The Texas Longhorns' defense, under new coordinator Will Muschamp, successfully limited the Texas State Bobcats to just seven points during their season opener. This marked Muschamp's first game back with the team, where he implemented a game plan that retained elements from his predecessor, Pete Kwiatkoski, while also introducing new strategies.
One notable adjustment was the utilization of Colin Simmons, who has traditionally excelled as an edge rusher. On Saturday, Simmons spent approximately 80% of his plays in a seven- or loose five-technique alignment outside the offensive tackle but also took five snaps as an off-ball linebacker.
This was a significant increase from his previous two seasons, where he played this position only 5% of the time.
Muschamp's defensive scheme included the 'Mint' front, which positions a defensive tackle directly across from the center and features two defensive linemen on the inside shoulders of the offensive tackles. In this setup, Simmons was placed in the off-ball 'money' linebacker position, while linebacker Rasheem Biles took on the jack role.
This allowed Simmons to focus on pass coverage, although he was also tasked with rushing on certain plays.
Despite not making a significant impact on the plays he was involved in, Simmons demonstrated good positioning in his new role, although he did struggle briefly on one play due to a quarterback run fake. Muschamp employed variations of the mint front on 20% of the defensive plays, and Simmons was either off the field or utilized as the jack linebacker in subsequent formations.
