Two Texas Longhorns Named to SI's Preseason All-American List

With the college football season almost here, sports networks are solidifying their preseason lists of All-Americans.

On Thursday, Sports Illustrated released its preseason college football All-Americans picks, and two Texas Longhorns landed on the first team defense.

With 13 players named from the ACC, and 16 from the Big Ten, the SEC leads by far with 19 players selected. Here are the Longhorns on that list:

Colin Simmons

The first Longhorn named on the preseason All-Americans list is sophomore defensive end Colin Simmons.

The Duncanville product appeared in all 16 games as a true freshman, in which he racked up three forced fumbles, an interception, nine sacks, and 48 tackles across the season.

“In a world without wide receivers, Simmons would have been the most impressive true freshman in the sport in 2024,” SI's Pat Forde wrote.

Simmons was named to the freshman All-American team by ESPN, PFF and The Athletic. Further, he recorded the team-high in sacks, and was Texas’ first Shawn Alexander National Freshman of the Year award winner. With 31 solo tackles and 14 tackles for loss, the 6-foot-3 defensive lineman proves to be a dynamic edge rusher with phenomenal speed and strength.

“Wreaking havoc off the edge, even more is expected this season, as Simmons improves the subtleties of the pass-rush craft,” Forde added.

Anthony Hill Jr.

After a showstopping season, it’s no surprise that the third-year linebacker Anthony Hill Jr. was added to the preseason All-Americans list.

“Arch Manning was the Longhorns’ most-celebrated recruit of the 2023 class, but Hill has been the most productive to date,” Forde said.

Appearing in 30 games with 22 starts with Texas, Hill Jr. accumulated four forced fumbles, an interception, eight sacks and 113 tackles.

The 6-foot-3 linebacker racked up 59 solo tackles, and 16.5 tackles for loss, and was named a second team All-American by the AP, AFCA, The Sporting News and Walter Camp.

“After flipping from Texas A&M late in the recruiting process, Hill made an instant impact as a freshman and then blew up into a star last season, leading the team in tackles, tackles for loss and forced fumbles,” Forde added.

The upcoming season

Texas Longhorns mascot on Nov. 23, 2024, at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin, Texas. | Brett Patzke-Imagn Images

Regarding other SEC first team mentions, tight end Eli Stowers (Vanderbilt), offensive tackle Kadyn Proctor (Alabama), offensive guard Cayden Green (Missouri), center Parker Brailsford (Alabama), cornerback Daylen Everette (Georgia), safety KJ Bolden (Georgia) and punter Brett Thorson (Georgia) also made the list.

As for second team, while there are no Longhorns listed on Sports Illustrated’s preseason All-American second team list, there are 10 other SEC players named throughout the offensive, defensive and special teams, proving the sheer dominance the SEC appears to have heading into the 2025 college football season.

As for the Longhorns’ upcoming season, they are set to kick off next Saturday at 11 a.m. in Columbus against the defending national champion Ohio State Buckeyes.