Colin Simmons, the Texas junior edge rusher with 10½ sacks, the most in college football, is doubtful for Saturday’s game against Ole Miss with a high ankle sprain, according to the Houston Chronicle. The designation signals his likely absence against quarterback Trinidad Chambliss and the seventh-ranked Rebels.
The injury news compounds an already thin edge rusher rotation for Texas, which is also without true freshman Richard Wesley. Wesley is dealing with his own high ankle sprain and is out for the Ole Miss game and possibly the remainder of the season.
What The Team Said About Simmons’s Status
Texas listed Simmons as doubtful on its SEC availability report this week because of the high ankle sprain, the designation that signals he will not play Saturday. Coach Steve Sarkisian did not sound alarmed about the depth chart despite losing his top two edge rushers for the game.
“We’ve got four really good players still. So we’ve got enough depth in there. We’ve got quality players in there,” Sarkisian said.
Who Replaces Simmons In The Rotation
Starting end Lance Jackson and backup Zina Umeozulu are projected to take on larger roles against Ole Miss, though the pair has combined for just two sacks all season. Reserve Brad Spence and little-used Colton Vasek are also expected to see increased snaps as Texas tries to fill the void left by Simmons and Wesley.
The production gap is stark. Simmons alone has more than five times as many sacks as Jackson and Umeozulu combined, underscoring how much of Texas’s pass rush ran through one player.
Simmons’s Season And Texas’s Defensive Stakes
Simmons’s 10½ sacks this season rank first nationally, making him the centerpiece of a Texas defense that has leaned on its front four to generate pressure. Losing him for a game against Chambliss, who completes 62.7% of his throws against the blitz for 608 yards and six touchdowns when defenses send extra rushers, raises the degree of difficulty for a Texas pass rush that already gave up 11 tackles for loss and five sacks of its own quarterback against Florida.
Chambliss averages 279 passing yards per game, second in the SEC and 13th nationally, with 14 touchdown throws. Ole Miss also has the highest-rated offensive line in the country according to Pro Football Focus and did not allow a sack last week against Missouri while rushing for 257 yards, a combination that will test whatever edge rush combination Texas puts on the field without Simmons.
Texas enters the game at 4-2 and in the middle of its first two-game losing streak since 2021, raising the stakes for a defense now missing its top two edge rushers in the same week.
What’s Next
Texas plays Ole Miss on Saturday night in the SEC matchup. No timetable has been given for Simmons’s return beyond this game, and Wesley’s season status remains unresolved. Updates on both players are expected to follow Texas’s next practice reports and availability list ahead of its next game after Ole Miss.
Don't stop here
Every Score. Every Story. One Home.
Breaking sports, entertainment and news from across the Total Apex network, updated all day.
Get the Full Story →
