The 2026 college football season is fast approaching.
The Big 12 held its annual media days earlier this week, and with it came predictions for the upcoming season. While the conference officially did away with preseason team rankings in the aftermath of the Arizona State Sun Devils winning the conference after placing last in the 2024 preseason poll, USA Today published its list earlier this week.
Below, we take a closer look at key players from the top five programs in the predicted order of finish.
Following the Brendan Sorsby debacle, Hammond, who is recovering from a torn ACL, is set to start for the defending Big 12 champions, with a return for Week 1 possible. The redshift sophomore appeared in eight games last season and went 69-of-109 (63.3 percent) for 680 yards, seven touchdowns and three interceptions. Texas Tech is favored to win the conference for a second year in a row, and Hammond must be ready for his close-up for the Red Raiders to meet the high expectations.
An anticipated leader on BYU’s 2026 defense following Tanner Wall’s departure for the NFL, Satuala’s status for the start of the season is in doubt after suffering a foot fracture during an offseason workout, with Deseret‘s Jay Drew reporting he’d “most likely” be unavailable when training camp begins in August.
Last season, the junior defensive back had 84 total tackles (7.5 for loss), a sack and three interceptions, including one returned for a touchdown.
“Satuala said in April that he was prepared to make a big step forward as a leader of the defense,” Drew wrote. His injury could alter those plans, which would be a huge detriment for a Cougars squad coming off a 12-2 season, the team’s best record since 2001 and only the fourth 12-win campaign in program history.
Day has sizable shoes to fill. This offseason, Utah lost edge-rusher John Henry Daley, who led the Utes in sacks (11.5) and tackles for loss (17.5) in 2025 and followed coach Kyle Whittingham to Michigan. Utah sought help in the transfer portal and found Day coming off a strong season at North Texas. In 14 games, the junior edge had 53 total tackles (seven for loss) and 4.5 sacks.
As challenging as approaching Daley’s production will be, Day must get close for Utah to begin the Morgan Scalley era with a bang.
Thomas made the move from mid-major UAB to Houston look easy, posting career highs in receptions (67), receiving yards (966) and receiving touchdowns (12) as a 2025 junior. The Cougars jumped six games in the win column last season, going from 4-8 to 10-3 in head coach Willie Fritz’s second season, and if they take another leap in 2026, Thomas will likely play a pivotal role.
Fifita was recently named to the 2026 preseason All-Big 12 team. The fifth-year senior has 34 starts under his belt 2024 and threw for a career-high 3,228 yards last season. His experience could be a huge plus as the Wildcats, who must replace their top two 2025 receiving options, look to build on a 9-4 record. Arizona has a difficult schedule, going on the road to play BYU in Week 2 while also traveling to Texas Tech on Oct. 31. If Fifita lives up to expectations, Arizona should be a factor in the Big 12 all season long.
