by Bill Seals
At certain points during the recruiting process, an offensive lineman from the state of Missouri has had offers from a trio of Power-5 schools, but is that an accurate picture heading into the 2018 season?
St. Louis DeSmet senior Marquise Simmons, who had offers from Iowa State, Kansas and Syracuse at one time, said his interest has slowed as the calendar turned to August.
“Right now, it’s kind of gone cold,” said Simmons, referring to what he’s heard from the Cyclones in recent months. “The coach (Tom Manning) that offered me left and the new guy (Jeff Myers) is on the fence with it. It’s cold with them right now.
“I called up there to schedule something and they told me they were waiting on the guys that he offered to see what they were going to do. They wanted to wait to talk to me later in the season.”
I-State currently has four known offensive line commits in a 2019 class that totals 19, so it stands to reason the coaching staff can be picky with the rest of the crop of the newcomers.
The 6-foot-2, 319-pound interior lineman said the Cyclones and a number of schools on his list are looking for more improvement this fall.
“They want to re-evaluate me again,” Simmons said. “They want to see me develop more in the run-blocking game. They’ve seen I’m athletic enough with the passing stuff, but want to see more with the downhill running schemes.”
In addition to taking an unofficial visit to Texas State, Simmons only attended one combine this summer. He said he’s preparing himself to make a big splash during his senior season.
“I didn’t do any camps at schools and went to the Under Armour camp in Chicago, where I think I pretty well dominated,” he said. “Every school has been up front and said the camps don’t matter, but just want to see my game tape.
“They want to see me show them in games this fall. Iowa State, Ball State, Arkansas, Missouri, Oklahoma State and some other SEC schools are in the group of schools that want to see more of me this fall.”
Simmons said he would like to take some game day visits in the fall, but is undecided on where those might take place.
At certain points during the recruiting process, an offensive lineman from the state of Missouri has had offers from a trio of Power-5 schools, but is that an accurate picture heading into the 2018 season?
St. Louis DeSmet senior Marquise Simmons, who had offers from Iowa State, Kansas and Syracuse at one time, said his interest has slowed as the calendar turned to August.
“Right now, it’s kind of gone cold,” said Simmons, referring to what he’s heard from the Cyclones in recent months. “The coach (Tom Manning) that offered me left and the new guy (Jeff Myers) is on the fence with it. It’s cold with them right now.
“I called up there to schedule something and they told me they were waiting on the guys that he offered to see what they were going to do. They wanted to wait to talk to me later in the season.”
I-State currently has four known offensive line commits in a 2019 class that totals 19, so it stands to reason the coaching staff can be picky with the rest of the crop of the newcomers.
The 6-foot-2, 319-pound interior lineman said the Cyclones and a number of schools on his list are looking for more improvement this fall.
“They want to re-evaluate me again,” Simmons said. “They want to see me develop more in the run-blocking game. They’ve seen I’m athletic enough with the passing stuff, but want to see more with the downhill running schemes.”
In addition to taking an unofficial visit to Texas State, Simmons only attended one combine this summer. He said he’s preparing himself to make a big splash during his senior season.
“I didn’t do any camps at schools and went to the Under Armour camp in Chicago, where I think I pretty well dominated,” he said. “Every school has been up front and said the camps don’t matter, but just want to see my game tape.
“They want to see me show them in games this fall. Iowa State, Ball State, Arkansas, Missouri, Oklahoma State and some other SEC schools are in the group of schools that want to see more of me this fall.”
Simmons said he would like to take some game day visits in the fall, but is undecided on where those might take place.
