Over the years, some of the best players in college football have all played defensive line in the SEC. All you have to do is look at the NFL, where SEC pass rushers litter the gridiron every Sunday.
Well, the more things change, the more they stay the same. The best conference in college football is loaded with talent on the edge and the interior of the defensive line, and that will be on display every Saturday throughout the 2025 season.
Perhaps the most impressive part of this group of pass rushers is the amount of youngsters taking the league by storm. A pair of true freshmen, Texas' Colin Simmons and South Carolina's Dylan Stewart, both had very successful freshman seasons and are already on the NFL's radar for the 2027 draft.
Before that comes around, the two of them have business to attend to in 2025 as their teams both try to stay in the hunt for a conference title and a spot in the College Football Playoff. Here are the top five pass rushers in the conference heading into the fall.
5. Trey Moore, Texas
Trey Moore didn't have a great year in his first season at Texas, but the well-rounded edge rusher should be even better in year two with the Longhorns after spending a season getting used to the size and strength of SEC offensive lines.
More comfort should bring more production for Moore, and he had plenty of that during his time at UTSA before transferring to play for Steve Sarkisian and company. In 2023, he led the American Athletic Conference with both 18 tackles for loss and 14 sacks and was one of the most disruptive defensive linemen in the country.
Moore will play a lot of snaps opposite Simmons this fall, which should open up a lot of one-on-one opportunities for him on the outside. If he can win his fair share of those battles, then he will have a chance to have an All-Conference type of season.
4. LT Overton, Alabama
Overton wasn't deployed how a traditional elite pass rusher would have been last season, making just four starts in his first season with the Crimson Tide after spending two seasons at Texas A&M. Overton is more of a power player, listed at 6-foot-5, 283 pounds, but he has plenty of explosiveness as well and should have a chance to be a true impact player for Kalen DeBoer and company this fall.
On the surface, Overton's two sacks is a pretty unimpressive number considering the talent that he has. However, he led the team with 39 pressures a year ago, so now it's all about parlaying that into some more ball production and getting the quarterback on the ground. If he can do that and get a little luckier, Overton could be in for a monster year.
3. Suntarine Perkins, Ole Miss
Perkins is a bit of an unsung player in the SEC, but he was quietly extremely productive for Lane Kiffin and Ole Miss last year on a very good defensive line. Jaxson Dart got a lot of the attention for the Rebels' success, but the front four was the best position group on the roster.
That could very well be the case again with Perkins back in the fold in 2025. The Mississippi native put up 10.5 sacks and 14 tackles for loss a year ago and is one of the quickest cats in the country on the edge. At just 210 pounds, Perkins isn't going to be bullying many tackles into the backfield or pushing any pockets, but he can beat some of the best of the best with his speed.
Ole Miss should be excellent on offense once again with Austin Simmons stepping in at quarterback, which means its opponents will be throwing the ball a lot in order to keep pace. With plenty of pass rush snaps coming his way, Perkins should be in for another big year.
2. Colin Simmons, Texas
The men are separated from the boys with the top two on this list, starting with Simmons. The former five-star recruit already looks like an NFL pass rusher at 6-foot-3, 240 pounds, and he explodes out of his stance with some of the best of them.
In his true freshman season, Simmons recorded 14 tackles for loss and nine sacks, and now he has had a full offseason to polish his skillset and really become a force to be reckoned with. The Dallas native has also already shown a knack for creating turnovers with three forced fumbles last season.
The race for the No. 1 pick in 2027 is already on, with one of the best classes in recent memory coming through. Simmons is right at the forefront of that conversation and should be in for another huge campaign at the front of this Texas defense.
1. Dylan Stewart, South Carolina
Stewart has been an absolute terror for opposing backfields ever since the second he stepped foot on the field for South Carolina last season. The former five-star could fit into an NFL defense right now if you asked him to, and increased sack production could see him rack up the hardware this season.
If you watch the speed at which Stewart gets off the ball, you would never be able to guess that he's a true sophomore listed at 6-foot-5, 245 pounds. As a freshman, he put up 11 tackles for loss and 6.5 sacks for a very good South Carolina defense.
Stewart didn't quite match Simmons' production as a freshman, albeit in less games, but his combination of superior size and length with his excellent explosiveness gives him a ceiling unlike any other.
