Texas’ Rasheem Biles and Colin Simmons repeat on Chuck Bednarik Award watch list

Texas defensive personnel will be under an early spotlight again this fall after Rasheem Biles and Colin Simmons were named to the Chuck Bednarik Award watch list for a second consecutive year. The Bednarik Award, administered by the Maxwell Football Club, is presented annually to college football’s top defensive player, which makes placement on the watch list a statement about how a player is viewed before any on-field results.

According to Yahoo Sports’ Longhorns coverage, Biles and Simmons were both included in the committee’s announcement this week, keeping their names in the same national conversation for another preseason. For a program, landing multiple defenders on an award list also indicates that the coaching staff expects not just one standout, but a coordinated impact across roles, from interior disruption to run support and pass-rush pressures.

Biles enters the season as a senior and is described in the report as having joined Texas after transferring out of Pittsburgh. That background matters because it frames his Texas tenure as something built through adaptation and production rather than continuity from day one. Being on a Bednarik watch list two years in a row suggests the committee continues to view him as a player whose game changes outcomes, not merely a strong local leader.

Simmons, listed alongside Biles, is the other Texas name generating preseason attention. The watch-list status does not, by itself, guarantee the national award will follow, but it does indicate that Simmons is expected to draw credit for defensive effectiveness on a weekly basis. The Bednarik Award is often associated with players who can defend multiple phases of the game, and the inclusion of both a senior-caliber leader and a key front-line presence points toward Texas relying heavily on its interior and gap-control work.

Longhorns fans have seen plenty of preseason honor lists over the years, but this one has a specific selection logic. Watch lists typically reflect the committee’s confidence in a player’s prior body of work and his projected ability to be an impact defender across the season. With both Biles and Simmons returning for a second appearance, the committee’s message is that Texas still has two defenders who can be evaluated as among the nation’s elite.

Texas’ challenge, of course, is that the Bednarik watch list is just the opening frame. A team’s defensive success is shaped by execution, scheme fit, and the ability to stay healthy and consistent through the schedule. Without additional official details beyond the watch-list announcement, it is not possible to say what specific criteria or statistical thresholds were emphasized for each player this time, only that both were selected for consideration again.