Texas Longhorns Earns High Praise in Defensive Line Rankings

The Texas Longhorns on paper are set to have one of the best defensive lines in the SEC according to one analyst.

Texas Longhorns edge rushers Colin Simmons (11) and Ethan Burke (91) celebrate a sack during the College Football Playoff semifinal game against Ohio State in the Cotton Bowl at AT&T Stadium on Friday, Jan. 10, 2024 in Arlington, Texas. | Aaron E. Martinez/American-Statesman / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

As the Texas Longhorns prepare for the 2025 season, they are being viewed by many as the favorites to win the national championship. That's to be expected following two straight seasons where the Longhorns won 12 or more games and played in two College Football Playoff Semifinals.

The Longhorns don't boast all of the returning experience like they did a year ago at this time. They will have a new quarterback, four new starters along the offensive line, along with new faces at receiver, defensive line, and secondary.

But it is the defensive line that continues to be one of the biggest questions about Texas in 2025. In just the past two years, the Longhorns have seen four interior defensive linemen selected in the NFL Draft, and now they are being forced to find a way to replace that talent with less experienced players.

Jan 10, 2025; Arlington, TX, USA; Texas Longhorns linebacker Colin Simmons (11) in action during the game between the Texas Longhorns and the Ohio State Buckeyes at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images | Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

Yet, even with the interior of the defensive line being a question, ESPN's Cole Cubelic recently named the Texas defensive line as the SEC's second-best unit.

"Now, this a tricky group. I get it. There are going to be ways for you to pick this selection apart. I understand that, ..." Cubelic said during a recent edition of the Cube Show. "But when you are as good as this group is on the edge, I almost don't give a s*** about the rest. ... I don't know another team in college football right now that has as much off the edge is what Texas has."

As Cubelic would go on to point out, that edge rushing group includes the return of Colin Simmons and Trey Moore. The pairing combined for 14.5 sacks last season, with the then-true freshman Simmons finishing with a team-best nine sacks.

Not much else needs to be said about Simmons, who was named a freshman All-American and was voted onto the SEC All-Freshman team as well. Yet, for Moore, Cubelic wanted to remind folks that during his time at UTSA, he led the American Athletic Conference in sacks with 14 in 2023.

That is where the Longhorns will look to see a step up taken by Moore and even an experience contributor like Ethan Burke.

But overall, even while the edge group will be talented, the Longhorns will still need their replacements at defensive tackle to produce.

"Now the tackles are going to have to step up, so transfers are going to have to come in and be those dudes that you got, Josiah Sharma and a couple of the others," Cubelic said. "Justus Terry, coming in as a freshman, looks like they might be able to help. "