Longhorns Country

Texas Longhorns LB Colin Simmons Making Case for SEC Freshman of The Year

Colin Simmons is already dominating in his first season on the 40 Acres, and this future is brighter than ever

Lindsey Plotkin

Texas Longhorns linebacker Colin Simmons (11) celebrate a quarterback sack with his teammates in the fourth quarter of the Texas Longhorns' game against the Kentucky Wildcats at Darrell K Royal Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin, Nov. 23, 2024.
Texas Longhorns linebacker Colin Simmons (11) celebrate a quarterback sack with his teammates in the fourth quarter of the Texas Longhorns' game against the Kentucky Wildcats at Darrell K Royal Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin, Nov. 23, 2024. / Sara Diggins/American-Statesman / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
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Texas Longhorns edge Colin Simmons has seven sacks, two forced fumbles and 21 solo tackles this season. And he's just a freshman. It can be argued that Simmons is the most dominant true freshman in college football this season and is making a case to be the SEC Freshman of The Year.

The Texas defense has been as dominant as ever and is widely regarded as the best in the nation. Part of the reason for that is the veteran players who have developed under head coach Steve Sarkisian and Pete Kwiatkowski, but another big reason is young players like Simmons and sophomore Anthony Hill.

In Texas' win over Kentucky, Simmons had one of the best games of his young career, with PFF naming him as the highest-graded player in the game with a pass-rush grade of 92.1.

Simmons was a standout player in high school, and the change in the level of the game didn't affect his play one bit. A high school All-American and two-time Texas state champion, he hasn't missed a beat in dominating opposing offenses.

Sarkisian has had high praise for the veterans and young players, all of who are making big plays on the defesnvie front.

"The vets are bringing these young guys along the defensive front playing fantastic, great sack by Colin Simmons, right?" Sarkisian said. "So there's a lot of veterans. There's a lot of young faces that are making plays as well."

Though the game against Kentucky was senior day, it was the young players that shined up front against the Wildcat offensive line. Sophomore Anthony Hill led the Longhorns in tackles with 11, seven of them being solo with two sacks and four tackles for loss.

Up front, the Longhorns held Kentucky to just 21 yards on the ground, which accounts for a loss of 64 total yards on sacks. Texas sacked the duo of Kentucky quarterbacks Brock Vandagriff and Boley six times with Boley taking the brunt of the sack yards, losing 57.

Simmons is gaining momentum off the edge at the right time, as Texas has one last regular season game. Next week, Texas will be going into Kyle Field to take on Texas A&M in a renewed SEC rivalry. Emotions will be at an all-time high, so Simmons' talent off the pass rush will need to be fully utilized as there is much more at stake for this rivalry game.

Texas remains the only one-loss SEC team, and the defense is the main reason for that. Recently, the offense has struggled to move the ball, but the defense has only allowed one 300-yard game. The defensive line has consistently stuffed the run game, and it will be key for Texas to continue to prevent the run next week and beyond.

Though this season is coming to an end, the future of the Texas defense is bright. Simmons is already dominating offensive lines, and he's only played one year in the Texas system.

Texas will take on Texas A&M on Saturday, Nov 30 at 6:30 PM in College Station and the game will be aired on ABC.

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Lindsey Plotkin
LINDSEY PLOTKIN

Lindsey Plotkin is a journalism major and sports media minor at the University of Texas at Austin. She is also a double coverage editor for the Daily Texan on the football and baseball beats, and a staff writer for Texas Longhorns On SI.

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