Texas edge rusher Colin Simmons questionable for Missouri with ankle sprain
Archived — this story has rotated out of today’s deck. It is kept here in full.
The gist
Texas edge rusher Colin Simmons, who leads the country with 16 tackles for loss, is a game-time decision at Missouri.
His absence would test a Texas defense already described by its coach as beat up.
Background
Colin Simmons is a junior EDGE (edge rusher) for Texas Football and an All-American who leads the country with 16 tackles for loss and 10.5 sacks; his 31.5 career sacks rank third in Texas history. He was injured in the fourth quarter of Texas' 27-24 loss to Florida on Oct. 17 and was carted to the locker room. An MRI showed no structural damage, but Longhorn insider Anwar Richardson reported an expected three-to-four-week absence with a high ankle sprain. Texas has since ruled him out of games against Ole Miss and Mississippi State, and his status for the Week 10 top-20 game at Missouri has stayed uncertain.
How it unfolded
- Sep 26, 2026Simmons set the Texas school record with 5.5 sacks for 55 yards lost and forced a fumble in a 20-17 win over Tennessee, but was penalized for unsportsmanlike conduct after pretending to urinate on the field.
- Sep 29, 2026Simmons swept National Player of the Week honors from the Chuck Bednarik Award, Bronko Nagurski Trophy and Walter Camp Award.
- Oct 17, 2026Simmons sustained an apparent lower-body injury in the fourth quarter of Texas' 27-24 loss to Florida and was carted to the locker room.
- Oct 19, 2026An MRI revealed no structural damage; per Longhorn insider Anwar Richardson, Simmons was expected to miss three to four weeks with a high ankle sprain.
- Oct 23, 2026Texas officially ruled Simmons out of the game against No. 7 Ole Miss in Austin.
- Oct 31, 2026Simmons was ruled out against Mississippi State but appeared to get some work in on the field before the game.
- Nov 4, 2026Simmons was named one of 12 semifinalists for the Lombardi Award and listed as questionable on the initial SEC player availability report for the Missouri game.
- Nov 6, 2026Simmons remained questionable on the latest availability report, while Ryan Wingo, Kade Phillips and Graceson Littleton were upgraded to probable.
- Nov 7, 2026Simmons remained a game-time decision for the game at Missouri in Columbia; Wingo, Phillips and Littleton were removed from the injury list.
Key terms
- edge rusher
- A defensive position in gridiron football, an alternate term for a pass-rushing defensive end or outside linebacker.
- tackles for loss
- A defensive statistic counting tackles that stop the ball carrier behind the line of scrimmage.
- sacks
- A tackle of the quarterback behind the line of scrimmage before a forward pass is thrown.
Source: Wikipedia
Who’s saying what
- Caution
- Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian admitted this week the Longhorns are "beat up" ahead of the game at Missouri.
- Official
- Texas listed Simmons as questionable on successive SEC player availability reports and left him a game-time decision at Missouri.
Still unverified
Simmons' injury was described as an "apparent" lower-body injury, and his status for Missouri was still a game-time decision as of the final availability report.