The No. 19 Texas Longhorns will officially be without star junior edge Colin Simmons for Saturday’s matchup against the No. 9 Ole Miss Rebels, the team revealed in Thursday’s SEC-mandated player availability report.
Simmons, who leads the country in sacks and tackles for loss, was downgraded from questionable to out after sustaining a high ankle sprain in the fourth quarter of Saturday’s loss to Florida, confirming reporting from earlier in the week that the 6’3, 246-pounder was expected to miss the game against Ole Miss.
Texas is thin at the edge position after freshman Richard Wesley suffered his own high ankle sprain during practice this week — according to a Thursday report from Orangebloods, the former consensus five-star prospect could miss the remainder of the regular season with the injury.
Like Simmons, senior running back Hollywood Smothers was also downgraded on Thursday, from probable to questionable, following a shoulder injury that caused him to miss practice earlier in the week.
Sophomore wide receiver Kaliq Lockett and sophomore offensive lineman Jordan Coleman remain questionable, while freshman running back Derrek Cooper was added to the injury report as probable after sitting out against the Gators due to an undisclosed injury that head coach Steve Sarkisian said left him less than 100 percent.
Seven Ole Miss players were upgraded from probable to available, including star running back Kewan Lacey.