Cooper, Atkinson, Matthews top freshmen shining in Texas spring camp

Spring camp is more than halfway over in Austin and one of the developing stories is the standout freshmen. The Longhorn rookies have come ready to roll with seven guys standing out among the heap. Some of those seven are rather predictable but others might surprise some.

Let’s get into the seven players that seem to be making the most of spring: QB Dia Bell: This comes as no surprise but the five-star freshmen is making the most of his increased snaps with Arch Manning sidelined. It’s assumed he’ll likely redshirt his freshman year but it’s nice to see the young signal caller finding his groove early. That being said, the QB2 competition is truly wide open and Bell could find his way into the mix to backup Arch Manning.

These true freshmen are really thriving with expanded opportunity this spring for #Texas : QB Dia Bell RB Derrek Cooper WR Jermaine Bishop LBs Tyler Atkinson, Rocky Cummings, Kosi Okpala CB Samari Matthews There's a reason all of these players were such big priorities for Texas. pic. twitter.

com/blv04QR5jx — Evan Vieth (@EvanVieth) April 1, 2026 RB Derrek Cooper: To me, Cooper was someone that had to find his footing early on and he seemingly has. He’s already found himself with Hollywood Smothers and Raleek Brown as the top three RB options. Given he’s a bigger RB than that top duo, he could be valuable early in the season as a true power back.