Jeff Howe

Yeah. Hope he’s OK.

The Longhorns and the Spartans begin a three-game series at UFCU Disch-Falk Field at 6:30 p.m. (SEC Network Plus).

It's scary to think what Colin Simmons taking his game to another level looks like.

Will Muschamp coached an All-American pass rusher in each of his three seasons at Texas. That bodes well for Colin Simmons, who is back for what figures to be his last season in burnt orange in 2026. Muschamp’s return to the Longhorns has him inheriting arguably the best pass rusher in college football, with Simmons coming off a 12-sack season as a sophomore. Simmons’ 2025 sack total is tied with Tony Degrate (1984), Kiki DeAyala (1981) and Steve McMichael (1977) for the eighth-best single-season sack performance in school history. Entering his junior season with 21 career sacks, Simmons’ first sack in 2026 will tie him with five legendary Texas defenders (Alex Okafor, Brian Orakpo, Cory Redding, Shane Dronett and James Patton) for 12th on the school’s all-time sack charts. Simmons, who has racked up 29.5 tackles for loss in 29 games, can become the third Longhorn to record at least 30 career sacks, an exclusive club of which only DeAyala (40.5 sacks), Tim Campbell (39.5) and Degrate (31) are members (the program began tracking sacks as an official statistic in 1975). Even though Pete Kwiatkowski’s defense finished the 2025 season ranked third nationally in sacks per game (3.15, with 41 sacks in 13 games), Muschamp has historically fielded aggressive defenses, including his three Longhorn units. The 2008 defense, spearheaded by Orakpo’s 11.5 sacks, led FBS with 47 sacks in 13 games. Muschamp’s three defenses recorded 124 total sacks in three seasons (3.18 sacks per game), including 46 in 2009, when Texas won the Big 12 and reached the BCS national title game. As good as Simmons has been, Steve Sarkisian believes Muschamp can get more out of the Duncanville product. Muschamp has “had a lot of success with a lot of players that look like Colin, play like Colin” throughout his coaching career, Sarkisian said during his most recent press conference on Feb. 23. The staff should always “try to put our best players in a position to have success because they're game-changing-type players,” he added, noting that Simmons, whose 53 total pressures in 2025 were the most recorded by a Longhorn defender in a single season since Pro Football Focus began tabulating season statistics in 2014, “is that type of player.” “I think Colin has really embraced the new defense. He's working at it,” Sarkisian said. “I think there's a really good rapport with Coach Muschamp and Colin right now." Will Muschamp’s All-American Texas Pass Rushers (2008-10) — Brian Orakpo, 2008 A unanimous All-American who was named Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year, Orakpo won the Nagurski Trophy (most outstanding defensive player in college football), the Lombardi Award (nation’s top lineman) and the Hendricks Award (college football’s top defensive end). Along with his 11.5 sacks (tied for 11th on the school’s single-season list), Orapko recorded 42 tackles, 19 tackles for loss, 30 quarterback pressures and four forced fumbles. A monster performance in a 45-35 win over No. 1 Oklahoma (four tackles for loss, two sacks, two quarterback pressures and a forced fumble) put Orakpo on the map as an NFL prospect, eventually leading to Washington taking him with the 13th overall pick in the 2009 draft. — Sergio Kindle, 2009 Under Muschamp, Kindle became the first player in college football history to be named a finalist for the Hendricks Award and the Butkus Award, which goes annually to the top linebacker in college football. Named a first-team All-American by The Sporting News, Kindle posted 70 tackles, 5.5 sacks, 22 tackles for loss (tied for fifth all-time in a season at Texas), 36 quarterback pressures (tied for the ninth-most in a season by a Longhorn), four pass breakups and two forced fumbles. The highlight of Kindle’s senior season might’ve come in the team’s BCS championship game loss to Alabama, when he recorded six tackles and 2.5 sacks. — Sam Acho, 2010 After leading the 2009 defense with 10 sacks, Acho won the Campbell Trophy and the Wuerffel Trophy, which recognize a combination of a player’s on-field play, leadership, academic prowess and community service. Even though the Longhorns finished 5-7, Acho (59 tackles, 17 TFL, 9 sacks, 18 pressures and five forced fumbles) performed well enough to be named a unanimous first-team All-Big 12 selection and a second-team All-American by the Walter Camp Football Foundation. Acho’s five fumble recoveries led FBS in 2010 and remain tied for the single-season school record. Based on what Muschamp did for the careers of the three All-Americans he coached on the Forty Acres, along with how he helped other Longhorn defenders carve out a path to the NFL (Emmanuel Acho, Henry Melton, Keenan Robinson, Earl Thomas and Aaron Williams among them), there’s another level where Simmons can take his game before he takes his talents to the next level. “We'd be remiss if Colin isn't an impactful player for us next fall,” Sarkisian said. “He's going to have plenty of opportunities to do what he does really well. View full news story

I'm sure Casey Dick remembers Will Muschamp (the origin of "Boom!" is NSFW, BTW):

Here's more information about the Taylor Sports Academy in Temple.

I want to see as many guys as possible face tough decisions on whether to be a part of next year's draft. That would mean Texas likely put a number on the wall in 2026.

