Breaking News: Andre Simmons Announces College Commitment

By Phil Murphy
Senior Multimedia/Content Manager, Washington D.C. Metro Area

South County senior safety Andre Simmons made a point to keep his college decision a secret.

After narrowing his half-dozen-plus options to Rutgers, Vanderbilt and Boston College, he only told his parents, brother and a couple select Stallion coaches of his final choice, including head coach Pete Bendorf.

But while getting dressed this morning, Simmons all but let the cat out of the bag.

He wore a gold dress shirt with a gold-and-black tie, the colors of the Commodores.

The association was confirmed when, in front of his parents, coaches and just over 100 South County students, Simmons pulled a fitted Vanderbilt hat out of an athletic pack, announcing he will be spending his college career in Nashville, Tenn.

“Everybody was asking me and I was like, ‘Oh, no. I’m just trying to throw you guys off,'” said Simmons of his attire. “I wanted to keep everybody guessing. I thought it would have been great to have it a surprise. I’m not good at holding surprises, but I kept this one.”

Simmons held scholarship offers from eight schools, including Boston College, Illinois, Maryland, Northwestern, Rutgers, Virginia, West Virginia and Vanderbilt.

He said the academic prestige, the area surrounding the campus and the ability to get playing time early in his collegiate career where all deciding factors.

“There were other schools where I could play early, Vanderbilt also has that option,” Simmons said. “Nashville is a great place and I just felt most comfortable there. Right when I went there, I noticed that’s where I wanted to go.”

While Simmons said academics were not the ultimate decider, he admitted it opened doors during his recruitment.

His latest transcript lists his grade point average at 3.82 on a 4.0-point scale.

Bendorf attests that Simmons has football smarts, as well, and has called him an “on-field coach.” Bendorf also said athletic interest amplified by academics could pay dividends with South County underclassmen.

“It’s an easy coachable moment that we refer back to, ‘Hey, this is why this guy got this many offers,” he said. “These fine universities are knocking on his door, willing to offer a 50,000-dollar annual scholarship. That’s pretty amazing when you think about it. Very few people get those opportunities.”

Having a highly sought-after recruit on the team serves another purpose for current underclassmen: Added attention from recruiters.

Individual gridiron success stories perpetuate interest from colleges.

A recently released a study by Vanderbilt University — ironically — claims 67-percent of Division I football scholarships are awarded to players from only nine-percent of high schools.

That concentration lends itself to repeated yearly visits by recruiters, paving the path for future Stallion scholarships.

“When I first got here, we had very little traffic as far as recruiting goes. Very few people knew we existed,” said Bendorf, in his fifth season at South County. “Andre has attracted a lot of attention. Ronnie Van ****, who is our junior, is getting even more attention than Andre and a lot of that has to do with Andre.

“He’s kind of helped put the school on the map.”