Texas Longhorns linebackers on Jan. 10, 2025 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. Tim Heitman-Imagn Images

Three Texas Longhorns Selected for Preseason AP All-American Team

Originally posted on Texas Longhorns on SI
By Isabella Capuchino | Last updated Aug 19, 2025 5:00 PM ET

Announced on Monday, the Associated Press (AP) released its Preseason All-American team, and three Longhorns appear on the first team defensive team, with one player from each level of its defense.

Since the hiring of Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian in January 2021, only four Longhorns have been selected for the first team All-Americans across the last four seasons — running back Bijan Robinson (2022), defensive lineman T’vondre Sweat (2023), and, more recently, cornerback Jahdae Barron and tackle Kelvin Banks Jr. (2024).

While this list remains a preseason one, by the looks of it, if selected to the All-American, the Longhorns could be adding more players to the prestigious list of All-Americans. Here are the three Longhorns that made the preseason AP All-American team.

Anthony Hill Jr. — Linebacker

Hailing from Denton, Texas, the 6-foot-3 third-year linebacker Anthony Hill Jr. has appeared in 30 games with 22 starts with Texas.

Having started all 16 games last season, Hill Jr. accumulated eight sacks, four forced fumbles, an interception, and 59 solo tackles across his 113 total tackles. Concluding his sophomore season, he was named a second-team All-American by the AP for the 2024 season, so it comes as no surprise that he was selected as part of the 2025 preseason first team.

Michael Taaffe — Defensive back

Similar to Hill Jr., the fifth-year defensive back Michael Taaffe was also named to the 2024 AP All-American second team. Across his four seasons with Texas, the Austin native has appeared in 43 games, with 26 starts. The 6-foot, 189-pound defensive back started all 16 games last season and amassed two sacks, two interceptions, a forced fumble, and 40 solo tackles across his 78 tackles for the season.

Colin Simmons — Edge

New to the list is defensive lineman Colin Simmons.

Entering his second season with Texas, Simmons accumulated 48 tackles, three forced fumbles, an interception and nine sacks across his freshman campaign. The 6-foot-3 Dallas native was named to the freshman All-American team by ESPN, PFF and The Athletic. Appearing in all 16 games as a true freshman, he recorded the team-high in sacks and was Texas’ first Shawn Alexander National Freshman of the Year award winner.

Heading into the season

In addition to the three Longhorns selected to the preseason AP All-American first team, there were nine other SEC players selected as part of the first team, and an additional 11 players named to the second team, across both offensive and defensive teams.

The only other team with three players listed to the first team is Penn State, with one defensive player and two offensive — running back Nicholas Singleton, guard Olaivavega Loane and tackle Zane Durant.

The official All-American team is selected by a panel of 12 AP sports writers who cover college football and will be released in December, marking its 100th anniversary of the first team published in the AP.

If these three Texas players are selected to be All-Americans at the end of the season, they will be added to the list of prestigious players in Texas Longhorn history.

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

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