The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
No. 5/4 Football’s Biles, Simmons named to Chuck Bednarik Award watch list
08.21.2026 | Football
The award is presented annually to the most outstanding defensive player in college football.
AUSTIN, Texas – No. 5/4 Texas Football senior linebacker Rasheem Biles and junior EDGE Colin Simmons were named to the preseason watch list for the 2026 Chuck Bednarik Award, the Maxwell Football Club announced Friday. It marks the second-consecutive season both players have earned a spot on the award's preseason watch list.
The Bednarik Award has been presented to the College Defensive Player of the Year since 1994 and is named in honor of Chuck "Concrete Charlie" Bednarik who was an All-American player at the University of Pennsylvania and later a multi-time All-Pro linebacker and center for the Philadelphia Eagles.
Last season, former Longhorn linebacker Anthony Hill Jr. was one of 20 semifinalists for the award. Former UT defensive back Jahdae Barron and Hill Jr. were both semifinalists for the award in 2024.
In addition to the preseason watch list for the Bednarik Award, Biles has also landed on the watch lists for the Walter Camp Player of the Year Award, Butkus Award, Lombardi Award and Bronko Nagurski Trophy. Biles is a Walter Camp preseason First-Team All-America selection and preseason First-Team All-SEC honoree by the league's media and coaches.
Biles is a senior linebacker who transferred to Texas from Pitt in spring 2026. The Columbus, Ohio, native played three seasons at Pitt (2023-25) and saw action in 31 games with 19 starts. Biles was a Second-Team All-ACC selection last season after making 10 starts at linebacker and led the nation with 1.70 tackles for loss per game. His 17.0 total tackles for loss tied for the eighth-most in the FBS last season. He led the Panthers with 101 tackles, 17.0 tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks, six pass break-ups, two interceptions (returned for 85 yards and two touchdowns) and forced two fumbles. Biles delivered 11 stops and broke up a pass against Central Michigan on Sept. 6. He contributed 14 tackles at West Virginia on Sept. 13 and made six tackles and returned an interception for 75 yards for a touchdown against Louisville on Sept. 27. Against Boston College on Oct. 4, Biles forced a fumble, had a sack and recorded three tackles. He had a split-sack among nine total tackles vs. Notre Dame on Nov. 15 and returned a 10-yard interception for a touchdown against the Irish. He posted 15 tackles at Georgia Tech on Nov. 22 followed by a career-high 16-tackle performance vs. East Carolina in the Go Bowling Military Bowl on Dec. 27. He also forced and recovered a fumble and broke up a pass in the bowl game.
Simmons has also been named to the preseason watch lists for the Walter Camp Player of the Year Award, Allstate Wuerffel Trophy, Lombardi Award and Bronko Nagurski Trophy. The Dallas native was recognized on the Walter Camp preseason First-Team All-America and was named a preseason First-Team All-SEC selection by the league's media and coaches.
Simmons, a third-year EDGE, started in all 13 games for the Longhorns in 2025 and was tabbed to the Coaches' All-SEC First Team. Simmons led Texas with 15.5 tackles for loss, 12.0 sacks, 15 pressures, three forced fumbles and a fumble recovery. His 12.0 sacks led the SEC and ranked fifth in the FBS. Simmons hauled in four SEC weekly honors last 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 a teammate for a 52-yard touchdown in the win over Arkansas on Nov. 22. Simmons collected his 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. In his first season on the Forty, Simmons took home freshman All-America honors after winning the 2024 Shaun Alexander National Freshman of the Year Award.
Semifinalists for the Chuck Bednarik Award will be announced Nov. 10, while the three finalists for the will be unveiled Nov. 24. The winner of the 32nd Chuck Bednarik Award will be announced as part of the ESPN Home Depot College Football Awards Show held on Dec. 10. The formal presentations of the Maxwell Award will be made at the Maxwell Football Club Awards on Saturday, March 13, 2027, at the Coca-Cola Roxy Theater in Atlanta.
Texas opens the 2026 season vs. Texas State at 2:30 p.m. CT Saturday, Sept. 5, at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. The game will broadcast on ESPN.
