The Texas Longhorns suffered their biggest injury of the year in their lost to Florida last week, with superstar edge rusher Colin Simmons suffering what was reported to be an ankle sprain.
Simmons was later listed as doubtful on the SEC Availability report, with the general consensus being that he could miss multiple weeks with the injury.
Many believed that true freshman Richard Wesley would step in at the JACK position and take over almost immediately as the full-time starter until the return of Simmons. The only problem was, that Wesley was also listed as OUT on that same injury report, thanks to his own ankle sprain.
However, according to a report from Anwar Richardson of OrangeBloods, Wesley's injury might be even worse than initially expected.
Richard Wesley could miss the rest of the regular season
"I learned that Texas freshman edge rusher Richard Wesley, who has been ruled out for Saturday’s game against Ole Miss, sustained a high ankle sprain," Richardson said on X. "There are concerns behind the scenes that he could miss the remainder of the regular season."
"For now, the focus is on treatment in hopes of a speedy recovery. Texas is expected to face Ole Miss without edge rushers Colin Simmons and Wesley."
This news obviously comes as a major blow for the Longhorns, who are now without their top two JACK edge rushers for an extended period of time.
Simmons could return before the end of the regular season, depending on his recovery. However, with Wesley potentially out even longer, Texas is in an even bigger predicament at the position than we initially thought.
In terms of who could occupy the position until Simmons and Wesley for the time being, the depth chart would point to Colton Vasek, who sits as the third behind the two players. Freshman Smith Orogbo, who did not dress out vs. Florida, is fourth on the depth chart, but would not be expected to see the field.
Another option for the Horns could be to turn to either Brad Spence or Zina Umeozulu. Umeozulu does have the positional versatility to play the JACK spot, while Spence has played the position plenty before over the last season and a half for Texas.
In 2025, Spence had 116 snaps in which he rushed the passer, resulting in 19 pressures and four sacks. In 2026, he has only rushed 16 times, with two pressures and no sacks.
If the Longhorns hope to find some stability at the position without making too many changes defensively to account for it, Spence might be the short term answer.
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