The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Four from No. 14/14/13 Football earn All-America selection
12.19.2025 | Football
LB Anthony Hill Jr., RS Ryan Niblett, EDGE Colin Simmons and DB Michael Taaffe earned All-American honors from one or more of the five teams recognized by the NCAA.
AUSTIN, Texas – No. 14/14/13 Texas Football's LB Anthony Hill Jr., RS Ryan Niblett, EDGE Colin Simmons and DB Michael Taaffe garnered 2025 All-American honors from one or more of the five teams recognized by the NCAA following their release this week. Those teams include the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA), Associated Press (AP), Football Writers Association of America (FWAA), The Sporting News and Walter Camp Foundation (WCFF).
Two of those were first-team accolades with Taaffe's being from the AFCA, while Niblett's were from the FWAA, making them the 101st and 102nd Longhorns to be named first-team All-America all-time. Taaffe was also chosen to the second team by the FWAA, and to the third team by the AP. Additionally, Hill Jr. was a second-team selection at linebacker by the FWAA, AFCA and AP, while Simmons was named to the second team by the AFCA, The Sporting News and WCFF. Throughout UT program history, a total of 158 players have earned 209 All-America honors.
Hill once again solidified himself as one of the nation's top linebackers after starting in 10 games as a third-year player and being selected as a finalist for the Butkus Award and a semifinalist for the Chuck Bednarik Award. Hill was also placed on the All-SEC Second Team as a junior. It marks the second-straight year in which Hill received All-America praise. In 2024, Hill was selected to the All-America second team by the AFCA, AP, The Sporting News and Walter Camp. The Denton, Texas, native missed UT's last two games of the regular season after sustaining an injury vs. Georgia on Nov. 15. Despite missing the last two games, Hill finished the season with a team-high three forced fumbles (along with Simmons), while producing 69 tackles (37 solo), 7.0 tackles for loss, 4.0 sacks, two interceptions, one pass break-up, five pressures and a fumble recovery. On the road at No. 5/5/5 Georgia, Hill compiled six tackles (three solo), a half tackle for loss and an interception. Against No. 9/11 Vanderbilt on Nov. 1, Hill registered four tackles (three solo), 1.5 tackles for loss and a sack. After his performance against Mississippi State on Oct. 25, Hill was named the Chuck Bednarik Player of the Week, Walter Camp National Defensive Player of the Week and SEC Co-Defensive Player of the Week. Hill led the Longhorns with career highs of 2.5 sacks and four pressures and matched his career high in tackles for loss with four, to go along with a forced fumble and a double-digit tackle total of 10. In the road win at Kentucky on Oct. 18, Hill led UT in tackles with 12 (eight solo) along with an interception and a quarterback hurry. Hill notched seven tackles (four solo) in Texas' win against No. 6/6 Oklahoma on Oct. 11. Hill was Texas' leading tackler vs. Florida on Oct. 4, notching a career-high 14 tackles with a 21-yard fumble return. In the Longhorns' home opener vs. San Jose State on Sept. 6, Hill registered six tackles (five solo) and a career-high two forced fumbles.
Niblett earned All-America recognition for the first time in his career. A finalist for the Jet Award and a Second-Team All-SEC honoree in 2025, the third-year player served as Texas' primary punt and kick returned in all 12 games this season. The Houston native concluded the regular season ranked first in the SEC and fifth in the FBS in combined kick returns (646), third in the FBS in punt return touchdowns (2) and first in the SEC and second in the FBS in punt return average (23.6). The sophomore received his first career SEC weekly honor following UT's 26-3 win over No. 6/6 Oklahoma on Oct. 11. Niblett registered the first punt return touchdown of his career with a 75-yard score that put Texas up 20-6 with just under 10 minutes to play in the game. It was one of two touchdowns scored in the game and just the third punt return touchdown by a Longhorn all-time against Oklahoma with the last coming in 2013 by Daje Johnson, and the one prior to that being in 1932 by Bohn Hilliard. Niblett followed up that performance with another big game, this time coming on the road in Texas' 16-13 overtime win vs. Kentucky on Oct. 18. Niblett returned a pair of punts for 88 yards to give Texas possession in plus territory, including a 45-yard punt return to the UK 5-yard line in the second quarter and a 43-yard punt return to the their 42 in the third quarter. Texas was able to convert his punt returns into six points on two field goals. Niblett had another monumental performance in UT's come-from-behind road win at Mississippi State on Oct. 25. He tallied a career-high 104 punt return yards and added a clutch, 79-yard punt return touchdown with 1:47 remaining in the fourth quarter to tie the game at 38-38 and eventually force overtime where Texas clinched the victory.
