Having Grown Up, Simmons Stands Out
Defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons has walked a country mile to get to where he is as the 2020 regular season approaches.
For validation, he could listen to Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Vrabel.
“Just his maturity level in all phases of our program,” Vrabel said Monday, “watching him work and watching him lead, that’s been something that’s really exciting for me to watch. His maturity level. His leadership with (defensive tackle) DaQuan [Jones] in that room as well as on our defense. That’s been really positive.
“We’re really excited for what he can bring as a player, but it’s all of the other stuff. His studying, his understanding of our defense and our system. I really think he’s been a great leader in that room.”
Or, he could gaze at the picture of himself on a banner that hangs on the side of Nissan Stadium, signaling that he is one of the franchise’s faces.
While Simmons admitted that the recognition is nice, he doesn’t need to do that. He knows what he has been through and what it has taken to get here.
“I want to be the best I can be and do whatever I can to help this team win,” Simmons said. “I know what I can bring to this team.
“...If that’s being a leader for this team on the field and off the field, I am going to whatever is best. Just getting that from my coaches and teammates that I am a good player and a great leader, this and that, it is what it is. It’s always an honor to have that type of comments from your coaches and teammates. Of course, I look back on it. I have come a long way, but I can’t keep thinking about my past. It’s about today.”
To get to today, the 23-year-old had a bumpy ride. Some of what he has been through can be -- and has been -- fixed. Meanwhile, other things will travel with him forever.
In the latter category is the altercation Simmons was involved in before he started his collegiate career at Mississippi State in 2016. Simmons was caught on video punching a woman several times while trying to break up a fight between her, his sister and his mother.
After he was found guilty for malicious mischief and pled no contest to simple assault, Simmons paid fines and made restitution for the women’s medical bills.
Simmons could have dwelled on that. It could have marked the beginning of his downfall. Instead, he hasn’t made his life about that mistake.
“Life is all about embracing. It’s about how you respond,” Simmons said. “I am not going to keep going off that one incident.
“...That’s not going to make me lead differently. Like I said, you learn from adversity and move on. My game is all about, ‘what can I control?’ I am not worried about what I can’t control. Every day I wake up and it’s how can I be a better man, a better father, a better brother, or whatever it is than I was the day before? That’s how I a living my life. I am not living in the past.”
The Titans selected Simmons 19th overall in the 2020 NFL Draft after he played three seasons at Mississippi State, where he racked up 32 1/2 tackles for loss and seven sacks.
However, it took Simmons a while to make his presence felt on the Tennessee defense last season. Due to a knee injury he sustained during pre-draft training, Simmons spent all of last offseason, all of training camp, all of the preseason and the first six weeks of the regular season on the Non-Football Injury list.
He did not appear in a game until the Titans’ Week 7 win over the Los Angeles Chargers. In nine regular season contest, Simmons recorded 40 tackles, two sacks and 14 quarterback pressures. In three postseason games, he made just three stops.
This offseason Simmons spent time rehabbing and said he lost weight. At the beginning of training camp, the 6-foot-4 defensive tackle said he was at 310 pounds, down from 320 a year ago.
Simmons expects his efforts this offseason to result in more time on the field and increased production.
“When you’re doing the things right for your body and mentally, I know that I am moving around pretty good and I feel good,” Simmons said. “I feel great and I am just trying to keep progressing and get ready for Week 1. That’s my main focus. How can I keep getting better as a player and a teammate?
“… Taking care of my body and playing at the weight my coaches want me at, that’s just it. I am trying to stay focused and doing whatever I can.”
It’s not just talk. Modern equipment that measures a player’s physical output tell the same story.
“When you track the GPS and you see the guy's mileage in practice, and maybe how fast they were going, to be able to see a guy 315-320 that's running 18 miles an hour is pretty impressive,” Vrabel said. “He was just chasing 30 or 40 yards downfield on a screen, just playing with effort and trying to get his conditioning in, and so, that was something I think that maybe stood out early on, or whenever that was.”
In two weeks, the Titans will hit the field in Denver for the season-opener against the Broncos. Healthy and appreciative of the opportunity he has in front of him, the Titans will get what Simmons hopes is the best version of himself.
He has a lot to look back on and a lot to look forward to.
“I still look back and be like, ‘Man, I am playing in the NFL,’” Simmons said. “It still feels surreal at times.
“... Me personally, I know what I bring to this team, and I want to be the best Jeffery Simmons I can be. I am going to try to bring that every time. I know that if I can bring that, I can bring a lot of value to this team.”
