The three-star junior wide receiver from St. Josephs Preparatory School in Philadelphia said his visit to Tennessee on Saturday exceeded my expectations, and the Vols made the list of his top six college choices that he released Sunday afternoon. Simmons current list of favorites consists of Tennessee, Maryland, Penn State, North Carolina, West Virginia and Virginia Tech, in no particular order.
I saw the whole fan base and everything, and once (Tennessee) offered, I knew I would want to see what they had to offer, said Simmons, whos ranked the nations No. 370 overall prospect and No. 61 wide receiver in the 247Sports Composite for the 2018 class. I expected a lot, but it exceeded my expectations in terms of the facilities and the quality of the coaching staff.
I talked to the previous coaching staff, said Simmons, who initially was recruited for the Vols by former offensive line coach Don Mahoney. I liked the previous coaching staff. But now theyve definitely moved up my list with the new additions to the coaching staff and with everything I saw (Saturday).
I probably spent the most time with Coach Beard, Simmons said. I knew him since last year when he was coaching at Georgia as a quality control coach. He was talking to me a lot when they were at Georgia. I went down a couple times, and now hes at Tennessee. Its a big deal. I didn't know he got hired til (Saturday). It was a big surprise.
I think the future of Tennessee is definitely going in the right direction, Simmons said. I would say (I like) the coaching staff probably a mixture of the coaching staff, the fan base and the facilities.
