Texas Tech has landed near the top of a national conversation and, for once, it’s not about the transfer portal.
In his annual ranking of college football’s most important players heading into the season, ESPN’s Bill Connelly, who defines most important as “players who could define the season with moments, or long spells, of greatness,” slotted Red Raiders quarterback Will Hammond at number four overall.
Why Will Hammond made the cut
Connelly’s list is built around stakes more than talent. His list identifies the players whose performances will most swing their team’s season. For Texas Tech, that’s Hammond, and the “why” comes down to a boom-or-bust track record from a season ago.
Connelly notes that the first time Hammond filled in for an injured Behren Morton last season, he put the Big 12 on notice. However, he was equally responsible for Texas Tech’s only regular-season loss as he was in the Utah victory. Then he tore his ACL later in the season and has been rehabbing since. That volatility is exactly the kind of swing factor Connelly’s rankings are built to capture.
It’s also a notable departure from the norm around the sport this year. While 2025 was defined by a wave of new starting quarterbacks around the country, 2026’s top-ranked teams are mostly running it back with proven veterans.
Even casual college football fans will recognize names like Ohio State’s Julian Sayin, Texas’ Arch Manning, Oregon’s Dante Moore and Georgia’s Gunner Stockton. The ceiling and floor are mostly known with those quarterbacks, while the potential (good and bad) of Hammond’s 2026 performance is why he ranks so high on Connelly’s list.
The bigger picture in Lubbock
Hammond’s rise to QB1 was the plan heading into the 2025 season. Until it wasn’t. Texas Tech landed Cincinnati transfer Brendan Sorsby over the winter to help replace Morton while Hammond rehabbed from his ACL injury.
But that plan went the way of the Dodo bird as Sorsby had to depart the program later amid a gambling-related eligibility dispute. Luckily for Joey McGuire’s Red Raiders, Hammond has been ahead of schedule and is currently tracking to be available in week one against Abilene Christian.
Texas Tech was, on average, 27.1 points per game better than Big 12 opponents last season. The Red Raiders won their first-ever conference title and reached the College Football Playoff. Yet the stakes are even higher in 2026 given the gross taste left thanks to a 23-0 loss to Oregon. That loss squarely put on display exactly the kind of passing-game questions Hammond now has to answer.
A No. 4 ranking nationally registers a “must-watch” for Hammond given the weight his performance carries for Texas Tech. Should Hammond reach his ceiling, there is a great chance that it will determine whether Texas Tech is a Big 12 contender again or a national title contender for the first time in program history.
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This article originally appeared on Red Raiders Wire: ESPN Ranks Will Hammond among sport’s most important players for 2026
Reporting by Andrew McCleary, Red Raiders Wire / Red Raiders Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Andrew McCleary, Red Raiders Wire | USA TODAY Network