Of the guys in the "Now of Never" group, who are you banking on to break through and claim a bigger role for themselves? — Kobe Black — Xavier Filsaime — Jordon Johnson-Rubell — Wardell Mack — Zina Umeozulu

This has been an exercise I've done every spring because it's fun to see the sense of urgency some guys show when they realize their time is getting short (see Ryan Niblett last season). With that said, there aren't that many guys left from the '24 class and the nature of the transfer portal/NIL/revenue sharing means the 2026 season will likely be the last one in a Texas uniform for a lot of guys in this group.

Historically, I’ve viewed Texas players entering their third year in the program as guys facing now-or-never situations. You can step up and solidify your place on the depth chart or you run the risk of a younger player surpassing you to claim your spot. While there have been instances where guys like John Harris and Tope Imade come out of nowhere as seniors and depart the Forty Acres with a bang, they’re the exception to the rule. A player’s true junior or redshirt sophomore season has been, for all intents and purposes, a contract year. That’s literally the reality for the members of the 2024 recruiting class who remain in the program in 2026. Third-year college football players are now more like NFL rookies. Programs must decide whether to exercise their option to bring the player back for another season (likely, at a higher dollar figure than what the player previously earned) or be OK with them testing the waters to see what they can get on the open market. How things played out for the 2023 high school signees during the winter transfer portal window should give the crop of third-year Longhorns a road map for how things might play out. Anthony Hill Jr. and Malik Muhammad had good enough junior seasons to follow through with their expected departures for the 2026 NFL Draft. Arch Manning was always coming back, barring something unforeseen, and Trevor Goosby flirted with beginning his NFL career after one season as a starter. Still, both will be back as redshirt juniors, positioned to be high picks in the 2027 draft. Although Jelani McDonald, Derek Williams Jr. and Ryan Niblett are among those who chose to return to Texas, CJ Baxter (Kentucky), Liona Lefau (Colorado), DeAndre Moore Jr. (Colorado) and Quintrevion Wisner (Florida State) decided to finish their college careers elsewhere. With NIL and revenue sharing a part of roster construction that's out in the open for public consumption, Steve Sarkisian admitted during his pre-spring practice conference on Feb. 23 that it’s a two-way street when it comes to the tough decisions that must be made in the portal window. “I'd love for them all to stay, and I'd love for them all to finish what they started here with us, but contrary to, maybe, popular belief, our money isn't endless here either,” Sarkisian said. “We have to make real decisions — where we're trying to spend the money on the players that we have to try to put together a championship roster, but yet not lose sight of how powerful our culture is. Those are difficult decisions to make.” There’s no right or wrong way to group the 2024 signees when trying to figure out where they stand heading into a fork-in-the-road season regarding their football careers. So, I broke them down into four categories: NFL Bound — Barring something unexpected happening, a sure-fire NFL draft pick in 2027 — Colin Simmons It’s pretty simple: If the All-American edge defender stays healthy and the combination of Will Muschamp and LaAllan Clark gets the most out of him that they can, Simmons should be one of the first players off the board in the 2027 draft. Proven Commodity — Established, starting-caliber player with more to prove before the NFL becomes a realistic option — Brandon Baker — Ryan Wingo The goal for Baker and Wingo should be to position themselves as McDonald did after the 2025 season, where he had a legitimate stay-or-go decision to make. Baker and Wingo could come back in 2027 and be featured in more prominent roles. Or they could decide to strike while the iron is hot, if in fact it heats up. But those scenarios aren’t sure things for either of them right now. Bonafide Contributor — NFL future aside, this group is made of pieces who’d be hard to replace if something happened to them — Alex January — Ty’Anthony Smith January will once again be a key part of a deep, talented interior defensive line rotation that figures to pack more of a punch than the 2025 group if Maraad Watson is healthy and Ian Geffrard allows Muschamp to bounce between playing even and odd fronts. With Smith, his immediate future will be determined by his ability to keep making splash plays while playing more consistent, down-to-down football in a new scheme. Now or Never — If you haven’t solidified your role yet, it’s time to make your move — Kobe Black — Xavier Filsaime — Jordon Johnson-Rubell — Wardell Mack — Zina Umeozulu This group has a few guys (namely Black, Filsaime and Umeozulu) who could become significant contributors in 2026 and foundational pieces in 2027. Volatility exists, though, meaning they could get passed up by incoming transfers or younger players on the roster if they fail to convince the coaches to give them more snaps. View full news story

Ryan Wingo is No. 6. Also, GJ Kinne's Texas State offense should be a solid test for Will Muschamp's defense in the opener:

How do you think Rod did?

Rod and I broke it down on the last edition of "Football Theory," which drops every Thursday on the OTF YouTube channel and on our podcast platforms.

I want to thank Rod for talking about Major Applewhite long enough for me to shoehorn in a Roger Roesler mention!

This video dropped on the YouTube channel and on our podcast platforms in the last couple of days. Did CJ and Rod get it right?

— Another SEC loss to Texas — No trip to the conference title game — No CFP wins

“Tommy likey! Tommy want wingy!”

Smothers, IMO. If Texas still wants the foundation of the running game to be the outsize zone, he’s a perfect fit. But I think he’s potentially a more complete runner than Wisner.

I was asked to post more so that prospective members aren’t overwhelmed by your posts to the point that they don’t subscribe. To that challenge, I said:

One of the best pure scorers the game of basketball has ever seen and he bleeds burnt orange! Not bad for a guy who couldn’t complete one bench press rep at the combine (like it was ever going to matter)!