Want to attack every day with the latest Georgia football recruiting info? That’s the Intel. This rep has the latest with 2024 5-star EDGE Colin Simmons. He ranks as the nation’s No. 1 EDGE and the No. 5 overall prospect for 2024 on the 247Sports Composite ratings. The On3 Consensus has him at No. 1 for his position and No. 6 overall. Rivals has him at No. 1 at EDGE and No. 4 nationally.
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Colin Simmons was offered to speak freely about his first-ever trip to Georgia. That was the first question of his DawgNation interview rep.
There was no slant. Just Simmons. He had the mic. Could choose to freestyle what he wanted everyone to know about his trek to see the ‘Dawgs for the national title parade and championship celebration.
It was not a matter of what a curious mind wanted to know first. It was what he felt like sharing first.
“Shoot,” he said. “That I had an amazing time. That I loved it. That, shoot, I have already seen everything I need to see out of Georgia. Honestly.”
An answer like that sometimes makes one wonder if questions can be overrated at times.
Does that mean he needs to go back?
“Georgia has already checked every box for me,” he said. “If I do go back, then I do. They are already up there with it.”
Georgia was already “up there” for him prior to the visit. That’s what he said in the DawgNation visit preview story from the All-American Bowl out in Texas.
“I know what I am dealing with now with Georgia,” he said. “Like really dealing with.”
He said that Georgia was very likely to garner an official visit now after that trip. He said there was a 90 percent chance that he would now give the ‘Dawgs an official visit.
“The chances are probably nine times out of 10 I am going to be taking an official to Georgia.”
What does he like best about the ‘Dawgs?
“Honestly it is just everything,” Simmons said. “Shoot. I mean from the facilities to the outside of the facilities. Being in the environment and everything. Shoot. Just vibing with the players and all that.”
Simmons is just one of those elite national players. Simply put, wherever he goes that school will basically treat it like an official visit. He’s been to check out a lot of schools.
That said, he felt that Georgia was different.
“When they were showing us around and the facilities, the stuff I saw is like nothing I have seen at any other facility. They weren’t lying when they said they had some of the top-tier stuff in the whole United States. I mean, shoot, it really surprised me. Everything out there.”
He said before the trip that he wanted his first UGA trip to knock his socks off.
“Shoot, it did knock my socks off,” Simmons said. “I mean I loved it. That’s all I am going to say.”
Has he ever had a better first visit to a school than the one he took to UGA last weekend?
“Hmmm,” he said with a little bit of a pause. “I don’t know. A better first visit? Do you know who would be in the same boat? It would probably be LSU.”
Colin Simmons: This 5-star recruit is unique
Check out some of these pics from his trip. He took these on his own.
It is clear the man has a pretty good eye for photography. Much more than just bird-dogging running backs and quarterbacks and tight ends.
“I did all those poses by myself on all those pictures on my Instagram,” Simmons said. “I was like let me see the trophy. Let me see this and this and that with the trophy. Let me do this and that. Let me see the belt and put it on and it went on from there.”
That’s just part of the deal here with Simmons. He’s a different dude. He has a younger brother that deals with autism. He wants to “make it” big in football so he can give back and help kids that face the trials growing up that his brother Clayton Roberts has had to endure.
That’s why he plays and trains so hard.
“Honestly it is for my little brother,” Simmons said of his eight-year-old little brother. ‘He has autism. I just want to make it for him. So I can come back one day and make it and give back to kids that are just like him. I honestly want to do it just for that. And then for the kids in my community that look up to me, too. I want to be an example to everyone that they can make it.”
“That’s why I work for a non-profit organization where they give back to the community. I just really want to give back to my community.”
There is a unique relationship between the brothers.
“He understands us and understands me,” Simmons said. “When I go around there and play around with him he is going to go right and play right back with me. He’s going to understand what I’m saying. We are going to understand each other despite the difficulties and the connection between the two of us is very tight.”
What was the best moment of the trip?
“It is just how it is out there,” Simmons said. “It is different from Texas. It is more spaced out. More trees. The environment is way different than where I am from. It really surprised me. It really opened my eyes.”
The atmosphere also stuck a chord with him.
“I loved the parade,” he said. “Loved the parade and the stadium really could have been full if they didn’t have construction on the other side. I just feel like it would have been way more packed.”
What did Kirby Smart have to say to Colin Simmons?
