The War Room - Is Simmons slipping away?
Where else to start but with Colin Simmons, who will announce his decision one week from today. We’ll continue to kick the tires on this one pretty much every day up until the announcement and after working the phones Wednesday night and into Thursday, there’s not a ton new to report from what I posted on Wednesday night.
- Simmons is down to Texas, LSU and Miami. While he does have a strong liking for the Hurricanes, this one will almost certainly come down to the Longhorns or Tigers.
- There’s confidence from both programs in their position, per connected sources in both Baton Rouge and Austin.
- There is some concern that Simmons is telling both sides what they want to hear, which could be causing the mixed signals.
- My guess is that Simmons’ mind is mainly made up, although I do believe there’s room for late movement in this one. Players rarely announce a decision date if they’re not pretty sure where they’re going to go.
- Texas was in a very strong position coming out of the UT official visit in June. The way it was described to me, LSU did a tremendous job of counter-punching during Simmons’ two-day unofficial visit last weekend.
- The Texas staff has done a great job throughout this one in building relationships with Simmons and his family, while also showcasing what kind of off-field opportunities would be available to him should he choose the Longhorns.
- LSU did a good job last week of showcasing NIL opportunities that other athletes at the school have had and stressed to Simmons he could have the same success.
- The LSU coaches really sold Simmons on that program’s history of developing NFL prospects (particularly up front on defense) in recent years compared to Texas and stressed that the Tigers’ scheme is friendly DE/EDGE friendly than what is run at Texas. Some LSU people think this factor weighs as much or more than NIL in Simmons’ decision and it’s a big part of their confidence.
- Shortly after Simmons announced his commitment date, Brian Kelly announced that LSU defensive line coach Jimmy Lindsey was stepping down due to health concerns. Kelly would go on to say that Lindsey is expected to return at some point. No word yet on if that move will have an impact on Simmons.
- Next Thursday is the first day of classes for Duncanville. Simmons told OB he will have a commitment ceremony as well, but details haven’t been ironed out yet. Duncanville running back Caden Durham is also scheduled to announce that day (LSU, OU, A&M) so I’m expecting they’ll do something together at the school. LSU is surging for Durham.
- Bottom line … multiple high-level sources ........
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