Texas makes final call on status of star Colin Simmons for Mississippi State game
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Texas won’t have star edge rusher Colin Simmons for the second straight game, as the junior is dealing with an ankle injury that will keep him out of Saturday night’s home showdown against Mississippi State.
Simmons was downgraded to out on Friday night’s SEC availability report, so the Longhorns will have to find a way to win without him, like they did last week in a riveting victory over Ole Miss.
Now, the standout who causes havoc in the opponents’ backfield will be out again as No. 11 Texas welcomes the other Mississippi school for a 7:30 p.m. ET kickoff on ESPN.
Simmons’ status for Saturday night kept getting worse with each availability report this week. The 6-foot-3, 246-pound beast of a player was initially listed as questionable on Wednesday night’s report, before being downgraded to doubtful on Thursday night’s report.
The final nail came on Friday night when he was downgraded again to out. Simmons is currently the FBS leader with 10.5 sacks this season, despite missing last week’s game against the Rebels.
Simmons has 25 tackles on the year, 17 of them solo, and has showed off his playmaking abilities with 2 forced fumbles and 1 fumble recovery.
This is Simmons’ third season in the Texas program. He made an immediate impact in 2024, being named a Freshman All-American, and hasn’t stopped since. Simmons was a first-team All-SEC selection last season and was also a second-team All-American pick in 2025.
His impact has been felt again this fall, but right now his dominance for the Horns has been put on hold with this ankle injury that once again will keep him out of action in Week 9.
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
