Texas Longhorns took a loss in their game to the Florida Gators long before the game was even decided
The Texas Longhorns will take a loss on Saturday, even if they win against the Florida Gators, as star edge rusher Colin Simmons was helped off the field with an injury.
It’s 17-17 in the fourth quarter. The Florida Gators are driving down the field in Austin, Texas, as the Texas Longhorns struggle to stop John Sumrall’s offense. Then, the worst thing imaginable happens to Texas—star edge rusher Colin Simmons goes down in a lot of pain.
The Longhorns have one of the country’s best defenses. And, for a large part, that’s possible because of Simmons. But he lay on the field, holding his leg as the training staff came to check on him. He wasn’t on the field long, though. However, he could not walk off the field on his own. With trainers’ help, he favored what appeared to be his left leg and limped. Texas finished that drive without Simmons and held Florida to a field goal in a goal-to-go situation.
Simmons is one of the country’s best players. He’s easily Texas’s best player. Simmons is also projected as a top-three pick in the 2027 NFL Draft. In a play that left another player with a leg injury, you can’t help but feel for a kid who’s so bright and talented.
As of this writing, we don’t know much about the injury, but it clearly wasn’t good. He later headed to the golf cart, where they carted him off the field to the locker room. He gave the fans a thumbs up on his way out.
Texas’ defense wasn’t playing well with Simmons, let alone without him.
Simmons is their pass rush. Texas has some interior guys who can put some pressure on the pocket. But Simmons is the guy, and the Longhorns like to move him around. Sometimes they swap him from the left side to the right. Sometimes they even use him as a free rusher, a blitzer at inside linebacker.
Simmons is also one of the best run stoppers in football. He leads the SEC in sacks, and his run defense is close behind. Texas will miss a lot on defense if he’s out for any time. They were struggling to stop Florida in this game with him, let alone without him.
