Freshmen Faces: BANDIT Taurus Simmons

Recruitment

Last July, the Mountaineers secured the commitment of defensive end/linebacker Taurus Simmons of Jenkins High School in Savannah, Georgia. Simmons chose the Mountaineers over other offers from Colorado, South Florida, Kansas State, and a few others. The Mountaineer coaching staff pursued him pretty hard following his official visit in mid-June, which led to his commitment.

Player Breakdown

Simmons was a speedy/lanky defensive end in high school that needed to add on some weight to withstand the play at the collegiate level. Since signing with West Virginia in December, he has packed on a much needed 22 pounds. He weighed in at 210 lbs when he signed and according to the official team site, now checks in at 232 lbs. Speed is the name of his game as I previously mentioned, but what's most impressive is his closing speed and being able to go from one end of the field to the other to make a stop. His main priority in high school was to get after the quarterback, so there's not a whole lot of film out there on his coverage skills. With him playing the BANDIT, he won't have to drop into coverage all that often, but I'm sure the coaching staff is working with him diligently on sharpening that area of his game.

2020 Outlook

There's a good chance that we could see Simmons on the field in 2020. There's not much experience at BANDIT, so a lot of guys will be fighting for playing time. Without us being able to see these guys in-person, it's really hard to forecast how much playing time the newcomers will have.

Previously featured freshmen:

QB Garrett Greene

RB A'varius Sparrow

WR Devell Washington

WR Sam Brown

WR Reese Smith

TE Charles Finley

OL Zach Frazier

OL Chris Mayo

OL Jordan White

DE Sean Martin

DE Akheem Mesidor

What are your expectations for Taurus Simmons in 2020? Let us know your thought in the comment section below!

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