Heading into this Saturday’s matchup against Texas, Arch Manning would be the one player most Gator fans could probably identify off the Longhorn roster. The former five-star QB has had a microscope on him since birth, given who his uncles are.
But the real threat for Florida this Saturday isn’t Manning. Instead, it’s a wrecking ball who awaits them along the defensive line and could wreck Florida’s entire gameplan if they are not up for the task.
Florida has to find a way to contain Colin Simmons on Saturday
Florida’s offensive line has struggled the past couple of weeks, and its offense as a whole has stalled as a result. So it’s not exactly reassuring that awaiting Florida this Saturday is Colin Simmons.
For those who follow recruiting, Simmons has been on radars for quite some time. Back in 2023, when Florida was pretending to try to recruit him, we noted at the time:
“Most of his production is simply beating the opposing tackle around the edge. But he is so fast around the edge that tackles in Texas just didn’t have an answer for him.
The problem for those same tackles is that even when they do engage, he has the ability to disengage, and when they finally think they have a read on Simmons and try to beat him to the outside, he simply cuts in and beats them to the inside.
His motor is outstanding, and his play recognition is great even when there is a ton of chaos around him.”
That production has followed him to college, and there is a reason why he is a projected top ten pick for the 2027 NFL Draft. When he is not going viral for getting personal foul calls because of his celebrations, he is a straight-up menace to opposing QBs. His 9.5 sacks and 12 tackles for a loss lead the nation, and after the performance that South Carolina EDGE Dylan Stewart had against Florida, there is reason to believe that number is going up this Saturday.
Jon Sumrall touched on Simmons and the havoc he brings:
"You look at this EDGE, that Colin Simmons kid, that these guys got. Like, holy cow. Like, he's wow good. I really started to watch the tape last night. I'm like, all right, I'm just going to turn this off. I don't even want to watch this guy anymore right now. So he's a really good player.”
Buster Faulkner will have his hands full
Buster Faulkner on Tuesday touched on how Florida could have done a bit better by giving support along the offensive line. Emeka Ugorji was beaten like a drum on Saturday, and Florida’s tight ends and running backs weren’t offering enough chip support.
In a lot of ways, the thing to watch when Florida is on offense will be the cat-and-mouse game of Florida’s tight ends on Simmons. We know they are capable of rising to the task, but some of the physicality we saw in the first four weeks has been missing these past two.
If we go back to last year’s upset of Texas, Simmons was the only player for the Longhorns who generated any kind of real pressure on Florida. If they can find a way to mitigate him this Saturday, there is a pathway for the Gators to pull off the upset for the second year in a row.
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