Texas Longhorns Defender Receives Comparison to Philadelphia Eagles Player
![April 20, 2024; Austin, Texas, USA: Texas White team edge Colin Simmons warms up ahead of the Longhorns' spring Orange and White game at Darrell K Royal Texas Memorial Stadium. April 20, 2024; Austin, Texas, USA: Texas White team edge Colin Simmons warms up ahead of the Longhorns' spring Orange and White game at Darrell K Royal Texas Memorial Stadium.](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,w_3000,h_1687,x_0,y_0/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/ImagnImages/mmsport/name_image_likeness/01j3jnvj7xbgpn90qgr1.jpg)
The Texas Longhorns are stacked with talent on both sides of the football. Most notably, they are loaded offensively and have two top-tier quarterback talents.
Defensively, Texas brought in quite a bit of talent in the 2024 recruiting class. One of the key names is Colin Simmons, a five-star EDGE hailing from Duncanville, Texas.
Simmons has the talent to become a legitimate star at the college level. Over the next couple of years, he should develop into being a massive key for the Longhorns' defensive success.
He is known as an elite speed-rusher coming into his freshman year at Texas. He stands in at 6-foot-2 and 225 pounds and lined up as a defensive end during his high school career.
Throughout his high school career, Simmons was known as a very high effort player and was coachable. He was also good at batting balls down at the line in addition to his ability to get to the quarterback for sacks.
While he still could put on some weight and muscle, Simmons has all of the tools needed to be a very special player for the Longhorns.
On3 has given him a massive comparison heading into his freshman season at Texas. He reminds them of current Philadelphia Eagles defender Nolan Smith.
"Colin Simmon's physical tools and on-field athleticism reminds us of former five-star, Nolan Smith Like Smith, Simmons is a pass rusher with first-step quickness and effort in pursuit. Both were around the same size at the same stage."
Smith is coming off of his rookie season with the Eagles. Being compared to that kind of talent is an impressive feat.
If Simmons is able to live up to that billing, he has a bright future ahead of him. Texas may very well have gotten themselves a future NFL defensive end by securing Simmons' commitment.
Steve Sarkisian has done an excellent job of rebuilding the Longhorns into a National Championship contender. It has been a process, but he has stayed patient and done it the right way. By getting commitments from players like Simmons and others, he has paved the way for long-term success at Texas.
Expect to see the young defensive end carve out a role for himself over the next year or two. Playing a part as a freshman would be no surprise. He has the talent and potential, now he just needs to perform on the field.