Colin Simmons doubtful for Texas vs. Mississippi State

For a minute, Texas fans had a reason to hope. Then Thursday's SEC availability report came out.

Pete Nakos

@PeteNakos

Texas EDGE Colin Simmons has been downgraded to doubtful. t.co/3hXfoIT7Rc

Pete Nakos

@PeteNakos

Texas EDGE Colin Simmons is questionable and WR Cam Coleman is probable for Saturday against Mississippi State. RB Hollywood Smothers is also probable after missing the Ole Miss game. Positive injury news for the Longhorns. t.co/gh2mIywQSx t.co/OjScaXdW4D

Simmons is dealing with a high ankle sprain he suffered against Florida, and he already sat out last weekend's win over Ole Miss. He opened last week listed as doubtful, got upgraded to questionable on Wednesday's initial report for Mississippi State, and now he's back at doubtful. High ankle sprains usually take 4-to-6 weeks to heal, so this isn't exactly a twist. Beat writers covering the Longhorns saw it coming.

Anwar Richardson

@AnwarRichardson

Shouldn't come as a huge surprise, but Colin Simmons was downgraded from Questionable to Doubtful on Thursday's Injury Report t.co/Cu8YA8rGyH

Not a shock, but it still hurts. Simmons leads the SEC with 10.5 sacks. He's the guy offensive coordinators build their whole week around, and without him Texas has to manufacture pressure some other way. The good news is the timing. Mississippi State is a pretty soft landing spot to be missing your best defender: the Bulldogs come to Austin with QB Kamario Taylor out after season-ending foot surgery, OL DJ Chester ruled out, and 2 more starters on defense listed as questionable.

The offense got better news. Coleman left the Ole Miss game with a shoulder injury after landing on it trying to make a catch on the first play of the third quarter. Running back Hollywood Smothers was also nursing a shoulder injury. Both were dropped from Thursday's report, so they're set to go Saturday.

Tyler Horka

@tbhorka

No Cam Coleman on the injury report means Texas has a chance to heat him up and get him going vs. Mississippi State ahead of pivotal road games at Missouri and LSU. Despite drop concerns, he's a marquee piece of this Longhorn offense and will remain so. t.co/c3UNJ5w8WW

That's the right read. Coleman's drops have been a talking point all year, but he still leads the Longhorns with 6 receiving touchdowns. A game against a Mississippi State team down its starting quarterback is about as good a chance as he'll get to clean up the hands and rebuild some trust with the quarterback before the schedule gets mean.

And it gets mean fast. After this, Texas goes on the road to Missouri and then LSU, and those 2 games will shape the rest of the season. The smart move with Simmons is the boring one: hold him out Saturday, give the ankle another week, and get him back for Columbia, where Texas actually needs him. Pushing him back on a high ankle sprain against a team you should beat anyway is how you lose him for November. Watch Saturday's pregame warmups. If Simmons isn't in pads, that tells you Texas is playing the long game.