College football is marching toward the busy period of the recruiting calendar, and the picture for the 2026 cycle is beginning to take shape for the country's top programs.
Three top-100 prospects came off the board in the last week alone, headlined by five-star wide receiver Tristen Keys' pledge to LSU. The slow trickle of commitments will eventually turn to a flood later this spring when the official visit season kicks off and the nation's elite high school prospects flock to campuses all over the country from mid-May to the third weekend in June.
So who are the priority targets and what are the key roster needs for college football's biggest programs in the 2026 class?
We took a shot at answering that question for the 30 schools that finished atop ESPN's class rankings for the 2025 recruiting cycle earlier this year. For certain programs, the focus is trained on an individual recruit, such as Georgia and its pursuit of No. 1 quarterback Jared Curtis. For others, including Ohio State and Texas A&M, there's key position groups to address, while a handful of risers -- TCU, SMU, Maryland and Rutgers -- are working to make sure their recruiting success goes beyond impressive 2025 classes.
Let's start with Texas, which secured the nation's No. 1 class in 2025, and a potentially foundational offensive line target for the Longhorns' 2026 class.
1. Texas Longhorns
Top target: OT John Turntine III, No. 41 in ESPN Junior 300
