Three Longhorns earn spots on Walter Camp Player of the Year watch list
With the start of the 2025 college football season less than a month away, three Longhorns stars have found themselves on a prestigious watch list. On Monday, Arch Manning, Anthony Hill Jr., and Colin Simmons were named to the Walter Camp National Player of the Year preseason watch list. The award is given annually to the national player of the year.
While the Longhorns trio will face competition, they have each shown flashes of brilliance, starting with Manning. In 10 games last year, he showed why his future is bright in Austin. The New Orleans native completed 61 of 91 passes for 939 yards and nine touchdowns. His stellar play earned Manning the SEC's Co-Freshman of the Week on Sept. 16. While he thrived under center, the Longhorns got a boost from Simmons on defense.
During his freshman campaign, Simmons led the team in sacks with nine. The talented edge also ranked second in tackles for a loss with 14. As Simmons made life difficult for offensive coordinators, he etched himself into the history books. He was rewarded for his stellar play with the Shaun Alexander National Freshman of the Year Award. Simmons is the only player in program history to take home the honors.
On defense, Texas also got a boost from Hill. He led the Longhorns in total tackles with 103 and tackles for a loss with 16.5. In his second year in the Forty Acres, the Texas native was a model of consistency, appearing in all 16 games. As the talented linebacker was a human highlight reel, he added three double-digit tackling performances to his resume.
Although the Longhorn trio is focused on winning a national title, they will be keeping a close eye on the award. The list will be narrowed to 10 semifinalists in early November. Then, a month later, the finalists will be revealed in early December. The winner will be announced on December 12th.
Regardless of who wins the award, the Longhorns are in a good position to build on their success from last year. That is partly due to the trio of Manning, Hill, and Simmons, who are in a great position to do special things during the 2025 campaign.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
USA Today
17 minutes ago
- USA Today
2026 SEC basketball schedule announced for Tennessee
The SEC announced its league basketball schedule for the 2025-26 season on Wednesday. Each team will play 18 conference games. The league's season tips off Jan. 3, 2026 and regular-season play concludes March 7, 2026. The Vols will open conference play at Arkansas on Jan. 3, 2026. Tennessee will begin a home portion of its league schedule against Texas on Jan. 6 or 7, 2026. On Jan. 10, 2026, Tennessee will travel to Florida before returning home to face Texas A&M on Jan. 13 or 14, 2026. The Vols, who went 30-8 (12-6 SEC) last season and advanced to the NCAA Tournament Elite Eight for a second consecutive season, will host Kentucky on Jan. 17, 2026 before traveling to Alabama on Jan. 24, 2026 to open a two-game road trip. Tennessee will play at Georgia on Jan. 27 or 28, 2026 before returning home to host Auburn and former Vols' head coach Bruce Pearl on Jan. 31, 2026. Tennessee will host Ole Miss Feb. 3 or 4, 2026 before traveling to Kentucky on Feb. 7, 2026. The Vols will play at Mississippi State on Feb. 11, 2026. Tennessee is slated to return to Food City Center against LSU on Feb. 14, 2026. Oklahoma will visit the Vols on Feb. 17 or 18, 2026 before playing consecutive road games at Vanderbilt (Feb. 21, 2026) and Missouri (Feb. 24, 2026). Tennessee will host the Crimson Tide on Feb. 28, 2026 before traveling to South Carolina on March 3 or 4, 2026. The Vols will conclude their regular season by hosting Vanderbilt on March 7, 2026. Follow Vols Wire on Facebook and X (formerly Twitter).
