2024 five-star DE Colin Simmons talks upcoming visits, thoughts on Texas
Duncanville standout defensive end Colin Simmons is ranked by Rivals.com as the number one prospect in the entire country for the class of 2024. With such lofty accolades, and more than 40 scholarship offers in hand, one might think that Simmons is satisfied with the level of his play.
Not exactly. The five-star prospect has stayed busy this offseason preparing for what should be a successful junior campaign, and he wants to be as physically and mentally prepared as possible when Duncanville begins practices in a couple weeks.
“I’m just working on perfecting my craft. I want to be more explosive off the ball. I want to be more violent with my hands,” Simmons said. “Overall just get better as a person. And then I want to have a better mindset going on this season – be more locked in than I’ve been.”
Simmons’ efforts to improve don’t just carry over to the football field. He also does what he can to help those in need in the Duncanville community.
“Honestly, I’ve been working out and working like 247. I got a little job, just basically giving back to the community,” Simmons said. “We throw events. Last event, we gave out free air conditioners and fans, things like that. We throw events giving back, giving things that people don’t always have.”
On the recruiting front, Simmons continues to keep an open mind. He’ll be at Georgia next weekend for an unofficial visit and he said he’s anxious to get his first look at the national champion Bulldogs.
“I just want to see how it is up there, see how it feels to be at a national championship-winning team, see the facilities, see how the coaching staff is,” Simmons said. “Hopefully I’ll have fun.”
The Texas Longhorns are one of the teams in hot pursuit of Simmons’ talents. He won’t be able to visit UT this weekend for the Longhorns’ pool party, but did attend a similar event UT hosted in June.
“It was honestly just fun. Especially when the football players came out to the pool to have fun. It was just a great vibe,” Simmons said.
Several members of the Texas staff stay in close contact with Simmons. He listed Chris Gilbert, Jeff Choate, Jeff Banks and Steve Sarkisian as the coaches he communicates with. All of them have stressed to Simmons that he’s a big priority for Texas in the 2024 cycle.
“The message, honestly, is that they want me big-time. They want me to commit now,” Simmons said. “If I was to commit, they’d take it now.”
Officially, Simmons has yet to declare a formal list of favorites. He said he’s still working to gather some more offers from schools that haven’t yet extended scholarships. During his junior season, Simmons said he may cut his list down to about 10 schools. Texas should continue to figure into his plans as he narrows his focus.
“I know I don’t have a top 10 right now, but Texas would most definitely be in my top five. They’re up there,” Simmons said.
At 6-3 and 225 pounds, Simmons is a five-star prospect and ranks No. 1 on the 2024 Rivals100.