Texas defensive lineman Hero Kanu isn’t interested in letting Colin Simmons be defined by one heated moment from last week’s win over Tennessee in Knoxville.
The celebration that followed Simmons’ sack drew attention for the wrong reasons, and it also came with an unnecessary gesture from Texas running back Raleek Brown in the second half. But when Kanu was asked about the situation on The Jim Rome Show, he handled it with the kind of calm, measured tone that fit the moment.
“Oh my goodness, it was just a funny moment,” Kanu told Jim Rome. “First of all, like, he got that sack, and I'm running up to him, I'm trying to celebrate with him, and I look over and I'm like, 'Oh, this is gonna be a flag.'”
Kanu made it clear that the lapse was just that - a lapse - and not a reflection of who Simmons is away from the field. He pointed to the work Simmons has done in helping create Clay's Color Crew, a foundation that supports youth impacted by Autism Spectrum Disorder.
“This is absolutely not who he is off the field,” Kanu said of Simmons. “It was just in the heat of the moment, making a big-time play in a big-time game.
But yeah, we’re working on those new celebrations. ... We understand it as a team.
He understands that just the people that he represents, the University of Texas, and we want to be putting our best foot forward. And that's just not who he is and who we are as a team.”
Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said after the Tennessee game that team celebrations carry more value than individual ones. If the Longhorns land another big play next week against Oklahoma in Dallas, the expectation is that the reaction will be collective rather than centered on one player.
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The good news for Texas is that teammates Joe Sterling and Bo Ogden are stepping forward with the right kind of response, offering support while also signaling they are ready to absorb the minutes Lewis leaves behind. For a team that needs its perimeter pieces to settle quickly, the next few practices will matter a lot as Texas figures out how to keep the backcourt organized without one of its key options. [Read more 🡒]