Colin Simmons has been on of the breakout defensive stars for Texas through five games … and arguably one of the breakout stars nationwide. The EDGE rusher finished his first SEC conference game — a 35-13 victory against Mississippi State — with two sacks, seven tackles and a forced fumble, proving that the 245-pound man child is firmly coming into his own.
The freshman is a one-man wrecking crew on the line, as evidenced by the speedy replay of this sack of Mississippi State quarterback Chris Parson:
Go turn on your Xbox or Play Station and limit yourself to 2.39 seconds to pass the ball pic.twitter.com/EBoOoAN15E
— Nash (@NashTalksTexas) September 29, 2024
Still, as dominant as Simmons has become in recent weeks, he may have lost sight of standard protocol for freshmen in the locker room: Don’t say anything, especially when asked about forthcoming rivalry games.
Following Texas’ victory against Mississippi State, Simmons was asked about playing against Oklahoma in the Red River Rivalry, a game that will follow Texas’ bye week in Dallas.
Here’s what Simmons had to say about the Sooners:
#Texas freshman EDGE Colin Simmons on playing Oklahoma after the bye week:
“I feel like we are going to dominate them.”@ontexasfootball pic.twitter.com/3RvLhvEVtA
— CJ Vogel (@CJVogel_OTF) September 29, 2024
Oh, no, Colin! Things were going so well! Simmons’ comments are almost guaranteed to draw the ire of Texas coach Steve Sarkisian. The last thing a wounded Oklahoma team needed was even more motivation to knock off the now number two team in the country.
Note to Simmons: In the future, don’t publicly underestimate an upcoming opponent, particularly if they happen to be a longstanding archrival. And certainly don’t admit that you think you’re going to dominate them. Even if you follow through, that comment is a lose-lose for the person speaking up … especially if they’re a freshman.
