Sophomore edge rusher Colin Simmons has multiple goals for the season, all of which stemming from confidence in himself as a player
It’s been 12 years since Jackson Jeffcoat solidified himself as one of the best pass rushers in Texas history, bombing his way off the edge to 13 sacks in his final year with the Longhorns in 2013.
[Sign up for Inside Texas TODAY and get the BEST Longhorns coverage!]
Outside of Jeffcoat, five other Longhorns have reached the 13-sack mark, all of which date back to 1982 or earlier. That greatly predates Colin Simmons, a kid born at the turn of the new year in 2006. As a result, Simmons had no clue who the all-time leader was—just the number.
22.5 sacks.
He would later have the always-curious reporter Kirk Bohls explain who Kiki DeAyala was, the man responsible for recording 22.5 sacks in a nine-win 1982 Texas football season. David McWilliams was his defensive coordinator, of course.
Simmons wasn’t even sure how to pronounce the name at first, but it was obvious, no matter how many times he would deny it, that the number he was chasing was clear: 22.5.
Simmons played just 472 snaps last year in 16 games, 13th on the team, but tied with Barryn Sorrell for the team lead in sacks. Sorrell played over 650 snaps as a senior; Simmons was just a true freshman. Now, in his second year in Austin, confidence is becoming key to reaching the goals he’s setting for himself and his teammates.
“My confidence drives me. That’s what makes Colin Simmons. That’s what makes me,” Simmons said.
I don’t think there was a single word he used more than confidence in his eight-minute press conference on Thursday—maybe outside of the discussion of sack numbers. While he would not say the number of sacks he was looking to register in 2025, he did have a call to action for his teammates.
Simmons envisions this Texas pass rush, led by the sophomore as well as the likes of Ethan Burke and Anthony Hill Jr., to lead the SEC in sacks.
“Confidence, you’ve got to have confidence in yourself to be in them trenches with the big dawgs,” Simmons said about being able to play in the SEC as a freshman. “It doesn’t take much. Of course, you have to have the skill level, strength, and weight to hold your own, but at the end of the day you’ve gotta have confidence.”
Last year’s group was just six shy of Ole Miss’s SEC-leading 52 sacks, but they played three fewer games than the Longhorns. The goal is obvious heading into 2025: break that 50 mark before the end of the season, at the very least.
And it’s not too hard to project that. Simmons will be in the double digits, Hill and Burke should combine for about 15, and the Longhorns have one of the deepest groups of pass rushers in the nation.
With expected improvements to his game, like putting a more conscious effort into getting his hand in the dirt for explosiveness, Simmons has the makeup to be the best pass rusher Texas has seen since Jeffcoat—or maybe even Kiki DeAyala. He probably won’t tell anyone that number until the season concludes, but we all know the one he’s chasing.
[Order THE LONGHORN ALPHABET: Get your little Longhorns ready for Texas Football this Fall!]
22.5.
Category: General Sports
