Five-Star Plus+ EDGE Colin Simmons commits to Texas Longhorns

Duncanville (Texas) Five-Star Plus+ EDGE Colin Simmons amassed offers from across the country. He visited dozens of programs and heard pitches from everywhere. But the No. 1 overall prospect in the Lone Star State is staying home, announcing his commitment to the Texas Longhorns on Thursday.

“I made the decision yesterday. It came down to the last second of the day,” he said. “I wanted to take care of my family, and Texas put me in the position to do that.”

The 6-foot-2.5, 225-pounder is the No. 5 overall prospect and No. 1 EDGE in the 2024 cycle, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.

“When it came down to it, I just had to think about family and what’s best for my family,” Simmons added. “What’s the best position my family can be put in, and Texas is the best that is.”

Texas held off a late push from LSU for Simmons

Simmons finished out the month of June with an official visit to Austin. At that point, the Longhorns had grabbed the momentum in his recruitment. And predictions started falling in for him to commit to playing on the Forty Acres. Other June official visits include Alabama, SMU and Miami. He took only one visit in July, a trip to Baton Rouge to see the Tigers.

The buzz coming out of that trip was that LSU had pulled back to even, if not slightly ahead. The two teams battled back and forth in the past few weeks, and especially since he announced his commitment date last week.

But ultimately, Sarkisian and Co. were able to pull of one of the biggest recruiting wins in recent memory for the Longhorns. Simmons was simply ready to be done with the process, and he knew where he wanted to be.

“I feel like Texas and LSU have always been toe-to-toe in my recruitment,” he said. “Those are the two schools I visited the most, been there the most and felt comfortable the most at. And you how it turned out.”

Major victory for the Longhorns and Pete Kwiatkowski

Signing No. 1 overall prospect Arch Manning in 2023 was a massive victory, but landing Simmons has its own kind of gravitational pull. Just once in the past decade have the ‘Horns landed the No. 1 player in their own state, but Simmons’ commitment changes that.

He is also an elite pass-rusher, the kind Texas has been missing in recent years and desperately needs as it heads to the SEC. Defensive coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski led the charge with Simmons, and he’s excited to play in Texas’ scheme.

“Coach PK, man, he’s a playcaller,” Simmons said. “He knows how to run them plays up. Especially at that ‘Bama game when Texas was stopping Alabama in the fourth quarter. I like PK.”

For more Texas recruiting intel, check out Inside Texas.