Texas’ defense has found a problem for the rest of the SEC, and it starts off the edge.
Colin Simmons and Lance Jackson are turning into a relentless pass-rush pairing for unbeaten Texas, and their latest work came in the Longhorns’ 20-17 road win over Tennessee. In that game, Texas racked up 10 sacks, the second-highest single-game total in program history, and Simmons was the centerpiece of it all.
He posted 5.5 sacks, setting a school record while also matching the SEC single-game mark. That outburst lifted Simmons to 7.5 sacks on the season, adding to a junior campaign that already had him rolling after he led Texas with 12 sacks in 2025.
Simmons is no longer just a disruptive talent. He’s the kind of player offenses have to build their protection plan around on almost every passing down.
That kind of attention naturally opens the door for others, and Jackson has been stepping through it. The sophomore has 16 tackles and two sacks through the early part of the season, continuing a rise that has given Texas another dangerous edge threat. Against Tennessee, he finished with four tackles, matching a career high, even though he didn’t record one of the team’s 10 sacks.
Put the two together, and the numbers get even more striking. Simmons and Jackson have combined for 29 tackles and 9.5 sacks, giving defensive coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski two edge defenders who can wreck an offense without Texas needing to lean heavily on blitzes.
That matters for a defense that already showed it can seize control of a game. Tennessee managed only 221 total yards against Texas, including just 70 on the ground, and its quarterbacks were held to 151 passing yards while dealing with pressure all night.
And with SEC play still ahead, the timing of this development couldn’t be better. Simmons entered the season with national recognition and postseason expectations. Jackson’s emergence gives Texas another threat offenses can’t afford to forget.
For a Longhorns team with championship goals, that edge-rushing duo is starting to look like one of the biggest reasons those goals feel real.
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Even so, the weekly conference honors did not follow in the way many expected, even as Simmons picked up multiple national awards after the game. For Texas fans, it only added another wrinkle to the ongoing debate over how much the SEC values what happened on the field versus everything that surrounded it. [Read more 🡒]
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Texas Fans May Be Judging Cam Coleman Way Too Soon
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The bigger picture is that Coleman has not looked like a player stuck in neutral, just one still settling into his role in the offense. Hes averaging 17.3 yards per catch, the best mark of his career, and the expectation inside the seasons early stretch is that his production should rise as the games pile up. For now, theres more reason to view the usage as a work in progress than as a warning sign. [Read more 🡒]