Older, more mature Simms poised for breakout year

SUBSCRIBE today to stay up on the latest in Mountaineer sports and recruiting.

Marcus Simms’ sophomore year didn’t have an ideal start last season.

The now-junior wide receiver was arrested for a DUI and driving with a suspended license last August. His arrest led to him being suspended for West Virginia’s season-opener against Virginia Tech.

Simms though would be reinstated the following week for the home-opener against East Carolina where he would haul in one pass for a 52-yard touchdown. After finishing last season with 35 receptions for 663 yards and five touchdowns, big things look to be on the horizon for both Simms and the rest of the West Virginia receiving corp.

“I think Marcus Simms is going to have a big year,” redshirt junior cornerback Hakeem Bailey said. “I feel like we got the best receiving corp in the country and the best quarterback.”

Bailey knows first hand what each of the team’s top receivers bring to the table thanks to some healthy competition between the defensive backs and wide receivers over the course of fall camp.

“The receivers and the (defensive backs) made a pact that they was going to give it to each other every day. They was going to make the opposite better and that’s what they’ve been doing,” wide receivers coach Tyron Carrier said.

“They get out there and sometimes you think they hate each other during the process and then afterwards they’re laughing and joking in the locker room about it, but the competition though is like through the roof right now which is so great for this team.”

What does Simms bring to the table?

First and foremost: speed.

Simms is arguably one of the fastest players on the team and has showcased his deep threat ability numerous times last season with four of his five touchdown receptions going for 40 yards or more.

His speed and presence were also felt in the return game last year as he accumulated 99 yards on punts and 816 on kickoffs last year.

“He obviously has some speed that’s pretty unteachable, something that you either have or you don’t,” senior wide receiver David Sills said. “He’s got that speed and it gives us a another dimension to our offense because he can stretch the field so well, so I wouldn’t be surprised if he had a really big year this year.”

But according to his teammates and coaches there are other aspects to his game other than speed they can go overlooked.

“He comes in and out of breaks really well,” Carrier said. “He’s a great route runner. He’s really good at setting up his routes. He can make three routes look like the same one until he makes his break.”

But perhaps Simms’ biggest area of improvement has come with handling both his attitude and temperament.

Now an upperclassman and with several young wide receivers on the roster, Simms has been able to control himself more, allowing him to step up and become one of the leaders of the position group.

“Because Marcus is usually a guy that is really hot tempered and when he gets angry he’ll forget what he’s supposed to do and mess up a route or mess up a block. But he’s really kept his cool and he’s been a guy that the younger wide receivers can really look up to,” senior defensive end Ezekiel Rose said.

“Usually when a guy says something to him on the field he’ll get hot and start arguing but now he’s like next play let’s go. I’ve been like what did you do with the old Marcus? He’s been a guy that I really like.”

Simms is just one of many talented options West Virginia has at wide receiver along with Sills, Gary Jennings and T.J. Simmons with each bringing something different to the table, but the hype surrounding this group can only go so far and come Sept. 1, these receivers will have the opportunity to showcase what they’re all capable of.

“He’s a focused kid right now. I think that whole room has just been on another level right now. They really have something to prove as far as being one of the best groups in the nation,” Carrier said. “I challenge all the guys every day and I give them different things that they need to improve on and each and every one of them they really take that to heart and put it in to work.”

Enter the contest by clicking on the following link and choosing to subscribe to the channel: http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=VideoGlide