Texas A&M Football: Which 2024 5-Stars Could the Aggies Land? (Part 1)

The Player: Colin Simmons

If there are highly-rated defensive line prospects anywhere in the nation, you better bet that Terry Price and Elijah Robinson are hot on their trail. That remains the case this year. Two of the current top-four players in the nation are defensive line players, and both have visited the Aggies recently. Edge player Colin Simmons (#3 overall in the composite and #1 player in Texas), out of Duncanville high school near Dallas, made his way to Aggieland this past month. This was his first visit to College Station, and the Aggies definitely impressed.

Simmons is a bit of a tweener between edge and LB at 6’3″, 225 lbs. This can play to his advantage, though, as he brings versatility to the position. This can be invaluable for a defensive coordinator, as his presence on the field can make it tougher on read-based offenses, not knowing what he will do on a given play.

Simmons won 6A Defensive Player of the Year in Texas last year, according to the Texas Sportswriters Association. It’s not hard to see why, as he racked up a whopping 22.5 sacks and 33 TFLs. He served as a one-man wrecking crew for the Panthers en route to winning co-MVP of his district and a state championship.

What are Texas A&M Football’s Chances with Colin Simmons?

As things currently stand, I need to see more from the Aggies when it comes to Simmons. Duncanville hasn’t exactly been a pipeline to College Station in recent years, despite the program’s dominance at the 6A high school level, so Texas A&M football has that working against them. The Aggies did offer Simmons almost a year-and-a-half ago at their Junior Day in January 2022, so they aren’t late to this party, but foes such as the Texas Longhorns still seem to have a leg up at the current moment.

https://twitter.com/ColinSimmons__/status/1657875465061670914?s=20

The chief competition as of now, however, is without a doubt the LSU Tigers. Simmons, though he plays things a little closer to the vest, has visited them several times within the past year and all signals currently point to them as the leader for his services. Steve Wiltfong of 247Sports has predicted Simmons to land on the bayou—though it should be noted that said prediction is almost a year old and is the sole recorded prediction on 247sports. LSU will in all likelihood receive an official visit from the star player this fall as well.

That said, the Aggies are the beneficiary of one of the more recent visits that Simmons has taken. This being the first visit to Texas A&M that Simmons has taken can help the Aggies get a foot in the door, and it sounds like his experience in College Station did just that.

Again, Simmons plays things close to the vest, but with two of the best recruiters in the country as his primary recruiters for the Aggies, you have to think they will at least have a shot. I’m not as high on Texas A&M Football’s chances here as I am with other top recruits, but the Aggies definitely have a chance. Right now though, if I were forced to choose, I’d see Simmons ending up elsewhere. There’s a long way to go until December, however. Get him on campus for a game, and those odds could flip in a hurry.