There is no denying the impact that linebacker Colin Simmons has had on the Texas football program from the moment he set foot on campus.
His in-game production has earned him the right to be considered one of the best linebackers, if not the best linebacker, in the entire country, and he is deservedly projected as a top-five pick in the 2027 NFL Draft.
However, the star of the Texas Longhorns defense is more than just a dynamic playmaker for the program, but he's one of the most outstanding individuals in the nation off the field as well.
Recently listed on Bruce Feldman's College Football Freaks List, the in-game and on-field praise continued for the Horns' third-year linebacker, but Feldman also made sure to highlight Simmons' non-football-related work as well.
"His off-the-field efforts also stand out," Feldman wrote. "The 20-year-old runs a foundation (Clay’s Color Crew — named for his brother Clayton, who has autism) with his mother, Monica McCarley, supporting kids with autism and on the spectrum through color and community."
So, while Simmons is an absolute monster on the football field, he is simultaneously a generous, benevolent, and compassionate human being off the field. What an individual.
Colin Simmons off-field work makes his in-game impact even better
Those exact characteristics are a big reason why he is valued so highly in the upcoming NFL Draft. When it comes to professional organizations, teams look for more than just production numbers, hoping to secure franchise players in the draft as well as talented athletes.
Well, Simmons is exactly that.
Running a charitable foundation isn't exactly a small-time gig, and Simmons does it seamlessly, while also juggling the responsibilities of being a full-time college student and a Division I athlete.
Between being an indisputable leader for the Texas defense, he leads by example off the field as well, being one of the many Longhorns with charitable efforts outside of the game of college football.
Players like offensive lineman Trevor Goosby also have foundations that they help support, and quite a few Longhorns have families that they love going home to every day after practices and games. Simply put, for the Horns, life is about more than college football, even as they're working toward returning the Texas football program to the pinnacle of the sport.
Read more: Colin Simmons knows anything less than a natty would be a 'disappointment' for Texas
Of course, Feldman also discussed what an absolute beast of an athlete Simmons is, earning his place on the Freaks List:
"The 2025 First-Team All-SEC pick, the conference’s sack leader (12) in 2025, has 21 sacks in his first two seasons at UT — the most ever by a Longhorn in his first two years on campus," Feldman wrote. "At 6-3, 246, with just nine percent body fat, Simmons is pound-for-pound the most explosive player on the Longhorns’ roster, according to Texas’ Director of Player Performance Torre Becton.
"This offseason, Simmons performed a 335-pound power clean with a bar velocity of 1.4 meters per second, something Becton says is incredibly rare explosion with that much weight in that lift. His 65 cm (25.6 inches) jump on an elite form and countermovement force plate is exceptional and demonstrates his world-class explosiveness and reactive strength as well.
"Simmons’ motor is just as impressive as his explosiveness. Here’s a testament to that. He’s been clocked at 20.22 mph, including in last year’s Red River Rivalry win over Oklahoma, when he hit 19.2 mph in the fourth quarter of that game."
In his first two years with the Longhorns, Simmons earned 91 total tackles (54 solo), 21 sacks (yes, twenty-one), six forced fumbles, four pass deflections, and one interception.
To sum all of that up, Simmons is almost entirely muscle, is unbelievably strong, shockingly quick, and will always make the play. Plus, he's an absolutely admirable human off the field.
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