Fox Sports
an hour ago
- Fox Sports
2025 SEC Title Odds: 'There's Not A Real Standout Team'
College Football 2025 SEC Title Odds: 'There's Not A Real Standout Team' Published Aug. 6, 2025 3:06 p.m. ET share facebook x reddit link Can you believe it: The Southeastern Conference has four teams among the top 10 in College Football Playoff championship odds. Then, two more teams are knocking on the door of the top 10, and there might be a sleeper or two in the mix, as well. So it's no surprise that, for SEC championship odds, bookmakers expect quite a battle to see who takes home the league crown and presumably a first-round bye in the CFP. "The SEC feels more competitive than in past years. It used to be just Georgia and Alabama," Caesars Sports head of football trading Joey Feazel said. "There's not a real standout team, so maybe we will get some variance this year." Feazel serves up his insights into how bettors are playing SEC championship odds. Texas' Time? Texas has been in the SEC all of one season, but it was a pretty good one. The Longhorns reached the SEC title game, losing to Georgia 22-19, though still earning an at-large berth into the College Football Playoff. From there, Texas knocked off Clemson and Arizona State to reach the CFP semifinals, where the Longhorns' season ended in a 28-14 setback to eventual national champion Ohio State. For this season, Caesars opened Texas as the +280 favorite to win the SEC, and the Longhorns are now +260. That said, Feazel remains a little wary. "The Texas Longhorns are still new to this conference, but right now, they're controlling most of the money," Feazel said. Quarterback Quinn Ewers moved on to the NFL, which fully swings open the door for Arch Manning to start. That has early bettors quite enthusiastic. "They're banking on Arch Manning. He's the Heisman Trophy favorite. But is he gonna be that guy this year?" Feazel said. "He does have a high ceiling, but we don't know how low his floor is." ADVERTISEMENT Manning got two starts last year, when Ewers was out with an oblique injury. Those starts came against two overmatched teams: Louisiana-Monroe, in a 51-3 blowout, and Mississippi State, in a 35-13 victory. Joel Klatt on Ohio State-Texas, teams that can win it all and Belichick-UNC Close Behind Georgia is the +375 second choice in SEC championship odds. As noted above, the Bulldogs won the conference title last year, getting a bye to the CFP quarterfinals. That's where the season ended, in a 23-10 loss to Notre Dame. Georgia has played in the last four SEC title games and won back-to-back national crowns in 2021-22 and 2022-23. With that success, though, comes a higher calling for many players: the NFL. "Every year, Georgia loses a lot to the draft," Feazel said. "There are question marks around this team, whether it will have its dominant form." Alabama is the +400 third choice to win the SEC. But as the post-Saban era hits Year 2, bettors aren't quite as intrigued by the Crimson Tide, who didn't reach the SEC final or the CFP last season. "Alabama still has its betting faithful, but there's less action than they were getting in the Saban years," Feazel said. LSU is expected to be in the conference championship mix, as well, and in fact has seen its odds notably improve in the offseason. Caesars opened the Tigers at +1100, and they're now +650. "We have a big Louisiana betting base. That's the case every year," Feazel said, adding there's plenty of belief in QB Garrett Nussmeier. "He will be one of the top quarterbacks drafted next year. The LSU faithful are coming in." Major Mover Oklahoma is a +2500 long shot in odds to win the SEC, but that's significantly better than where the Sooners opened months ago, at +6000. Feazel and oddsmakers at other books feel Brent Venables' squad could be an SEC dark horse. "Oklahoma has one of the hardest schedules, but is getting really good action. More action than you'd expect on Oklahoma," Feazel said. "The Sooners are not the dominant offensive team we've seen in past years. They're trying to get that back. "They seem to be a value play in the SEC, driving a lot of money." Patrick Everson is a sports betting analyst for FOX Sports and senior reporter for He is a distinguished journalist in the national sports betting space. He's based in Las Vegas, where he enjoys golfing in 110-degree heat. Follow him on X: @PatrickE_Vegas. Want great stories delivered right to your inbox? Create or log in to your FOX Sports account, and follow leagues, teams and players to receive a personalized newsletter daily! share
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Most favorable SEC football schedules for 2025 season
13 SEC teams will kick off their 2025 football seasons on Aug. 30 in Week 1. Missouri will open its campaign on Aug. 28 against Central Arkansas, while Auburn will travel to Baylor on Aug. 29 and South Carolina is slated to face Virginia Tech in Atlanta, Georgia on Aug. 31. Tennessee will also kick off its season in Atlanta. The Vols will face Syracuse in a neutral site matchup at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Aug. 30. Kickoff is slated for noon EDT (ABC). Ahead of Week 1 contests, ESPN Football Power Index released strength of schedule rankings for all 16 SEC schools. ESPN FPI determines rankings based on rank among all FBS teams of remaining schedule strength from perspective of an average FBS team. Tennessee has the third most favorable football schedule among SEC teams in 2025 and No. 15 nationally. Ole Miss and Missouri are ranked behind the Vols. Florida, Vanderbilt and Oklahoma have top three least favorable schedules and are opponents for Tennessee during the upcoming campaign. More: 2025 Tennessee football returning starters preview Below are national strength of schedule rankings for SEC schools for the 2025 football season. Team National SOS rank Florida 1 Vanderbilt 2 Oklahoma 3 Texas 4 Arkansas 5 Mississippi State 6 Kentucky 7 Georgia 8 Texas A&M 9 Alabama 10 LSU 11 South Carolina 13 Auburn 14 Tennessee 15 Ole Miss 16 Missouri 20 Follow Vols Wire on Facebook and X (formerly Twitter). This article originally appeared on Vols Wire: Ranking most favorable SEC football schedules in 2025
