Spring football is on the horizon for the 13 FBS programs in the state of Texas. That means it is time to shift focus forward and rank the 10 best players at each position across the state, continuing with cornerbacks. 

The Lone Star State sent 10 programs to bowl games and two to the College Football Playoff as only Rice, UTEP, and Houston missed out on the postseason after the 2024 season. The 2025 season looks like another big year for the Great State because of the returning talent and added star power from the transfer portal. 

Previous: QB | RB | WR/TE | OL | Edge | DT | LB | CB

1. Jeremiah Wilson, Houston 

2024 recap: 24 tackles, 4 INT, 8 PD, 3.5 TFL 

Keeping Wilson in Third Ward was one of the biggest wins for the Cougars over the offseason. He was a first-team All-Texas selection at cornerback after posting the second-best PFF coverage grade in the Lone Star State for a cornerback at 86.9, trailing only Thorpe Award winner Jahdae Barron. He was third in the Big 12 with four interceptions and scored Houston’s only defensive touchdown of the season with a pick-six against Baylor. 

2. Will Lee, Texas A&M

2024 recap: 43 tackles, 12 PD, 2 INT

Lee was a second-team All-SEC selection in his first season with the Aggies. He began his college career at Kansas State. Lee started all 12 games at cornerback for Texas A&M last year and was fifth in the SEC in pass breakups. His 39 solo tackles were best on the team and he returned one of his two interceptions for a touchdown. 

3. Malik Muhammad, Texas

2024 recap: 36 tackles, 8 PD, 1 TFL

Muhammad was opposite of Thorpe Award winner Jahdae Barron last year but held his own in a talented Longhorn secondary. He’ll be tasked with covering opponents’ top wide receiver in 2025 as he plays opposite of the talented, but green, Kobe Black. Muhammad is a South Oak Cliff product who has started in two conference championships and multiple College Football Playoff games. 

4. Brice Pollock, Texas Tech 

2024 recap: 48 tackles, 9 PD, 1 INT, 1 TFL

Pollock started 12 games last year in the SEC for Mississippi State and the Red Raider coaching staff loves his upside. He’s a freak athlete with 15 starts in 23 appearances over his two-year career with the Bulldogs. Texas Tech splashed money in the transfer portal, especially on the defensive side of the ball. Hitting on guys like Pollock will determine how successful that strategy was for Joey McGuire. Pollock’s 80.1 PFF was tops amongst SEC corners. 

5. Deuce Harmon, SMU 

2024 recap: 31 tackles, 8 PD, 1 INT, 2.5 TFL

The former Texas A&M Aggie started nine times for SMU in the Ponies’ run to the College Football Playoff. The 5-10, 191-pound Harmon started six times for the Aggies in 2023 and was a consensus four-star prospect when he left Denton Guyer. He’s at home in Dallas and should be CB1 for SMU in 2025. 

6. Caden Jenkins, Baylor 

2024 recap: 24 tackles, 1 INT, 5 PD

Jenkins suffered through the proverbial “sophomore slump” in 2024 for the Bears. He was a second-team freshman All-American in 2023 when he was Baylor’s second-highest graded player and one of the lone bright spots of the defense. He struggled at times in 2024, but the talent is undeniably there for the Lewisville native as he becomes an upperclassman. He’s started 17 times over two seasons. 

7. David Fisher, North Texas 

2024 recap: 37 tackles, 8 PD, 2 INT, 1.5 TFL

Fisher is another Sam Houston export who followed new defensive coordinator Skyler Cassity to Denton. Fisher was a second-team All-State selection after starting 13 games for a 10-win Sam Houston team. He played over 800 snaps in 2024 for the Bearkats, leading the team with eight pass breakups. 

8. Elijah Jackson, TCU 

2024 recap: 17 tackles, 2 PD

Injuries kept Jackson from continuing his form from 2023 during the 2024 season at Washington, as the Huskies broke in a new coach in a new conference with mostly a new roster following Kalen DeBoer’s exit to Alabama. Jackson started every game during the 2023 College Football Playoff run by Washington, breaking up the game-deciding pass against Texas in the Sugar Bowl that year. 

9. Julian Humphrey, Texas A&M 

2024 recap: 10 tackles, 4 PD

Humphrey is a former Top 100 recruit in the nation who started the first 10 games for the Georgia Bulldogs last year before finding himself in the dog house and on the bench late in the season. A new home – near his hometown of Houston – might serve the uber-talented cornerback well. The Aggies need better secondary play in Year 2 under Mike Elko and Humphrey’s upside can’t be ignored. 

10. Kobe Black, Texas

2024 recap: 13 tackles, 1 PD

The former five-star recruit out of Waco Connally waited his turn as Barron won the Thorpe and Muhammad manned the other cornerback spot. Black played in every game as a true freshman in 2024, but he’ll debut as a starter in 2025. He’s a big cornerback at 6-2, 200 pounds and he possesses as much upside as anyone on this list.