The Texas Longhorns got a much-needed jolt on the latest SEC availability report, and it came from a name that has already been missing in action for several games.
Colin Simmons, who has been sidelined by an ankle injury since the Florida game and sat out the Ole Miss win, was upgraded to questionable ahead of Saturday’s matchup with Mississippi State. That is a step forward from the doubtful label he opened with last week, and for a Texas defense dealing with plenty of moving parts, it matters.
It does not guarantee Simmons will be back on the field, but it gives the Longhorns a chance to have their top pass rusher available as they try to keep their College Football Playoff hopes alive.
Texas also received positive news elsewhere on the injury front. Running back Hollywood Smothers is probable after missing the Ole Miss game with a shoulder injury, while wide receiver Cam Coleman is also probable after leaving last week’s game with an upper-body injury. Coleman took a hard shot to the shoulder against Ole Miss, went to the locker room and did not return.
The injury list has been brutal for Texas lately. Trevor Goosby is done for the season after suffering a knee injury in the first quarter against Ole Miss and being carted off the field. The starting left tackle now faces a major decision about whether to return for another year or enter the 2027 NFL Draft.
Even with all of that, Texas found a way to beat Ole Miss and may have salvaged its season in the process. The Longhorns were without Goosby and Simmons, then lost Coleman and Smothers during the game as well. Still, they knocked off the then-No. 7 team in the country for their third Top-15 win of the season.
That kind of result is enough to give Texas fans some belief that, whoever is available, the Longhorns can still scrap their way through the second half of the year.
In Other News...
Texas Fans Wont Like What One Sarkisian Call Revealed
Early in the third quarter against Ole Miss, Steve Sarkisian went to a mesh concept that should have given Texas a clean answer in the passing game. Freshman wide receiver Jermaine Bishop and fifth-year tight end Michael Masunas were the crossers, but the play never got the rhythm it needed, with timing and spacing breaking down before it could develop.
Arch Mannings footwork also looked off under pressure from the defensive line, and the result was an unsuccessful snap that ended in a three-and-out. For a Texas offense that needs cleaner execution in key moments, it was a small sequence that said plenty about where the unit still has work to do. [Read more 🡒]
Trevor Goosby News Leaves Texas Facing A Bigger NFL Reality
Trevor Goosbys season-ending surgery closed the book on one of the more sobering developments in Texas year, but it also underscored how quickly the conversation around his future has shifted from college football to the NFL. The Longhorns left tackle had the procedure performed by orthopedic surgeon Dr. Daniel Cooper to repair a torn patellar tendon, and the expectation is that he will make a full recovery with no residual effects.
Goosby will miss the rest of the season, leaving Texas to regroup without one of its most highly regarded young blockers. Even with the injury, he remains viewed as a potential top pick in the 2027 NFL Draft, which is part of what makes this setback feel bigger than a single lost year and more like an early reminder of how much is riding on his health going forward. [Read more 🡒]
Texas Passing Game Faces A Real Test Against Mississippi State
Texas has spent the first part of the season trying to get its passing game into a rhythm, and the numbers have shown it. Through seven games, the Longhorns rank 74th in passing yards per game, which leaves plenty of room for improvement as the schedule tightens and defenses start looking more comfortable taking away the obvious answers.
Mississippi State figures to be a stern next test on the perimeter. Cornerbacks Jett Jefferson and Kelley Jones have both graded well on the defensive side, and Jones already has a history with Texas after intercepting Arch Manning last season. With Ryan Wingo and Cam Coleman among the receivers likely to draw his attention again, Texas will have to prove its passing game can hold up against one of the better cornerback groups it has seen. [Read more 🡒]