Colin Simmons gave Texas one of the best defensive performances it has seen in years on Saturday. But one celebration after a sack created enough embarrassment that a family member appeared to feel the need to address it publicly.
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Simmons tied the Texas program record with five sacks in the Longhorns’ 20-17 win over Tennessee, but one of those plays became the story for a very different reason. After dropping Vols quarterback Faizon Brandon for a 16-yard loss in the second quarter, Simmons celebrated by simulating the use of a restroom and immediately drew an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty.
The moment quickly spread online, and it apparently reached members of Simmons’ family as well. An X account Mama Longhorn shared a screenshot of posts from an account identified as @thearielle, captioning it, “Your mama is my new fav @ColinSimmons_.”
The screenshot showed an apparent family member apologizing to Longhorn fans for Simmons’ celebration.
“Our apologies, Longhorn Nation. He wasn’t raised like that. I hope you all accept these 5 sacks as an apology,” the post read by @thearielle.
A second post followed with a much more direct message, posting, “Naw but real talk, I can’t wait to cuss his ass out for that.”
There was, however, some confusion over exactly who was behind the apology. The Mama Longhorn account appeared to identify @thearielle as Simmons’ mother, but users quickly pointed out that his mother is Monica McCarly, who has a separate X account.
One user corrected the identification by saying @thearielle is Simmons’ aunt rather than his mother. Mama Longhorn also appeared to acknowledge that distinction. Simmons has spoken affectionately about having several aunties in the past, although the identities of all of them are not widely known.
Besides, the same celebration had already drawn criticism from Texas coaches, teammates, and the ABC broadcast crew. The reaction made sense given how quickly the celebration became a problem for Texas.
Simmons had just made a huge play. Texas was leading 10-3, Tennessee was facing fourth-and-29, and the Longhorns appeared to have forced the Vols into a difficult situation. Instead, Simmons’ celebration gave Tennessee a fresh first down and 15 more yards.
ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit immediately ripped into the decision on the broadcast.
“Just an absolute idiotic move by Colin Simmons doing that,” Herbstreit said. “He’s supposed to be one of the leaders of this defense.”
Chris Fowler agreed, calling the celebration “idiotic” and saying it did not get much more vulgar. But the unusual part of the story is that the penalty came during what was otherwise an extraordinary afternoon for Simmons.
The junior defensive end had already recorded two sacks before halftime and then added three more after the break, tying Shane Dronett’s Texas record of five sacks in a game. He became the centerpiece of a Longhorns defense that recorded 10 sacks against Tennessee.
Texas HC Steve Sarkisian was clearly unhappy with the celebration, but he also understood what Simmons had done for the defense.
“We took him out, we addressed it, and put him back in,” Sarkisian said. “I mean, at that point, I’m not going to give the guy the death penalty over an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. We got to fix it, though.”
Sarkisian also said Texas needed to work on controlling its emotions and focusing more on the team than individual attention.
“The best thing you can do is go celebrate with a teammate,” he said.
Simmons appeared to take that message seriously. He had back-to-back sacks in the third quarter and did not repeat the celebration after either one. His final sack came in the fourth quarter and helped force a Tennessee punt before Texas eventually scored the touchdown that gave it the winning margin. Though he did feel remorse for the celebration.
Colin Simmons apologized for crossing the line
“I also do want to say I apologize for the celebration,” Simmons said during the post-game presser. “I was definitely in that mode, feeling myself. But, you know, it happens. Charge it to the game.”
Texas LB Justin “Juice” Cryer, who tried to get to Simmons before the penalty was called, said the team could not allow moments like that to affect the outcome.
“We got to keep our head,” Cryer said. “I know he’s having fun, he’s excited. But we don’t want to let those plays, those penalties, dictate how the game’s going to go.”
Simmons eventually made sure the penalty did not define his afternoon. His five sacks tied the Texas record, while the Longhorns held on for a 20-17 victory and moved to 4-0.
But the celebration had already traveled far beyond the field. It drew criticism during the broadcast, a message from his head coach, and an apology from an apparent family member who wanted Longhorn fans to know that Simmons would be hearing about it at home, too.