Not many 5-star recruits make the choice to play football at Mississippi State University, however Jeffrey Simmons has not only become that talent on the field, but embodies the qualities MSU values off of the field.
Simmons, a sophomore from Macon, left high school as the 19th ranked player in the country by 247sports.com’s composite scoring. However his enrollment at MSU did not go smoothly when Simmons was videoed striking a women in the March before attending school.  
When the video was released many called for Simmons to lose his scholarship, but MSU put their faith in Simmons to grow as a person and allowed him to enroll; faith Simmons rewarded.
“Everybody makes mistakes, going back to that incident. I regret it but I have moved on from it and am a better person today,” Simmons said. “Me today would not have even been in that situation in the first place.”
Many who remember that incident would be surprised at the way Simmons has grown over his year at MSU. The defensive lineman see him as the defacto leader in the locker room. As senior defensive lineman Cory Thomas, a junior from Bessemer, Alabama, said, Jeffery is “a natural born leader and really sets the standard for the D-line.”
Defensive line coach Brian Baker said when Simmons came in, he was a little defensive, because he hated being wrong. He said Simmons was always coachable but at a position with as much confrontation as defensive line he said if you get defensive the other guys will see that.
“That is where I have seen the maturation, him (Simmons) handling coaching and becoming more coachable,” Baker said. “To lead the group you have to be a guy that can accept criticism, hold yourself accountable for right and wrong. Absolutely be self-corrective, which he is, but be able to take it when somebody else correct you and I think that is where he is growing.”   
Simmons has grown into the leader MSU needs him to be. Simmons is one of MSU’s six football 5-star recruits in the school’s history. He is one of, if not the, most talented players on the roster which brings great responsibility.
“If your best football player is not a good person or doesn’t have winning characteristics, it is almost counterproductive no matter how good he is,” Baker said. “But if your best football player is also your hardest worker, whether he is a ‘ra ra’ guy or not. But he leads by example on and off the field, you have a chance to have a pretty good team because people want to follow that guy.”
A difficult challenge for anyone, but one Simmons is taking in stride and accepting gladly. Simmons said this is “something that I have always wanted to do, to be a leader of an SEC team.”
“I refuse to lose, so the guys are going to get behind me like I know they are going to do and they are going to have that same mindset. We won’t lose,” he said.
Simmons has two goal this season, one off the field and one on the field. The on field goal is to get more sacks after having none last season. Something he will have the opportunity to do in the middle of new defensive coordinator Todd Grantham’s aggressive defense.
“My main thing is that I know I can rush the passer more,” Simmons said. “Last year I did not have any sacks. Coming out of high school I was known for getting sacks and this year that is my goal.”
However that goal is secondary to his goal off of the field. Simmons, someone who is often praised by those around him for being a smart player on the field, has shown an intelligence in the classroom as well. He was named to SEC First-Year Academic Honor Roll with a 4.0 GPA and he has high hopes going forward.
“I am always going to have my degree and just thinking back that is one thing my mom said. Get your degree, use football, don’t let it use you,” Simmons, a human development and family science major, said. “Being on academic honor makes me want to go get all-American Academic Honor Roll.”
Simmons key to his growth is rather simple. He is just listening to what coach Dan Mullen and coach Baker instill in him, telling him to focus on what he can do now to make himself better going forward.
“From doing what I have to do in the classroom to being more of leader on the team,” Simmons said. “I feel like I have grown a lot because, like coach Mullen always says, ‘focus on what you have in front of you right now.’ That is what I have been doing.”
Contact Taylor Rayburn at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter.