Texas EDGE Colin Simmons Makes ESPN's Preseason True Freshmen All-American Team

Texas edge rusher Colin Simmons has been named to the Preseason True Freshmen All-American Team by ESPN analyst Tom Luginbill. He is the only Longhorn who was named to the team.

Texas’ new conference contains 12 of the 23 freshmen on the list, with Texas A&M, South Carolina, Florida, Tennessee, and Georgia all having one player named to the team, while Auburn, Alabama, and Oklahoma contribute two each.

To be clear, Luginbill’s list “is based on need, opportunity and talent level entering Week 1,” in his own words. So this is not necessarily who he thinks are the best 23 freshmen in the country, but which talented freshmen will have the opportunity to make the biggest impact this year.

Related: This Pair of True Freshmen Are Standing Out In Practice and Scrimmages For Texas

Here’s what Luginbill had to say about Simmons, generally regarded as one of the most talented young pass rushers in the country.

“Simmons is going to need to gain considerable weight and strength to hold up against the run, but he is an elite edge rusher with designated pass-rush ability to contribute immediately," Luginbill wrote. "He can be just like linebacker Anthony Hill from last year's class, who made his mark as a pass rusher while developing into a full-time player. Simmons' first-step explosiveness is rare.”

Many saw Simmons as the crown jewel of Texas Head Coach Steve Sarkisian’s 2024 recruiting class, ranked by 247sports as the sixth best in the nation, and it's easy to see why.

The Duncanville, Texas, product is an incredible athlete who compiled a school record of 22.5 sacks in his junior season en route to a Texas 6A Division 1 state championship. In his senior season, he contributed 52 total tackles, 21 tackles for a loss and 10 sacks for a Duncanville defense that allowed only 13.4 points per game en route to a 14-1 record and a second consecutive state championship.

So it's no surprise that 247sports scouting analyst Gabe Brooks believes Simmons will be a future first-round NFL Draft pick and that On Texas Football’s Gerry Hamilton reported that Simmons has stood out in summer practices and scrimmages in Austin.

“Him (Simmons) and Trey Moore brought a different twitch and ability to rush the passer to this program than Texas has had in a long time,” Hamilton said of Simmons.

Moore, the 2023 AAC Defensive Player of the Year, is a new arrival in the transfer portal from UTSA and will likely bookend the defensive line along with Simmons, Barryn Sorrell, and other rotational ends. Simmons has also reportedly lined up at Sam Linebacker, which may earn him extra snaps during his freshman year with Texas’ relatively thin linebacker group.

Related: Expectations For Texas Longhorns' Top Transfer Trey Moore Continue To Skyrocket

Simmons has a unique opportunity in Pete Kwiatkowski’s defense. Other, more experienced members of the Longhorns’ front seven are more likely to draw chip blocks and double teams, making it more likely that Simmons will get to tee off against one-on-one matchups on passing downs multiple times per game.