Texas linebacker Anthony Hill Jr., EDGE Colin Simmons, and safety Michael Taaffe have all been named to the Bronko Nagurski preseason watch list. The Football Writers Association of America and Charlotte Touchdown Club announced the full list Tuesday morning. The award is presented annually to the country’s top defensive player.

Hill makes the cut for the second consecutive season while Simmons and Taaffe are both first-time recipients. The three representatives on the watch list is tied for the second-most with Alabama, Clemson, and Oregon. Georgia leads the country with four selections.

Furthermore, all three players are on the Lott IMPACT Trophy watch list and are preseason First-Team All-SEC selections.

3️⃣ Longhorns land on the Nagurski Trophy watch list ? @NagurskiTrophy @thegoatanthony1 x @ColinSimmons__ x @MichaelTaaffe4 pic.twitter.com/2MeLk6N8Sb

— Texas Football (@TexasFootball) July 29, 2025

Anthony Hill Jr., is set to pick up where he left off in 2024.

He started all 16 games a year ago and earned second-team All-America honors. By the end of the year, he was a semifinalist for both the Bednarik and Butkus awards. He led the Longhorns in tackles (103), tackles for loss (16.5), and forced fumbles (4). He was also third on the team in sacks with eight.

A to Z Sports’ Joe DeLeone is a huge fan of HIll’s game.

“For me, he has an early second-round grade for me in this class,” DeLeone said. “I’m really invested in his traits, fluid as all hell, he’s explosive. His highest degree of success is as a pass rusher.”

Colin Simmons is going to have a tough time outdoing his performance from a year ago.

But if anyone can do it, it’s Colin Simmons.

In his first season at Texas, he was a leader and a playmaker for one of the top defenses in the country. He became the first Longhorn to win the Shaun Alexander National Freshman of the Year award. Simmons played in all 16 games – making 48 tackles, 14 tackles for loss, nine sacks, and three forced fumbles. Furthermore, he led all freshmen in total sacks – finishing with the third-most by a freshman in program history.

Texas defensive coordinator Paul Kwiatkowski talked about his elite EDGE defender with the media Tuesday. He said in order for him to take the next step as he continues to prep for the NFL Draft, he needs to continue to improve on the little things.

“The details of playing the position, being more consistent,” Kwiatkowski said. “We know he’s a playmaker, he’s got great ability and skill. Just the attention to the details and being more physical when we need him to be.”

A lot has been made about Michael Taaffe’s journey from walk-on to All-American.

But I think this anecdote can be buried at this point. He is now “All-American, Bronko Nagurski watch list Michael Taaffe”.

Last season, the local product was a second-team All-America after starting all 16 games and finishing second on the team with 78 tackles. He also had 10 pass breakups and two interceptions. Taaffe was also the only defensive player to record an interception and a forced fumble in the same game. In one of the biggest moments of the season for Texas, Taaffe put on a safety performance for the ages against Arizona State in the CFP quarterfinal game. He had 10 tackles and two pass breakups in the 39-31 double-overtime win.

Kwiatkowski sang Taaffe’s praises Tuesday as well.

“He’s awesome. Not every call is the perfect call,” Kwiatkowski said. “He is one of those guys that can fix calls. He has a really good understanding of the defense, understanding of offensive football. His communication back there fixes a lot of issues that show up throughout a game.”

The Longhorns kick off the season on the road at Ohio State at 11am CT Saturday, Aug. 30, at Ohio Stadium in Columbus, Ohio.

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