by Bill Seals
A three-star offensive lineman who’s been committed to the Cyclones since June took his official visit over the weekend and says he’s excited to sign with the program next week.
East St. Louis (Ill.) big man Darrell Simmons recapped a busy weekend spent with several members of ISU’s 2019 class.
“They flew us up there on Friday morning and we had lunch,” said Simmons. “We came back to the hotel and met some of the recruits and coaches. We watched practice that day. On Saturday morning, we woke up and went for breakfast. We went to watch practice and I met some of the players and shook some hands. The strength and conditioning coach talked to all the recruits about workout plans leading up to the day we report in June. We had dinner with coaches in the south end zone complex.
“We had breakfast on Sunday at Coach Campbell’s house. There were two different groups, since there were too many to fit in the house. We got to play some games. He has a basketball hoop and some arcade games. The parents talked to some of the coaches about how the weekend went and how they enjoyed it.”
Given that he’s been committed for nearly five months, the 6-foot-4, 285-pound guard said his latest stop in Ames was more about clicking with future teammates. That group included two other commits from around the St. Louis area.
“The main thing I wanted to accomplish was to build closer bonds to the recruits and get to know the people that are going to be in the same grade as me,” Simmons said.
“Two recruits I’ve clicked a lot with are Corey Suttle and DJ Miller, just because I’ve been around them the most and we’re from the same area. I saw them at the airport going to Iowa and coming back. I’m going to climb up with those guys, so I wanted to get to know them better. I also wanted to build a better relationship with the coaches. We also ate a lot of food over the weekend.”
Simmons, who was hosted by defensive lineman Jamahl Johnson, said he enjoyed catching up with his future position coach Jeff Myers.
“I feel a lot closer to him now,” he said. “I didn’t get to go into any offensive line meetings, because of the practices they had. I liked watching how hard they are working in practice to get better every day. I saw a lot of improvement from the freshmen and sophomores that are just coming up. That whole group is focused and working hard to get better. I also got to meet a couple of the offensive linemen, so that was nice.”
A three-star offensive lineman who’s been committed to the Cyclones since June took his official visit over the weekend and says he’s excited to sign with the program next week.
East St. Louis (Ill.) big man Darrell Simmons recapped a busy weekend spent with several members of ISU’s 2019 class.
“They flew us up there on Friday morning and we had lunch,” said Simmons. “We came back to the hotel and met some of the recruits and coaches. We watched practice that day. On Saturday morning, we woke up and went for breakfast. We went to watch practice and I met some of the players and shook some hands. The strength and conditioning coach talked to all the recruits about workout plans leading up to the day we report in June. We had dinner with coaches in the south end zone complex.
“We had breakfast on Sunday at Coach Campbell’s house. There were two different groups, since there were too many to fit in the house. We got to play some games. He has a basketball hoop and some arcade games. The parents talked to some of the coaches about how the weekend went and how they enjoyed it.”
Given that he’s been committed for nearly five months, the 6-foot-4, 285-pound guard said his latest stop in Ames was more about clicking with future teammates. That group included two other commits from around the St. Louis area.
“The main thing I wanted to accomplish was to build closer bonds to the recruits and get to know the people that are going to be in the same grade as me,” Simmons said.
“Two recruits I’ve clicked a lot with are Corey Suttle and DJ Miller, just because I’ve been around them the most and we’re from the same area. I saw them at the airport going to Iowa and coming back. I’m going to climb up with those guys, so I wanted to get to know them better. I also wanted to build a better relationship with the coaches. We also ate a lot of food over the weekend.”
Simmons, who was hosted by defensive lineman Jamahl Johnson, said he enjoyed catching up with his future position coach Jeff Myers.
“I feel a lot closer to him now,” he said. “I didn’t get to go into any offensive line meetings, because of the practices they had. I liked watching how hard they are working in practice to get better every day. I saw a lot of improvement from the freshmen and sophomores that are just coming up. That whole group is focused and working hard to get better. I also got to meet a couple of the offensive linemen, so that was nice.”
