Five-star defender Colin Simmons announced this afternoon that he’ll make his commitment known next Thursday, August 10. Texas, LSU and Miami are the three listed finalists.
Just got home from UT’s first practice a little bit ago and I’ve been working the phones in an attempt to get a handle on this one. What I can tell you is that I’m getting A LOT of mixed messaging.
One source with a direct line to people inside the LSU program said there’s confidence on that side after what has unanimously been described as a tremendous visit by Simmons and his family last weekend.
In checking with sources on the Texas side, I get the sense that the previous level of optimism is now more of a “cautious” optimism. Don’t freak out on that … the sense in Austin is still positive and there’s still a vibe that Texas is in the driver’s seat with eight days remaining.
Coming out of Simmons’ June official visit to Texas, I can say with extreme confidence that the Longhorns had emerged as the team to beat. With Simmons spending last weekend in Baton Rouge, the gap has definitely closed as the LSU staff did a tremendous job of selling Simmons on his opportunities on the field, as well as opportunities to market himself away from the field.
Bottom line … there’s some conflicting information coming in and there’s confidence on both sides of this one, which always makes things interesting. But I do trust the sourcing on the Texas side that seems to feel the Longhorns have the edge heading down the home stretch. This one could sway back and forth a few times over the next eight days, as both staffs are going to do whatever they can to close things out with a bang, but I’m sticking with my Texas FutureCast as of today.
This is big-boy recruiting at its finest. Buckle up!
Update: In a last-minute twist, literally as I was typing the above, it was announced that LSU defensive line coach Jimmy Lindsey is stepping away from the team due to a personal health issue. No clue if that will have any impact on Simmons' decision, but one would think it'll definitely be something that he and his family will have to at least discuss.
