Hype train surrounding star Texas defender Colin Simmons just hit another level after his ranking on Bruce Feldman’s Freaks List
Colin Simmons told us at the SEC Media Days that he will be all ball in 2026, as he looks to be the best version of himself. Well, the Texas Longhorns star has the numbers and data to prove it after his ranking on Bruce Feldman’s Freaks List.
Bruce Feldman has released his annual Freaks List, and Collin Simmons of the Texas Longhorns, an edge rusher who could be a top 5 pick in April’s draft, came in 10th overall. For Longhorns fans, this won’t come as a surprise. They know how explosive Simmons is and how much of a freak he truly is on the field. The real question is whether 10th was high enough.
Colin Simmons 2025 stats-accolades
- 12 sacks
- First-team All-SEC.
- Second-team All-American.
What makes Simmons a top 10 freak
What really stood out to me is the reasoning behind Simmons landing in the top 10. At 6-foot-3, 246 pounds with just 9% body fat, the director of player performance at Texas told Feldman that Simmons might be the most explosive player on the Longhorns roster. That’s saying a lot.
Think about who else is on that Texas team. You have to consider the weapons, Cam Coleman now being there, Hollywood Smothers as a back, and of course what that secondary looks like. The fact that a 6-foot-3, 250-pound edge rusher is the most explosive player on a Longhorns roster that might be the best in the nation speaks to just how freaky Collin Simmons is.
The offseason numbers tell the story
When you look at some of the offseason testing data, Simmons posted a 335-pound power clean and generated a force of 1.4 meters per second. All of these numbers illustrate how explosive he is as a player, and at the edge rushing position, that explosion matters more than it ever has in today’s game.
You have to be able to bend. You have to be able to get off the ball fast. Offensive tackles across the sport are extremely athletic, like giant dancing bears with very good footwork. Look at the offensive tackle on the other side of the ball for the Longhorns — Trevor Goosby — the bar for edge rushers keeps climbing, and Simmons clears it with room to spare.
Should Simmons have been ranked higher?
The bottom line is that seeing Collin Simmons ranked this high on the Freaks List is no surprise. A potential top 5 pick with this kind of athleticism and testing profile at the edge position is rare. Whether Feldman should have slotted him higher than 10th is a fair debate, and that’s something you guys can weigh in on.
