Contested catches have proven difficult for the West Virginia wide receiver group at times this year.
Even simply catching the ball has at others with 18 drops at the position on the season. But when the Mountaineers needed a big play in that department, it was redshirt senior T.J. Simmons that delivered.
Not once, but twice with his first two touchdowns of the season.
“Those were big,” head coach Neal Brown said.
Simmons had caught only five passes over the first five games but has come on of late. The Alabama native has caught 10 passes for 214 yards and 2 touchdowns over the last three with 4 for 90 and a pair of scores in the win over TCU. The veteran battled through a suspension in the opener and then an injury which limited his opportunities on the field.
That hasn’t been the case of late, as he has evolved into a dependable option for quarterback Jarret Doege. And a lot of that has evolved from what he’s done when people outside the coaching staff aren’t watching. That has meant carrying over good practice habits and handling his business.
It also hasn’t hurt that he’s been healthy and taken care of his body, which has allowed him to take advantage of some favorable matchups for the inside wide receivers in recent games.
“I think they trust him to make catches,” Brown said.
It isn’t new for Simmons, as he had a similar run last year where he caught 18 passes for 284 yards and four touchdowns over a three game stretch.
“He has to take care of his body and when he is able to do that, he is healthy, and he is really productive and a good player in this league,” Brown said.
On the first touchdown, Simmons executed a near perfect screen and go as he faked the screen and then dipped down the sideline open for a score. The ball was underthrown however and forced him to hold up and make a play on the ball through contact. On the second, it was an inside fade in man-to-man coverage where he won at the line of scrimmage and then drug the defender into the end zone.
“I wanted him to push up on me, attack his leverage and then attack he ball when it was in the air,” Simmons said.
The Mountaineers also have been creative with their usage of Simmons by getting him the ball on jet sweeps and other ways. He turned in a pair of rushes for 16-yards and that could have been even more if a 39-yard scamper was not wiped out by penalty.
“I always tell Leddie Brown that I’m like the fourth string running back so they need to get the ball in my hands,” Simmons said.
Well, if he continues to be productive that might not be such a bad idea after all. Any way they can.
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