Texas is about to face Ole Miss without its most dangerous edge rusher.
Colin Simmons is expected to miss this weekend’s game because of a high ankle sprain, according to ESPN, and his recovery is being treated as week-to-week. The Texas defensive end was hurt late in the Longhorns’ 27-24 loss to Florida, when he needed help getting to the sideline in the fourth quarter and was eventually carted to the locker room. He was ruled out for the rest of the game as Texas dropped its second straight and squandered a 14-point lead in the first half.
That’s a brutal blow for a defense built around the pass rush. Simmons has been the engine of the unit, and the numbers back it up: he leads the nation with 10.5 sacks and has piled up 45.5 tackles for loss and 31.5 sacks in 35 games at Texas.
Against Tennessee, he authored a program-record 5.5 sacks. The Dallas native has become the best player on the roster and one of the most disruptive defenders anywhere in college football.
If the injury keeps him sidelined for four weeks, Texas would be without him for home games against No. 7 Ole Miss and Mississippi State, plus road trips to No.
22 Missouri and No. 18 LSU.
That stretch matters even more because all four opponents feature dynamic quarterbacks who can punish teams that fail to generate pressure.
The Longhorns’ defensive structure makes the loss even more glaring. Texas wants its front to create chaos up front so the defensive backs can play aggressively behind it, and Simmons is the piece that makes so much of that work. The Longhorns are No. 7 nationally in sacks per game, and more than half of that production comes from Simmons alone.
Behind him, there isn’t much proven production. Defensive tackle Maraad Watson is the only other Texas player with more than one sack.
Freshman Richard Wesley, a top 100 recruit from Chatsworth, California, sits next on the depth chart. Junior Zina Umeozulu is another option; he is a backup behind Lance Jackson and has three sacks in 19 career games.
Even before Simmons went down, Texas was trying to steady itself. The Longhorns are dealing with a rough 1-2 start to SEC play, and coach Steve Sarkisian said earlier this week that all options are on the table, including benching quarterback Arch Manning or giving up playcalling duties. At his weekly press conference, Sarkisian said Texas would stick with Manning for now, but made it clear he wants more from the high-profile quarterback.
That’s a sharp turn for a program that entered the season with massive expectations. Manning arrived as the No. 1 recruit in the country, and Texas spent heavily on a loaded transfer class to set him up for what was supposed to be a huge year.
Instead, the Longhorns have already taken a hard fall. They were considered one of the most disappointing teams in the nation last season after opening as preseason No. 1 and missing the College Football Playoff, and after climbing back to No. 1 earlier this year, the collapse has come even faster.
Texas still owns strong defensive metrics - No. 2 nationally in yards per play defense and No. 5 in SP+ defense - but losing Simmons threatens the foundation underneath all of that. If the unit slips without him, the Longhorns could find themselves in real trouble fast.
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The offense has not given the defense much help, either, after losing starting quarterback Kamario Taylor to injury. Turnovers have helped fuel the recent slide, and coach Lebby has already pointed to leadership as a necessary fix. For the Bulldogs, the question is no longer just how they clean up one side of the ball, but who steadies them before the league schedule gets any less forgiving. [Read more 🡒]