Former Blue-Chip Recruit Ready for Breakout Year at MSU
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Recruiting elite players is still an absolute must during the transfer portal era.
Michigan State is going to look towards the top recruit in its 2025 recruiting class to take a big step during the 2026 season. Sophomore Derrick Simmons, a former 4-star recruit, is among the list of candidates for a breakout season this fall. Here are some reasons why:
Simmons' Time as a Recruit
Going back to Simmons' time in high school, his reaching 4-star status is a little remarkable. He went to Frankenmuth High School, which plays in Division 5 in the MHSAA for varsity football. The competition Simmons was facing wasn't exactly stiff.
Still, he did enough to finish ranked 245th overall among class of 2025 recruits, according to 247Sports, as well as being ranked fourth in the state. He picked MSU over other notable offers from Cincinnati, Purdue, Northwestern, Illinois, Boston College, and Vanderbilt.
Plenty of people seemed to think Simmons would play a bit as a true freshman. He was the only 4-star prospect in the Spartans' incoming recruiting class last year, after all. That never really materialized. He only got 44 defensive snaps across his true freshman season, with those snaps being spread across just four games in order for him to keep his redshirt.
A big reason Simmons didn't become a regular fixture in Michigan State's defense is simply that he really wasn't ready. The jump from high school to the Big Ten is always going to be tough, but Simmons had a more difficult leap than nearly everybody else.
"I'd get a hundred-something snaps in my high school games [playing both offense and defense]," Simmons said back in the spring. "Coming here, I'd play, like, 15, and I feel like I've played twice as many snaps as I did in high school."
He went from playing 5'10", 200-something-pound offensive linemen to facing guys who are 6'6" and comfortably above 300 pounds. That adjustment year definitely feels necessary for Simmons' development. Now that he's gotten a year to learn and build himself back up, 2026 is the season for him to show why he was ranked where he was.
Projecting Simmons' Role in 2026
Simmons is going to play this year. He's probably the third of three defensive tackles who will be getting regular snaps to start the season for Michigan State, alongside fifth-year senior Ben Roberts and fourth-year Illinois transfer Eli Coenen.
One thing Simmons has improved is his body. He's gotten closer towards regular playing shape for a Big Ten defensive tackle, jumping from 297 pounds as a true freshman to 305 pounds this year. He can be an every-down type of guy at 6'3". Roberts is probably the Spartans' best run-stopper this season at 325 pounds, whereas Coenen should be a part of the pass-rushing equation with his quickness at 287 pounds.
MSU has a fair bit to replace at that position, most notably Alex VanSumeren, who transferred to USC. Contributors Grady Kelly, Jalen Satchell, and Ru'Quan Buckley also ran out of eligibility. Michigan State and defensive line coach Winston DeLattiboudere III weren't quite as busy in the portal as I expected. Coenen and Carlos Hazelwood, who only played 83 snaps last year at Toledo, were the only portal pickups at the position.
A lot of pressure is going to be on the top three of Roberts, Coenen, and Simmons to both produce and stay healthy. Things can thin out really quickly once the Spartans have to dig into their defensive line bench. Hazelwood is probably the first one off the bench, and he's followed by third-year player Mikeshun Beeler -- he played six defensive snaps all last season -- and then the room is rounded out by true freshman Hudson Aultman and then freshman PWO Jackson Pahl.
The top three, I actually like. Roberts has been effective during his career at Michigan State when he's been healthy. Coenen has had an upward trajectory throughout his career thus far after starting out at D-II Bemidji State. If and when Simmons adjusts to his new level of competition, he'll be a formidable rotation piece for MSU this year. Give it another year, and he'll either be a full-time starter or the Spartans' very best defensive tackle.
Redshirting was sort of pointless after the NCAA passed the new "5-in-5" rule, but it ultimately was the right decision for Simmons then, and he's ultimately not hurt by the new rule and still has four years of eligibility. With a year around the program to go off of, a stronger body, and a larger role awaiting, Simmons should be on everybody's radar this fall.
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A 2025 graduate from Michigan State University, Cotsonika brings a wealth of experience covering the Spartans from Rivals and On3 to his role as Michigan State Spartans Beat Writer on SI. At Michigan State, he was also a member of the world-renowned Spartan marching band for two seasons.
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