Simmons, a second-year EDGE, started in all 12 games for the Longhorns in 2025 and was tabbed to the Coaches' All-SEC First Team. The Dallas native led Texas with 13.5 tackles for loss, 11.0 sacks, 15 pressures, three forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries. His 11.0 sacks ranked second in the SEC and sixth in the FBS while his three forced fumbles ranked 20th in the FBS. Simmons hauled in four SEC weekly honors this season. Simmons was named SEC Co-Defensive Lineman of the Week after compiling five tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, one sack, a career-high four pressures and a forced fumble that was returned by teammate Liona Lefau for a 52-yard touchdown in the win over Arkansas on Nov. 22. Simmons collected this third SEC Co-Defensive Lineman of the Week honor after the win over No. 9/11 Vanderbilt on Nov. 1. Against the Commodores, Simmons produced a strip-sack and also made the recovery on the first Vanderbilt possession of the game to go along with five tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss and two quarterback hurries. Simmons collected his second-straight SEC Co-Defensive Lineman of the Week honor after his performance in the road victory at Kentucky on Oct. 18. He recorded a career-high three sacks and a forced fumble vs. the Wildcats. He received his first career SEC Co-Defensive Lineman of the Week after UT's win vs. No. 6/6 Oklahoma on Oct. 11. He logged 2.5 sacks as part of five tackles against the Sooners. Last season, Simmons took home freshman All-America honors after winning the 2024 Shaun Alexander National Freshman of the Year Award.
Taaffe received All-American recognition for the second-straight season after being named to the AP's All-America Second Team in 2024. The 2025 recipient of the Allstate Wuerffel Trophy and captain of the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team, Taaffe was also a finalist for the Burlsworth Trophy and named to the SEC Community Service team this season. Taaffe was also a semifinalist for the 2025 Jim Thorpe Award and is a semifinalist for the Jason Witten Collegiate Man of the Year Award. Taaffe was tabbed to the 2025 All-SEC Coaches' First Team on Dec. 9. The Austin, Texas, native and former walk-on has started in 10 games for Texas this season. The fifth-year player has played in 53 games with 36 starts during his time on the Forty Acres. Despite missing two games this season due to injury, Taaffe recorded the second-most tackles on the team with 70 (38 solo) in addition to two interceptions, a pass break-up and sack. Taaffe totaled nine tackles (two solo) in season opener at No. 3/2 Ohio State on Aug. 30 before logging eight stops (seven solo) in Texas' home opener vs. San Jose State on Sept. 6. In UT's SEC opener at Florida on Oct. 4, Taaffe was credited with seven tackles (two solo) and one interception. He followed up that performance with nine tackles (seven solo), including one sack for a loss of 10 yards in the victory over No. 6/6 Oklahoma on Oct. 11. He registered 10 tackles (five solo) in the overtime win at Kentucky on Oct. 18, including a pair of crucial tackles in overtime. On fourth-and-goal from the Texas 1-yard line, Taaffe assisted on the tackle of Kentucky's running back and kept him out of the endzone to force a turnover on downs. After missing games at Mississippi State (Oct. 25) and vs. Vanderbilt (Nov. 1), Taaffe returned to action at No. 5/5 Georgia on Nov. 15 with a seven-tackle (three solo) performance. In Texas' 52-37 win over Arkansas on Nov. 22, Taaffe logged seven tackles (five solo) and a pass break-up. In the Longhorns' 27-17 victory over No. 3/3/3 Texas A&M in this year's edition of the Cotton Holdings Lone Star Showdown on Nov. 28, Taaffe finished with five tackles (two solo) and recorded a clutch interception off A&M quarterback Marcel Reed with 3:46 remaining in the game. Taaffe picked off the Aggies at the UT 3-yard line to halt the Texas A&M drive.
Texas concludes the 2025 season at the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl vs. No. 18/17/18 Michigan at 2 p.m. CT Wednesday, Dec. 31, at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Fla. The game will broadcast on ABC with Mark Jones, Roddy Jones and Alyssa Lang on the call.
