Things picking up for Simmons
Mansel Simmons is starting to pick up some smaller offers and more attention from bigger programs and that's exciting to the Sacramento (Calif.) Sheldon tight end who looked the part at the Palo Alto NIKE Camp last spring.
Cal Poly, Sacramento State and Portland State have offered Simmons, a 6-foot-4, 217-pound three-star prospect who would like to play wide receiver in college and believes he has the athleticism to do so.
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"I like all those schools and they're all telling me they want me to come in and definitely make an impact early," Simmons said.
"I appreciate that. Sac State wants me to play wide receiver/tight end. Cal Poly wants me to come in and play just wide receiver and Portland State wants me to play tight end right off the bat."
Since Cal Poly is looking for him to play solely wide receiver, it has the early lead in his recruitment but many other programs are starting to show interest and that excites Simmons, rated as the No. 30 tight end nationally and No. 96 in the California state rankings by Rivals.com.
"As of right now I like Cal Poly out of those three," Simmons said. "I like the kids they're recruiting to go there because I've been playing against them and with them so I'm pretty excited about that."
Simmons said UCLA and Stanford have asked for game film and transcripts and that he's supposed to schedule an official visit to Nevada at some point. Oregon State and Duke are keeping tabs on him and so is Weber State.
Because Simmons also plays basketball and runs track, he hopes by showing more colleges his athleticism that he could garner more offers that way.
"Because I play basketball, and if I continue to show my athleticism in other sports, as well as in track, they'll definitely be more inclined to offer me," Simmons said. "That's my upside."