Meyer vs. Muschamp for Simmons?

Running back T.J. Simmons (6-0, 195, Lakeland, FL Christian) is one of the top prospects in the state of Florida and he currently says three schools are standing out for him in the process.

“Florida, UCLA and Ohio State are my top 3,” Simmons said. “I’m trying to narrow it down out of those 3 right now. Florida is the instate schools and they are close to home and that’s been in my mind lately. I’ve also been thinking about Ohio State because of Coach [Urban] Meyer. I plan to take some official visits during the season to those 3 schools and after that I should be set.”

On Tuesday, Simmons had the chance to see one of his top 3 schools as he was in Gainesville to watch the Gators go through spring practice.

“The visit was fun, me and my quarterback [Christian] Alexander went up there,” Simmons said. “We got to check out the college atmosphere that’s was the main thing we wanted to check out. We got the chance to compare the Gators’ offense to what we are using in high school and I wanted to see the running backs and see how I could fit in with them at Florida.”

This was the first time  Simmons has been able to check out Kurt Roper’s spread offense in person and he left with a good impression of the offense. He also sees how his strengths could be used in Florida’s offense.

“The offense is great, the offense fits my speed and my size well,” Simmons said. “They are moving to more of a fast pace on offense and I’m a guy with speed so that goes well together. I really liked the offense though and it’s similar to what we run in high school today.”

After watching spring practice Simmons got the chance to talk with running backs coach Brian White who gave him a few pointers.

“I got to talk to Coach White and he was just telling me things I could work on to get better,” Simmons said. “He was telling me some things that I was doing well with already. He said that he wants to see me at camp this summer and I will probably be there.”

When Simmons was done talking with White, he got the chance to talk to the head man himself who told Simmons that he’s a wanted man for the Gators.

“Coach Muschamp, the big man on campus,” Simmons said laughing, “He was just telling me that he wants me to be a Gator and he wants that to happen pretty soon. He said he wants me to continue the recruiting process and keep in touch with him. He said that he’s excited about me though.”

Spring practice will start on May 1st for Lakeland Christian and that means a break in recruiting for Simmons but after practice ends he plans to take a visit back to Florida.

“I probably won’t visit anyone else right now,” Simmons said. “I’m focused on my spring ball but this summer I will probably get back up to Florida for a camp.”

Andrew Spivey
Andrew always knew he wanted to be involved with sports in some capacity. He began by coaching high school football for six years before deciding to pursue a career in journalism. While coaching, he was a part of two state semifinal teams in the state of Alabama. Given his past coaching experience, he figured covering recruiting would be a perfect fit. He began his career as an intern for Rivals.com, covering University of Florida football recruiting. After interning with Rivals for six months, he joined the Gator Country family as a recruiting analyst. Andrew enjoys spending his free time on the golf course and watching his beloved Atlanta Braves. Follow him on Twitter at @AndrewSpiveyGC.

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