Year in and year out, the AAC continues to showcase why it is the best conference outside the Power Four. However, with massive roster turnover and key departures across the conference, the AAC enters this season with a wide-open landscape. Tulane, North Texas, and Navy look to defend their spots on top, while new coaching hires and transfer portal additions create immediate opportunities elsewhere. From starting quarterback battles to brand-new receiving corps, there are plenty of hidden gems to watch out for this season.
Note: The position rankings are based on four-point passing touchdowns and a half-point per reception format and may vary depending on the format of your league. Visit our College Football Rankings page to customize the rankings to fit your league's format. The rankings are also subject to change as more information rolls in during fall camp. Keep tabs on the College Football News page for everything from job battles to injuries as the draft season draws closer.
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2026 AAC All-Conference Teams
2026 AAC Fantasy Sleepers
QB Owen McCown, UTSA
McCown returns to UTSA for his senior season after fully recovering from an offseason injury that kept him out of spring ball. Now cleared for fall camp, he'll operate under new offensive coordinator Rick Bowie, who comes over from Western Kentucky -- a team that accumulated a conference-best 272.2 passing yards per game. The passing game should be a vital piece for the Roadrunners this season, as last year, McCown was efficient, throwing for 2,995 yards and a career-high 30 touchdowns with just seven interceptions. His fantasy leverage will primarily come through the air, as he recorded 45 rushing attempts for just 24 yards and one score last season. He'll have returning receivers AJ Wilson, David Amador, and Jamel Hardy to give him plenty of familiar targets in the Roadrunners' passing attack.
RB Godspower Nwawuihe, Army
Momentum is high for Nwawuihe, who switched to the running back position last year after beginning his college career as a quarterback. He's the top returning back ready to assume the RB1 role for the Black Knights following the departures of their top two rushers. Quarterback Cale Hellums will be the main focal point of head coach Jeff Monken's triple-option offense, but Nwawuihe is set to be the primary option alongside him on the ground. In 2025, he ended the season with a monster performance, rushing for 171 yards and two touchdowns on 12 attempts to earn Fenway Bowl MVP honors. Most of his season production came in that bowl game (21-196-2), but a cleared-out running back room leaves him with an opportunity to take on a full-time workload in 2026.
RB Quinton Jackson, Rice
The 2025 season was a big year for Jackson, as he took over the starting role in the backfield and delivered on the opportunity, producing a breakout campaign with 889 rushing yards on 180 attempts and a team-high six touchdowns. The running back is returning for his senior season as the clear-cut RB1, looking to surpass last season's totals. With last year's starting quarterback Chase Jenkins transferring to Kansas, Jackson will work alongside newly named QB1 Jacurri Brown. There's no doubt that Jackson will be the focal point of head coach Scott Abell's triple-option offense, and he should see a spike in total usage as the coaching staff used him in the slot during the spring to maximize his dual-threat versatility.
WR Bryson Rodgers, USF
Rodgers enters a South Florida receiving room that lost three of its top four targets from last season. The former four-star recruit saw limited volume at Ohio State, hauling in six receptions for 79 yards and a touchdown in 2025, but he brings valuable Power Four experience to the Bulls. Rodgers holds a distinct advantage over the rest of the receiving room thanks to his familiarity with new head coach Brian Hartline, after following him from Columbus. The wideout has a chance to take on a significant role and quickly become a primary target for transfer quarterback Michael Van Buren this season, given the group's lack of a proven WR1.
TE Max Reese, UNT
The arrival of new head coach Neal Brown brings an offensive scheme that benefits Reese, as Brown's offense is expected to utilize the tight end position more this season. With last year's starter Tre Williams gone, the TE1 role is wide open. Reese couldn't carve out a significant role during his lone season at Mississippi State, but his 2024 campaign at Eastern Michigan (27-232-2) showed what he can offer as a pass-catcher. With a three-way quarterback battle underway, having a reliable target like Reese will be crucial for whoever wins the job
AAC Position Battles of Interest
Tulane Quarterbacks
With the return of Will Hall as head coach, Tulane will have a more up-tempo offense, a significant change from the slower, more traditional style utilized in years past. The offense is also expected to emphasize quick passing to get the ball out to playmakers on the perimeter more rapidly. This will be an opportunity for both Zeon Chriss-Gremillion and Kadin Semonza to showcase their talents. Semonza is not new to competing for a starting quarterback gig, as last season he was featured in a four-way battle for the position with the Green Wave. He has starting experience and is a more talented passer than Chriss, throwing for 2,904 yards, 25 touchdowns and 10 interceptions in 2024 at Ball State. On the other hand, Chriss started games for Louisiana and Houston across the 2023 and 2024 seasons. He has never proved to be an efficient passer, but he provides a rushing ability that Semonza lacks, recording 880 yards on the ground and 10 touchdowns on 187 attempts over those two seasons. Whoever wins the competition and becomes the lead signal-caller will have plenty of talent to work with in a receiving corps that includes Destyn Hill, Anthony Brown-Stephens, and Zycarl Lewis.
East Carolina Quarterbacks
The Pirates have a void at quarterback following Katin Houser's departure for Champaign, creating a competition between Emory Williams and Mitch Griffis. Williams, who spent his first three seasons at Miami, has backup experience and displayed his potential in 2023, throwing for 470 yards, three touchdowns and one interception in two starts. He brings valuable Power Four experience, having learned from talented quarterbacks during his time with the Hurricanes. Griffis started his college career in 2020 at Wake Forest before transferring to Texas Tech for the 2025 season, where he served as the third-string quarterback. His most productive season came in 2023, when he played in nine games for the Demon Deacons, tossing for 1,553 yards, nine touchdowns and seven interceptions. Griffis plays with more of a high-risk gunslinger style and also brings Power Four experience to the competition in Greenville. East Carolina's offense will keep its up-tempo pace under new offensive coordinator Jordan Davis, who built dominant passing attacks at North Texas. Whichever signal-caller wins the job in fall camp will lead a revamped receiving corps that offers plenty of upside.
East Carolina Wide Receivers
Last year's offensive coordinator John David Baker left to become the new coordinator at Ole Miss, paving the way for Jordan Davis. As mentioned earlier, Davis' time at North Texas proved he can build one of the nation's most dominant passing schemes. Thanks to his arrival, East Carolina has a great chance to finish near the top of the AAC in passing numbers. However, that upside relies on a wide receiver corps that lost six of its top seven targets, leaving Brock Spalding as the only returning wideout. To rebuild the room, the Pirates brought in six transfers, headlined by Landon Sides, who followed Davis from North Texas, and former Miami wideout Ray Ray Joseph. With an entirely blank slate at the position, Spalding, Sides, Joseph, and others have a chance to become the go-to targets in the passing attack.
North Texas Wide Receivers
North Texas' receiving corps experienced heavy turnover after losing its top four targets from last season. New head coach Neal Brown plans to maintain a spread-based offensive system while tailoring it to the strengths of his skill players. Even with Drew Mestemaker gone, the Mean Green will remain pass-happy. This means the 11 new transfer pass-catchers that North Texas acquired will have an opportunity to step up in the passing game. Many of the new 11 additions are less experienced. Still, wideouts like Justin Stevenson, Corri Milliner, Baron Tipton, and others will compete for a share of targets in a revamped Mean Green passing attack.
