NorCal DL a Trojan

Heading in to USC 's Elite summer camp this past week, Fairfield (Calif.) Armijo defensive lineman Derek Simmons said he was told ahead of time if he came and did well at the event, there was a good chance a scholarship would be offered. That's exactly what happened and the NorCal standout wasted no time in jumping on it.

Simmons, 6-4, 270 pounds is one of the top linemen in the West region. He earned league linemen of the year and all-section honors as a junior after totaling 80 tackles and eight sacks. He was also very impressive at the NorCal Nike camp where he clocked a 5.12 SPARQ time in the 40, 4.74 in the shuttle and did 22 reps on the bench while rating very high in the position and one on one drills as well.

"Coach Ruhl talked to me before the camp," Simmons said. "He told me they're looking for some quality defensive linemen and told me that if I came in and did well, they would offer me. So that was my goal, I wanted to come in and dominate and I told myself ahead of time, as soon as they offer, I'm jumping on it.

"I felt I did really well and I could tell Coach Franklin liked me a lot. When Coach Carroll called me over, I thought it could be good news and sure enough, he offered me. I told him right away I was committing and I wanted to be a Trojan. USC is just an incredible school and this was an opportunity I couldn't pass up. It's not just a football thing, what really stood out to me was how close the coaches and players are at USC and I just knew it was a school where I would be comfortable at. Like I said, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to play for the No. 1 program in the country."

Simmons was holding offers from Arizona, Arizona State, Oregon, Fresno State, Washington, Washington State and Boston College. He said he's a solid commit and does not plan to take any of his official visits other than to USC.