Todd McShay’s early look at the 2026 college football edge-rusher class puts Texas star Colin Simmons in a familiar spot: right near the top, and with a strong case to finish No. 1 by the time the season is over.
McShay, the NFL Draft analyst for The Ringer, released his top six edge rushers entering 2026, and three of the six come from the SEC. At the top of the list was South Carolina’s Dylan Stewart, followed by Simmons at No.
- Alabama’s Yhonzae Pierre checked in third, Miami’s Damon Wilson II was fourth, Ohio State’s Kenyatta Jackson Jr. came fifth, and Clemson’s Will Heldt rounded out the group at sixth.
Simmons has the production to justify the ranking. Last season, he led the SEC with 12 sacks and added 15.5 tackles for loss.
In two years, he’s piled up 21 sacks, leaving him nine shy of 30 for his career. Only three Longhorns have ever reached that mark.
His 2025 season wasn’t a straight line, either. Through two games, he had no sacks and five penalties. After that, though, he took off, finishing with 10.5 sacks over Texas’ final eight games, including three at Kentucky.
There’s also a schematic fit working in his favor. Texas brought in Will Muschamp as defensive coordinator in December, and Muschamp’s approach leans on man coverage and pressure from all over the field. Simmons also logged 74 coverage snaps last season, according to Pro Football Focus, fifth-most among SEC edge rushers.
At SEC media days in Tampa, Simmons laid out his focus in simple terms.
"Honestly, my individual goals are the team goals," Simmons said. "It's the team's success.
Winning. Winning a national championship."
McShay’s top spot went to Stewart, and there’s plenty to like there. The 6-foot-5, 250-pound junior from Washington, D.C., has 11 sacks, 22.5 tackles for loss and six forced fumbles in 24 games.
He was named a Walter Camp preseason first-team All-American in June. But his 2025 season was limited by a back injury, and he finished with 33 tackles and 4.5 sacks in 11 games.
He also was not cleared when South Carolina opened camp on Aug. 7.
The rest of the list is built around players with real résumés, too. Pierre posted 52 tackles, 14.5 tackles for loss and eight sacks in 2025.
Wilson had nine sacks at Missouri before moving to Miami, his third school in three years. Jackson started all 14 games for Ohio State and added 11 tackles for loss with 6.5 sacks.
Heldt, in his first season after transferring from Purdue, led Clemson with 15.5 tackles for loss and 7.5 sacks.
Even with Stewart holding the No. 1 spot in McShay’s rankings, Simmons has the kind of profile that keeps him in the conversation all season long. Stewart’s burst and bend make him a nightmare off the edge, but Simmons has already shown he can dominate a conference schedule, and he hasn’t missed a game at Texas.
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