoosiers’ projected slot starter, Tyler Morris, is a pretty good option, too. He missed last season with a knee injury, but caught 23 passes in 2024 while making 10 starts for Michigan. Indiana is expecting Morris to be a key contributor during his bounce-back sixth-year campaign.
Don’t forget about Chazz Preston, by the way. He caught 43 passes for 723 yards with Tulane last season. He’ll play a key role as the Hoosiers’ third option on the outside.
Tight End: Georgia
There are tight end groups fronted by high-profile NFL prospects, but few schools can combine the talent and depth that Georgia does in its room. Lawson Luckie will start for Georgia after a 15-catch, four-touchdown season despite appearing in only eight games. Luckie, who had 348 yards in 2024, is considered a likely draft pick and should be one of the top targets for Gunner Stockton.
Behind Luckie is a cavalcade of potential contributors, including the trio of Elyiss Williams, Ethan Barbour and Jaden Reddell — all of whom were four-star prospects in the 2024 or 2025 class. Williams, a 6-foot-6, 255-pound sophomore, flashed in a big way as a true freshman with seven catches for 177 yards and a score. Expect plenty of 12-personnel from Georgia, as usual, to take advantage of the program’s wealth of tight ends.
Offensive Tackle: Texas
Texas could fit in multiple spots for this college football super team. But it makes sense to use the Longhorns at offensive tackle, where they have the best pairing in the country. On the left side is Trevor Goosby, who emerged as one of the premier tackles in the sport last season. The 6-foot-7, 312-pounder would have likely been a first-round pick in the 2026 draft had he entered. As it is, he returns to Austin as an elite college offensive tackle with top 10-pick upside.
The right side of Texas’ offensive line received a big upgrade this offseason when it added Wake Forest transfer Melvin Siani. A 6-foot-6, 302-pound all-ACC pick, Siani did not allow a sack last season. He’s a rising senior at his third school — he began his career at Temple — and brings more than 1,500 career snaps to Austin.
And if Texas does deal with an injury at tackle, the team’s 2025 starting right tackle, Brandon Baker, who’s moved to guard, can always kick back outside.
IOL: Ohio State
In Luke Montgomery and Carson Hinzman, the Buckeyes have one of the most proven interior tandems in the country. Montgomery has played 1,142 career snaps and emerged as an AFCA All-American last season. Hinzman, for his part, is a three-year starter at center who’s only allowed two career sacks. Both are All-American candidates. Ohio State’s other guard spot is up for grabs, but it’s going to go to someone with a lot of experience. There’s the possibility that Austin Siereveld moves inside after being an effective season at tackle a year ago.
If he stays on the outside, the Buckeyes could either keep transfer Phillip Daniels (Minnesota) inside or turn to Gabe VanSickle, who started the season finale at right guard, as a starting solution. The Buckeyes have the best combination of high-level production and optionality of any team in the country.
Edge: Miami
This was one of the toughest decisions as several contenders also had strong cases at other positions. As it is, the Hurricanes get the nod due to the combination of an elite, proven edge rusher (Damon Wilson) and some young edge defenders the Hurricanes believe are ready to become major contributors.
Wilson is a future early-round draft pick and one of the top edges in college football. He recorded nine sacks and 54 pressures for Missouri last season. Miami’s other edge defenders are less proven, but there were flashes. Marquise Lightfoot was Miami’s third edge defender last season and posted 5.5 tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks in 292 snaps. A former top-35 prospect in the 2023 class, the Hurricanes are counting on Lightfoot to take a major leap.
You could say the same of junior Armondo Blount, who can play inside or outside. He was a top 40 prospect in the 2024 class and the Hurricanes are expecting him to build on a 2.5-sack 2025 campaign. Said one source of Blount earlier this offseason: “He’s a fu–ing savage. Violence, twitch, explosive. Limitless gas tank. Can play the end on first and second down and knock back O-linemen and then go inside and win pass rush on third down.”
Defensive Tackle: Texas Tech
Several teams have a legitimate argument for this spot, including Miami and Oklahoma. But the Red Raiders get the nod thanks to the NFL talent of AJ Holmes, Mateen Ibirogba, plus outstanding depth. Holmes was a consistent interior disruptor last season, posting nine TFLs and 37 pressures despite only being a starter for part of the season. The 6-foot-3, 300-pound Holmes is a future draft pick. Ibirogba, a transfer from Wake Forest who ranked as the No. 1 interior defensive lineman in the portal this past cycle, also projects as a future draft pick.
Then there’s the depth thanks to the transfer portal additions of Bryce Butler (Washington), Julien Laventure (Akron) and JoJo Johnson (Oregon State), all of whom were major contributors to their teams last season.
Very few teams can afford to have five or six proven defensive tackles on their roster. Texas Tech bet big this offseason that its d-line depth is a winning strategy.
Linebacker: Tennessee
The Volunteers have the deepest linebacker unit in the country. For example, Edwin Spillman (81) and Jeremiah Telander (80) led Tennessee in tackles last year and are back in 2026. Yet there’s a real chance neither starts due to the presence of Arion Carter — an expected draft pick who returned to school because of injury — and Penn State transfer Amare Campbell, a four-star addition out of the portal who’s totaled 179 tackles, 20 TFLs and 9.5 sacks over the past two seasons.
That’s a loaded quartet for a defense that’s expected to run a 4-2-5 the majority of the time. And I haven’t even mentioned the presence of sophomores Jaedon Harmon (19 tackles) and Jadon Perlotte (19 tackles), both of whom were high-level contributors as four-star true freshmen a season ago.
Few units in college football have legitimate three-deep depth. That’s what the Vols will feature in 2026 with draft-worthy players sitting atop the depth chart.
Cornerback: Notre Dame
For starters, the Irish have college football’s unquestioned CB1 in Leonard Moore. The 6-foot-2, 195-pound junior has seven career interceptions while holding opposing passers to a 50% completion rate. He’s arguably the best defensive player in college football. The starters around him are pretty good, too.
Christian Gray is entering his senior season with 1,632 career snaps. He got targeted a lot last season opposite Moore, but held opposing passers to a 58.8% completion rate while totaling 17 tackles and a pair of interceptions. Notre Dame also added veteran DJ McKinney from Colorado out of the transfer portal. He’s played more than 2,000 snaps in his career between Oklahoma State and Colorado and was arguably the Buffaloes’ best defensive player the last two seasons. It’ll be interesting to see who slots in at nickel for the Irish. But in terms of pure cornerback depth and experience, they’re the best in the country.
Safety: Alabama
Alabama has a pair of senior all-SEC candidates at safety in Bray Hubbard and Keon Sabb. Hubbard emerged as one of the top safeties in the country last season, leading the SEC with four interceptions to go along with 79 tackles and 4.5 tackles for loss.
A former high school quarterback, Hubbard turned down the NFL to return for a fourth season in Tuscaloosa. He’s the heartbeat of Alabama’s defense. Sabb brings high-level production, too. After serving as a major contributor on Michigan’s 2023 national championship team, Sabb transferred to Alabama. He was fully healthy in 2025 and formed the other half of the best safety duo in the SEC, posting 54 tackles, 2.5 TFLs and an interception.
Hubbard and Sabb were Alabama’s top-graded defenders last year, per PFF, and two of the top 25 safeties in the Power Four. There’s also plenty of depth at safety for Alabama with the 2025 backups Zavier Mincey, Ivan Taylor and Dre Kirkpatrick all returning.
