The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
2026 Football Roster
Roster
Colin Simmons
- Position:
- EDGE
- Height:
- 6-3
- Weight:
- 246
- Class:
- Junior
- Hometown:
- Dallas, Texas
- High School:
- Duncanville
- Major:
- Communication & Leadership
A third-year EDGE ... has played in 29 career games with 13 starts ... on 2026 preseason watch lists for the Lombardi Award, Bronko Nagurski Trophy and Allstate Wuerffel Trophy ... Walter Camp presason First-Team All-American ... preseason First-Team All-SEC ... 2026 Phil Steele preseason First-Team All-America selection ... 2026 Phil Steele preseason First-Team SEC selection ... named a 2025 Second-Team All-American by The Sporting News, AFCA and Walter Camp Football Foundation ... named to 2025 Coaches' All-SEC First Team ... SEC sack leader in 2025 with 12.0 ... four-time Co-Defensive Lineman of the week selected by SEC during the 2025 season ... earned 2025 First-Team preseaon coaches' All-SEC honors ... on 2025 preseason watch lists for the Lombardi Award, Chuck Bednarik Award, Walter Camp National Player of the Year Award and Bronko Nagurski Trophy ... appeared in all 16 games as a true freshman ... 2024 Shawn Alexander National Freshman of the Year award winner ... selected to Freshman All-America teams by ESPN, FWAA, PFF and The Athletic ... tabbed to the 2024 SEC All-Freshman Team ... became the 17th Longhorn to earn Freshman All-America selection ... his 21 sacks in his first two seasons on the Forty Acres are the most ever by a Longhorn in their first two years on campus (bettering All-American and NFL All-Pro Tony Brackens, 17 in 1993-94) while his 29.5 tackles for loss are second only to Brackens’ 33 during a freshman and sophomore season at UT ... Simmons enters 2026 having record at least one sack in five-straight games (longest active streak in the FBS) and is looking to become the first SEC player to record a sack in six-straight games since eventual No. 3 overall draft pick Will Anderson Jr. (8) in 2021 ... at 6-3, 246 pounds has just 9% body fat and Texas’ Director of Player Performance Torre Becton calls him "pound-for-pound the most explosive player on the Longhorns roster”… listed No. 10 on Bruce Feldman's (The Athletic) Annual College Football Freaks List … A big example of that is his posting a 335-pound power clean with a bar velocity at an incredible 1.4 meters per second, something Becton notes is incredibly rare explosion with that much weight in that lift … his 65 cm (25.6 inches) jump on an elite form and countermovement force plate is exceptional and demonstrates his world-class explosiveness and reactive strength as well … he is known for his high motor and the ability to maintain that for an entire game … he’s been clocked at 20.22 MPH during a game and an example of his explosive endurance came in last year’s Red River Rivalry win over Oklahoma when he hit 19.2 MPH (95% of his max) in the fourth quarter of that game … Becton said: “Simmons has shown the rare ability for a player of his size to maintain his motor in the fourth quarter of intense SEC matchups. Last year he clocked 90% of his max speed in several of those games, highlighted by reaching 95% in the fourth quarter against Oklahoma.”
SOPHOMORE (2025)
Started in all 13 games ... led SEC with 12.0 sacks and ranked fifth nationally in that same category ... hauled in four SEC weekly honors ... registered two tackles (one solo) and a quarterback hurry in season opener at No. 3/2 Ohio State (8/30) ... produced three tackles (one solo), including a 0.5 sack for a loss of three yards, and a quarterback hurry in home opener vs. San Jose State (9/6) ... had a solo sack for a loss of two yards and a quarterback hurry vs. Sam Houston (9/20) ... recorded four total tackles (two solo) and 1.0 TFL for three yards at Florida (10/4) ... amassed five tackles (three solo) against Oklahoma (10/11) including 2.5 sacks for a loss of 19 yards ... notched four solo tackles at Kentucky (10/18) including 3.0 sacks for 10 yards and one forced fumble ... produced six tackles and a quarterback hurry at Mississippi State (10/25) ... logged five tackles (three solo) against Vanderbilt (11/1) including a strip-sack fumble and subsequent fumble recovery ... registered three tackles (two solo) at Georgia (11/15) including a sack for a loss of two yards and an additional 0.5 TFL ... tallied five tackles (two solo), one sack for a loss of seven yards, an additional 0.5 TFL, one forced fumble and four quarterback hurries against Arkansas (11/22) ... totaled three tackles, including a sack for a loss of a yard, three pressures and a pass break-up in win over No. 3/3/3 Texas A&M (11/28) ... recorded two tackles for loss, including a sack for a loss of eight yards, in Cheez-It Citrus Bowl vs. Michigan (12/31) ... concluded the 2025 season as the SEC's sack leader with 12.0 ... registered a sack in each of the last five games to end the regular season.
FRESHMAN (2024)
Texas' first Shawn Alexander Freshman of the Year recipient ... appeared in all 16 games as a true freshman ... had a team-high 9.0 sacks, which is the third most in a single season by a freshman defensive player ... his 14.0 tackles for loss were the second-most on the team and third-most by a freshman defensive player in a single season ... the only Longhorn defender with both 14.0-or-more (14.0) tackles for loss and 9.0-or-more (9.0) sacks during the season ... credited with at least one sack in seven different games ... registered at least 0.5-or-more tackles for loss in nine different contests ... set a season high with 3.0 tackles for loss in Texas' conference-opening win against Mississippi State (9/28) ... had a season-high 2.0 sacks against Mississippi State (9/28) and at Arkansas (11/16) ... has two-or-more tackles in 12 different games, including five-or-more in five of those ... recorded his first career interception during Texas' College Football Playoff (CFP) First Round game against Clemson (12/21) ... credited with three forced fumbles: Mississippi State (9/28), Kentucky (11/23) and vs. Georgia (12/7) ... credited with at least one quarterback hurry in eight games throughout his first season on the Forty Acres ... made his collegiate debut in the season-opener vs. Colorado State (8/31), notching two solo stops and a quarterback hurry against the Rams ... burst onto the national scene with his performance at Michigan (9/7), tallying a sack for a loss of two yards and a quarterback hurry ... racked up six tackles (four solo), including two tackles for a loss of eight yards and a sack for a loss of seven yards and a quarterback hurry vs. UTSA (9/14) ... recorded two tackles and a quarterback hurry against ULM (9/21) ... logged a season-high seven tackles (six solo), including three tackles for a loss of 15 yards, two sacks for a loss of 14 yards and a forced fumble in SEC opener vs. Mississippi State (9/28) ... had five tackles (two solo), including 1.5 tackles for a loss of four yards vs. Oklahoma (10/12) ... credited with three tackles (one solo) and a quarterback hurry vs. Florida (11/9) ... responsible for three solo stops, including two sacks for a loss of 18 yards at Arkansas (11/16) ... had two tackles for a loss of 10 yards, including a sack for a loss of eight yards, a forced fumble and two quarterback hurries vs. Kentucky (11/23) ... wrapped up five tackles (four solo) in regular-season finale at Texas A&M (11/30) ... registered two solo tackles, including a sack for a loss of 11 yards, a forced fumble and a quarterback hurry in the SEC Championship vs. Georgia (12/7) ... accumulated a tackle, including a 0.5 tackle for a loss of one yard, an interception and a quarterback hurry in the CFP First Round vs. Clemson (12/21) ... recorded five tackles (two solo) and one sack for a loss of four yards in the CFP Quarterfinal at the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl vs. Arizona State (1/1) ... in the CFP Semifinal at the Goodyear Cotton Bowl vs. Ohio State (1/10), compiled four tackles (two solo) and a season-high two pass break-ups.
HIGH SCHOOL
An All-America, all-state, and three-time all-district honoree and a member of a two-time state championship team … selected to play at the 2024 Under Armour All-American Game and 2024 Polynesian Bowl … ranked the No. 2 player in the state of Texas and the No. 1 edge rusher in the state of Texas by Dave Campbell’s Texas Football … ranked No. 9 nationally, No. 1 among edge rushers and No. 2 overall in the state of Texas by Rivals … rated No. 13 nationally, No. 3 among edge rushers and No. 2 overall in the state of Texas by On3 … ranked No. 22 nationally, No. 4 among edge rushers and No. 6 overall in the state of Texas by 247Sports … rated No. 10 nationally, No. 2 among edge rushers and No. 1 overall in the state of Texas by ESPN … named the No. 7 overall prospect and to the top-150 dream team by PrepStar… tabbed the No. 1 player on The 2024 Dallas Morning News’ top 100 recruits list … named to the 2023 MaxPreps All-America Team first-team defense … selected first-team All-District 11-6A in 2023 … compiled 52 total tackles, 21 tackles for a loss and 10 sacks as a senior … part of a defense that allowed just 13.4 points per game in 2023, including three consecutive shutouts and four total … part of a defense that allowed fewer than 70 rushing yards in each of the first seven games … secured Defensive MVP honors in the state championship game for the second straight year in 2023 after posting eight solo tackles, three sacks and one forced fumble in the title game against North Shore … helped Duncanville to a 14-1 record and a second consecutive state championship in 2023… named the Dallas Morning News Defensive Player of the Year in 2022 … tabbed the Texas Sportswriters Association (TSWA) Class 6A Defensive Player of the Year in 2022 … compiled 79 tackles, 22.5 sacks and 33 tackles for loss in 2022 … his 22.5 sacks set a new single-season record at Duncanville … helped Duncanville to a 15-0 record and a state title in 2022 … chosen the Defensive MVP in the state final versus Galena Park North Shore after collecting five tackles, three tackles for loss, two sacks and two pressures in the 28-21 victory … compiled 68 total tackles, 16 tackles for loss and 12 sacks in 2021 … part of a defense that allowed just 11.4 points per game, including four shutouts and 10 games allowing fewer than 10 points … helped Duncanville to a 14-2 overall record, including an 8-0 district mark and title, and an appearance in the 6A Division 1 state title game in 2021 … also won a state championship with the Duncanville Varsity Basketball team.
PERSONAL
A member of the 2026 Allstate AFCA Good Works Team and Wuerffel Trophy watch list, he Is very active in the community … founded Clays Color Crew, a non-profit foundation honoring his younger brother, Clayton, who has autism … founded with mother, Monica McCarley, it supports individuals and families affected by autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in South Dallas and beyond … hosted a youth football camp the past two summers (2025, 2026) to support the foundation … out of 45 scholarship offers, he chose to play at Texas because he wanted to represent his home state … worked with the For Oak Cliff nonprofit in Dallas while in high school ... Michael Parsons has served as a mentor to Simmons, since high school, when the two met when Parsons was with the Cowboys.
