Texas' defense is getting more from the EDGE thanks to newcomers Colin Simmons, Trey Moore

What do Texas fans remember about last year’s EDGE group? What’s the first thing that comes to mind when discussing the 2023 bunch that registered 11 of the team’s 33 sacks?

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While Texas’ defensive tackles were clogging and torturing the middle of opposing offensive lines thanks to future NFL-ers T’Vondre Sweat and Byron Murphy, the EDGE group was comparatively in a poor spot in 2023.

Barryn Sorrell and Ethan Burke took 59% of the snaps off the edge last year, but the duo of pass rushers, who still make a big impact in 2024 in slightly altered roles, were far from peaking on this Texas roster. Sorrell lead the Big 12 in pressures, but he and Burke combined for just seven sacks last year playing on opposite sides of the defensive line. For reference, Alabama’s pass rush duo of Chris Braswell and Dallas Turner brought the quarterback to the ground 24 times in the same amount of games.

Those two may not have filled the stat sheet but they provided play that helped the Longhorns reach the College Football Playoff. Outside of them, there was little to write home about. Justice Finkley is still on the roster but is basically the sixth choice EDGE in 2024. Jett Bush was a great special teams player and leader, but he had his limitations.

Outside of Finkley, every single other edge rusher who took a snap last season has either graduated or transferred out. In many ways, the room has been completely revamped.

What’s turned a group that registered 99 pressures and 11 sacks last season into one that has tallied 79 pressures and 10 sacks in only eight games?

Burke and Sorrell have obviously had the chance to develop an extra year in defensive coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski’s system, and second-year top-100 EDGE recruit Colton Vasek is finally healthy. But he biggest influence has come from two newcomers: Trey Moore and Colin Simmons.

The new additions, one from the portal and one a true freshman, have registered 46% of the Longhorns snaps in the group, have each brought an extremely unique skillset to this defense, and allowed other teammates to move into roles conducive to their strengths.

Texas lacked exactly what Moore provides at the Buck, or weakside EDGE, position. Sorrell and Burke are better suited for Jack, or strongside EDGE, and have seen most of their action there this year after Burke’s services were needed at Buck for most of last season.

Sorrell and Burke only had 64 combined coverage snaps last year. That’s part of the reason why Bush saw a decent number of snaps and why versatile linebacker Anthony Hill had to line up on the edge as often as he did last season.

Nowadays, Moore has given the Longhorns exactly what they needed to put other players in the right spots even if fans want more from him numbers-wise.

“I feel like Trey actually had a heck of a game this weekend,” Sarkisian said Monday. “You know, we’re, asking a lot of him. He’s playing some outside linebacker, he’s playing some defensive end. We’re moving him around in kind of our flex front over guards and asking him do things. He’s playing the run really well.”

Sarkisian emphasized that he thought Moore pressured the quarterback against Vanderbilt, something that has been a critique of No. 8 this season. 

In just the last two weeks, Moore has played 15 snaps off of the line, whether it be in the slot, off tackle or in a true linebacker position. He’s dropped back into coverage 33 times so far this year. Moore hasn’t gotten home to the quarterback this season as often as anticipated when looking at his UTSA stats, but his ability to move into spots that Texas had to fill with the likes of former walk-ons last year has been critical to building arguably the best defense in the nation.

Then, a look at Simmons makes it obvious just how turned around this entire group is. Simmons is bringing something that the team hasn’t possessed possibly since Joseph Ossai was an All-American: an athletic and terrifying speed rusher off the edge. Simmons uses insane bend and speed to beat tackles and make ghost rush moves that are reminiscent of another South Dallas standout in Von Miller. 

Simmons is the SEC’s seventh-highest-rated EDGE despite two down weeks in a row, and his four sacks are tied for the most of any EDGE with fewer than 220 snaps in Power Four competition. 

Simmons was utilized a bit less these last two weeks, registering 52 total snaps and by far his worst games of the season against Georgia and Vanderbilt. Sarkisian mostly put that on the scripts of the games, with Georgia being up so much and Vanderbilt running an odd offensive style.

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Though someone like Moore isn’t igniting the stat sheet, he and Simmons have provided the depth and versatility this group desperately needed last season. With a bye and slightly easier schedule ahead of the Longhorns until the Texas A&M game in November, keep an eye out for what those two are able to do off of the edge in the coming month especially with more opportunities to get after opposing quarterbacks.