A young head coach takes over a once-dominant football program, and his quest to bring it back to prominence is boosted by a young player named Shane Simmons.
Does that sound like a familiar plan? If so, it may be because it is, only this one has already happened.
Originally from the community of Russett in Laurel, Md., Simmons enrolled as a ninth-grader at DeMatha Catholic High School in Hyattsville, a private academy that boasts one of the largest alumni networks in the National Football League. When Simmons was still in junior high, the Stags finished 9-4 and 6-4, a far cry from the routine 12-0 and 11-1 finishes that it used to so often enjoy. Head coach Elijah Brooks had just taken over for Bill McGregor, who had been in charge of the football program for 29 years, and he was still getting situated after his promotion from assistant coach. Similar to how some Penn State fans are holding out hope for James Franklin’s recruits to reach their star potential, there was reason for optimism for Brooks, despite a slower start than some had wished, due to the buzz surrounding his younger players.
One of those players was Simmons, who arrived in 2012. He was tall and wiry, and he boasted a skill set that Brooks coveted. In the four years that followed, as Simmons earned dozens of scholarship offers and was given four stars by Rivals.com, DeMatha won three consecutive Washington Catholic Athletic Conference titles. Named a captain as a senior, Simmons helped lead the Stags to another one of those 11-1 finishes.
“His on-field accomplishments speak for themselves,” Brooks said, “but very few will understand how influential Shane was in resurrecting our program back into the national spotlight.”
For Simmons’ parents, Walter and Jen, one of their favorite qualities about their son – and there are a lot of them – is the humility he exudes. Shane rarely accepts credit and always deflects it to those who surround and support him. “It’s always the team for him,” Jen said, “and I think that’s one of the things that always makes him successful.”
In recalling the success he enjoyed during his high school career – DeMatha occasionally played on ESPN and was often in the national rankings – Simmons credits not only his own classmates but the players who preceded them, some of whom enrolled while McGregor was still the coach. The Stags won a conference championship in 2013 under Brooks, and that, Simmons said, “kind of got the train rolling. The year after, we won back-to-back championships with my class. Also my class and the class under us, we’re more nationally known now. We have kids who are going to the Under-Armour game, Rivals camps, a lot of prestigious camps and all that ... so I think that has brought light to the program.”
Shining a positive light on his team is at the forefront, always, for Simmons. Shortly after he first started collecting scholarship offers, which was earlier than most – “He had three offers before he even stepped foot on the high school field,” his mom said – he started to visit college campuses. Far and wide he traveled – from Arizona State to Alabama to Florida State to Texas and about everywhere in-between. (At one point before he committed to Penn State, the Seminoles were the team to beat.) And wherever he went, he wore his blue and red apparel, to make sure everyone knew where he was from.
“He was always in DeMatha gear,” Jen said. “He always represented the program and represented the program very well. He sees people who have coached him at camps and they call him ‘DeMatha.’ He would come with full DeMatha gear. He would come to Rivals camps or the Nike Opening in full DeMatha. You’d see the same coaches year after year, and he walks in and they’re like ‘Hey, DeMatha! We’re glad to see you back.’ ”
It was the kind of recognition that Simmons wanted, the kind that helped lift DeMatha back into the national forefront after a hiatus that lasted a couple years. And it’s a persona that he wants to continue to embody when he enrolls at Penn State to begin his collegiate career this June.
“That leadership shines through,” Jen said. “At DeMatha he was picked as a captain [and] at the Under Armour game. He’s leading [Penn State’s Class of 2016] to come in now, and that’s really had a big impact. Every interview he’s done, his social media, he does things the right way, but I think as he’s done that, he’s also done things to shine a very positive spotlight on DeMatha to make that program proud, just like he’ll do at Penn State.”
Simmons verbally committed to the Nittany Lions in the summer before his junior season, becoming one of the first recruits who Franklin started recruiting and then finished recruiting. After announcing his decision during a ceremony at his high school, wearing his maroon DeMatha blazer, of course, he never reconsidered, never visited other schools and was the bell cow of Franklin’s first start-to-finish recruiting class, helping the coaches encourage and hold onto other top prospects right up until signing day.
“He held the class together,” defensive recruiting coordinator Terry Smith said. “Never wavered. Never thought twice about leaving. [He is] a strong individual with two strong parents who really, really support him and support our program. We can’t say enough thanks to him for his support.”
Simmons, and for that matter, all parties involved, are hoping it’s just the beginning. Having helped lift his high school back to prominence, he has similar ambitions for Penn State.
He’s been holed up inside DeMatha’s weight room since the January All-America game in Orlando, Fla., working one-on-one with strength and conditioning coach Mark McCain. As of late March, Simmons weighed close to 240 pounds, up from his listed weight of 230 on signing day.
“I am working out and I’m putting more weight on,” Simmons said. “Just drinking protein and eating a lot more.”
“A lot more,” Jen added, laughing. “I’m not looking forward to him leaving, but I should have taken stock in Harris Teeter and Whole Foods before this spring.”
In the final rankings, after a senior season in which he had 82 tackles, 16 sacks, 23 tackles for loss and forced three fumbles, Simmons was considered the No. 104 prospect in the country by Rivals, No. 4 overall in Maryland and the No. 6 weakside defensive end in the 2016 class. As well, he was a consensus four-star prospect.
But that star ranking is not the summation of Simmons’ potential. It’s not the reason why so many people see him as a key part of whatever resurgence takes place at Penn State in the coming years, and it’s not why teammates and coaches are so confident he can fulfill his ambitions.
Many of Simmons’ most striking qualities are intangible in nature: his sense of school pride, his team-first attitude, his capacity for leadership and his humble approach to the game.
“I am who I am,” he said. “My ranking doesn’t really define me as a player or as a person. That’s just how things go.”
That approach has already helped return a traditional power to prominence and helped a young head coach establish himself in his first few years on the job. Hey, maybe it can happen again.
