The Texas Longhorns added their first running back commitment to the 2024 class in April when Rickey Stewart committed while on campus for an unofficial visit. Moments ago, Texas landed a second back when James Simon announced his commitment to be a Longhorn.
Simon, out of Calvary Baptist Academy in Shreveport (LA), is a player who had been trending towards Texas for a while, and things really began to pick up steam after he visited Austin for the Orange-White game in late April. Coming out of that visit, Simon raved about the experience and the time spent with the UT coaches.
“Just my talk with coach Choice and Sark, and the time I spent with Brandon Harris too,” Simon said about the highlight of the visit. “It was great with all three of them. Great people, great men, great coaches who are great at their job. It was a great experience in general.”
The 6-0, 200-pound Simon has an official visit to Texas set for June 21. It’s expected to be the only visit he’ll take. Simon chose Texas over a final grouping that included Texas A&M, Alabama, Notre Dame and LSU.
A shifty runner who excels at making defenders miss in the open field, but can also run through contact, Simon is the nation’s No. 21-ranked running back prospect and he’s the No. 7-ranked prospect in the state of Louisiana.
As a junior last year, Simon rushed for 1,600 yards and 21 touchdowns, averaging 8.3 yards per carry. He added 20 receptions for 214 yards and three more scores. Simon is ranked as a four-star prospect by Rivals.com. He said he expects to bring some versatility to the Texas backfield.
"I'm definitely a unique player that probably hasn’t been seen before at my position. Mentally, I come to work every day and definitely try to prove myself. I'm not going to sit around and wait for my turn. I'm going to try to come in and take over."
