Texas Longhorns defender Colin Simmons drew intense criticism and a call for suspension from former head coach Urban Meyer after simulating urinating on the field following a sack against the Tennessee Volunteers in Knoxville.
The incident occurred after Simmons sacked Tennessee quarterback Faizon Brandon. Simmons stood over Brandon and mimicked urinating on the playing surface, prompting game officials to penalize Texas for unsportsmanlike conduct.
Officials announced the call over stadium microphones as simulating using the restroom. The penalty wiped out what should have been a fourth-and-29 for Tennessee, threatening to prove costly for Texas in a tight Southeastern Conference battle that the Longhorns eventually won 20-17.
The controversial play unfolded in front of a capacity crowd of over 100,000 fans at Neyland Stadium. President Donald Trump was in attendance at the stadium and received a rapturous reception from the crowd.
Broadcasters covering the game on ABC immediately criticized the Longhorns player. Analyst Kirk Herbstreit called the play an "absolutely idiotic move," while fellow commentator Fowler agreed and added, "It doesn't get much more vulgar, either."
Calls for team discipline
Former Florida and Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer suggested he would take strict action if the incident had occurred on his team. Meyer, who won three national championships during his college coaching career and briefly coached the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2021, voiced his opinion on The Triple Option podcast.
"If I'm the head coach, and I see that kid do that, he's out, I'm suspending him," Meyer said on the podcast.
Player apology and post-game reaction
Simmons, who registered five sacks during a dominant defensive performance, apologized when speaking to reporters after the game. "I also do want to say I apologize for the celebration," Simmons said. "I was definitely in that mode, feeling myself. But, you know, it happens. Charge it to the game."
Simmons later posted a statement on social media platform X expressing further remorse. "All Glory To God. Thank you for listening to my prayers and forgive me for my actions," he wrote.
Coaching staff and teammate responses
Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian voiced displeasure with the play while indicating he would not suspend the player. Sarkisian said after the game that he was "not going to give the guy the death penalty" over an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, but emphasized that such actions cannot continue.
"Can't happen. That's a bad football play," Sarkisian said. "We had harped and talked about this game about not getting emotional with the crowd and that was an emotional play. A couple others that were close too. We had a real talk about it at halftime about how we needed to play in the second half, we needed to celebrate with one another."
Sarkisian added that the coaching staff addressed the behavior immediately during the game. "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. That can't continue as we move forward. As I touched on with the team in the locker room, we'll address that on Monday and what that looks like and how to control our emotions in the best way."
Sarkisian noted the importance of prioritizing team celebration over individual attention. "I know guys are excited when they're making plays. The best thing you can do is go celebrate with a teammate.... It's about the team and focus on the team, and not so much look at me. And so we'll try to improve upon that. But five sacks was pretty cool today, too," Sarkisian said.
Texas linebacker Justin Cryer was on the field near Simmons during the play and described trying to intervene before officials threw the flag. "I tried to run over there and grab him," Cryer said. "I seen where it was going, and I tried to go grab him before we got a penalty, but it was too late."
Cryer added that he spoke to Simmons immediately after the play to remind him of the bigger picture. "After the play, I just told him, 'Look, man, we got to just keep our head.' I know he's having fun, he's excited, but at the end of the day, we don't want to let those plays, those penalties, dictate how the game's going to go," Cryer said.
