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Jan 10, 2025; Arlington, Texas, USA; Texas Longhorns linebacker Colin Simmons (11) celebrates after a pass break up during the third quarter of the College Football Playoff semifinal against the Ohio State Buckeyes in the Cotton Bowl at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tim Heitman-Imagn Images Tim Heitman-Imagn Images

Texas Longhorns LB Colin Simmons Ranked Top 10 Player in College Football

Originally posted on Texas Longhorns on SI
By Ylver Deleon-Rios | Last updated Jul 5, 2025 8:00 AM ET

The 2025 Texas Longhorns have a large amount of talented players heading into a season filled with championship expectations from both fans and the media. With about two months before Texas walks into Columbus and take on the defending national champion Ohio State Buckeyes, some of the Longhorns are standing out as some of the best players in all of college football.

Pro Football Focus recently released its list of the top 50 best players in college football heading into the 2025 season. The Longhorns lead the way with the most players featured on the list, tied with Alabama and Penn State with five players each. The standout for Texas is edge rusher Colin Simmons, who ranked as the No. 8 player on PFF's list.

The other Longhorns on the list were linebacker Anthony Hill Jr. at No. 14, defensive back Michael Taaffe at No. 26, cornerback Malik Muhammad at No. 46. Texas quarterback Arch Manning rounded out the list at No. 50.

What does Year Two of Colin Simmons look like for Texas?

The former five-star plus recruit in the 2024 cycle was an impact player in his true freshman season, earning Freshman All-American honors after a season with 48 tackles, 14 tackles-for-loss, nine sacks, one interception, and three pass deflections in the rotation of talented pass rushers the Longhorns had a season ago.

PFF’s Top 50 College Football Players for the 2025 Season:

#8: Colin Simmons, Texas

90.0 Pass Rush Grade Last Season pic.twitter.com/U5AdkN005q
— PFF College (@PFF_College) July 4, 2025

After a full season under Simmons's belt in defensive coordinator, Pete Kwiatkowski's system, the sky's the limit for the next step in the second-year players' development. If Simmons can become the dangerous edge rusher for the Longhorns, which he showed flashes of a year ago, the Longhorns defense will have its closer, allowing the Longhorns defense to sit back and play the pass while Simmons disrupts the quarterback in key situations.

Another season with Trey Moore, who returned for his senior year, gives Texas the ability to have two premier edge rushers on either side to make the opposing quarterback's job a nightmare.

As Moore managed to put everything together towards the end of the season, finishing with 6.5 sacks of his own, Moore should have more one-on-one opportunities as Simmons becomes the primary focus of the opposing offensive line, Moore will see better and clearer chances of rushing the passer.

With Texas' championship hype and expectations heading into the 2025 season being sky-high, the development of Simmons as a pass rusher and run stopper will add to the Longhorns defense, which will have to be a huge driving force on the road to a national championship.

This article first appeared on Texas Longhorns on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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