Brandon Simmons is one of the best Texas recruits out there that doesn’t already have an offer from the University of Texas. And he may not even take it if they do offer. He figures to have a very interesting 2013 recruiting cycle with many major programs looking at him.
Brandon Simmons scouting report: Coveted 2014 safety
Texas safety Brandon Simmons is being coveted by major college football programs.
Simmons hails from Arlington (Tex.) Mansfield Timberview High. Simmons plays on the same team in the same backfield as current LSU commit Edward Paris, who is on the shortlist for best safety in the country.
Simmons stands at 5’11 and weighs in at 171 pounds and is considered a consensus four-star safety. 247Sports places Simmons 196th overall in their rankings for the 2014 class while also ranking him a top 25 safety and a top 25 Texas recruit. Simmons is also ranked as the 200th best recruit overall by Rivals. Scout has him top five overall among safeties and is a member of the 2014 ESPN Watchlist.
As of February, Simmons held offers from prominent schools like Baylor, LSU, West Virginia, Arizona, Arizona State, Michigan, Nebraska, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Tennessee, UCLA, Vanderbilt and a host of others. Simmons has over two dozen offers overall.
SB Nation Recruiting’s Wescott Eberts:
A likely free safety prospect in college because of his rangy build, Simmons plays field safety for Timberview, where he is often tasked with providing support in coverage. And though Simmons doesn’t appear to walk up when he is asked to man up on opposing inside receivers, he does have the quick feet to hang in coverage and a willingness to use his hands to re-direct opponents down the field and knock them off their routes.
In run support, he is a willing tackler who will need to add some strength in college, but he does a solid job of wrapping up and can deliver some significant blows when ranging towards the sideline to make plays. When Simmons isn’t able to square up opponents, he does a nice job of taking them out at their legs -- he’s not a player who gets caught tackling opponents high.
Otherwise, he doesn’t rank as one of the top hitters in the state for his class, though that says more about the competition in that regard than it does about Simmons lacking the ability to make opponents pay for coming across the middle.
As a sophomore, the stats that the coveted Timberview product put up tell the tale of his impact -- 100 tackles, 2 sacks, 3 interceptions, 1 forced fumble, and 15 passes broken up.
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