Simmons described Smart with the following terms: Cool guy to be around. Cracks up jokes here and there. A real cool person.
“His main message is that they only come for the best and shoot I’m obviously one of the best and that they seriously want me,” Simmons said. “I don’t have to worry about nothing coming down there with NIL or anything. That’s going to come regardless of where ever I go. He just told me to enjoy the process and have fun with it.”
That statement about being one of the best is pretty clear after his junior season. Simmons stacked up 35 tackles for losses and 22.5 sacks as a junior on a state championship team. His team fell short of that state title in 2021 and he vowed that he would be back in 2022 to win it all.
That’s exactly what his Duncanville High School team did. That program has risen over the last decade to become one of the true powers in the state of Texas. That means his team is one of the nation’s best, too.
What did his family think about Athens?
“My Mom loved it,” Simmons said. “We sat in the car and talked about it and she said she loved it out there. She thinks it is a good fit for me.”
What was going through his mind when he left Georgia?
“When I left Georgia and when I heard the news about the players and the accident and it made me shake a little bit,” he said. “It shook me up. We were with that young lady [Chandler LeCroy] hours before the accident happened. That was really on our minds when we hit that airport.”
LeCroy made an instant impact on Simmons. Just like she did with everyone who came to visit UGA football.
“She was just a very nice person,” Simmons said. “She would do anything for us if we asked for us. She was actually our caretaker for us watching over us on the trip. It really hit us hard when we heard that happened to her because she was super nice.”
I wish everyone could hear the audio of what it was like when he tried on that red No. 8 jersey for the first time.
“Maaaaaaaaaaannnnn,” he said. “You know the jersey was actually tight. But shoot it felt great. I felt like a champion putting that jersey on. I probably done stayed in that photo shoot [at UGA] for about an hour.”
What will be his questions on his next trip to Georgia? What does he still need to see?
“The next time I go down there I just want to talk about everything like staying on campus and this and this and that and where I am going to be staying,” he said. “What would it be like enrolling? The academic questions and stuff like that. My first trip there we didn’t talk too much about the academics and stuff like that but the next time I go down there I want to get more into that.”
He also felt it was “very real” finally getting to talk face-to-face with Chidera Uzo-Diribe. He’s stayed in constant contact with Georgia’s EDGE coach of late during his recruiting.
“He is going to forever be real with me,” Simmons said. “I feel like I can trust him because we are from the same place. The ‘214′ area code. It is a good connection. We get each other. We see eye to eye.”
What was the feeling that the ‘Dawgs and Athens left on him?
“I feel good coming away from Georgia,” Simmons said. “I feel good. I’m still open-minded but at the same time, I am cutting down my list. I am cutting down this number of schools.”
Here’s another standout comment: Simmons said he got a real good idea about why the ‘Dawgs have now won back-to-back national championships.
“Shoot, yeah,” he said. “It is nothing but hard work. The players told me that. The freshmen have already told me that since the first day they walked in. Kirby was already like they are fixing to get it. He was telling them they are going to win this again. That they are going to fill that whole little stadium up with national title banners.”
SENTELL’S INTEL
(check on the recent reads on DawgNation.com)
- Remembering Chandler LeCroy: She was NEVER not smiling
- Dylan Raiola: Why a “gold standard” Georgia football program now has a strong chance with the nation’s No. 1 overall prospect for 2024
- Eddrick Houston: The 5-star priority target recaps his national title celebration visit
- BREAKING: Elite class of 2025 OT Micah Debose commits to the G
- BREAKING: Elite class of 2025 in-state DL Justus “Jay” Terry commits to the G
- What we’re hearing on the national championship celebration recruiting weekend in Athens
- Remembering Devin Willock: Remember the life of a gone-far-too-soon championship Bulldog
- PHOTOS: Georgia football welcomes 5-stars and elite recruits to the national title celebration
- Ellis Robinson IV: Why the ‘Dawgs remain on top for the nation’s No. 1 cornerback prospect
- Colin Simmons: The nation’s No. 1 EDGE for 2024 previews his first UGA visit this weekend
- WATCH: Bill Goldberg steps in to congratulate Peyton Woodyard on committing to the G
- All-time great DGD Nolan Smith shares why the second championship means more for him
- The recruiting tale of the tape for the national championship skews heavily for Georgia
- Jordan “Big Baby” Hall: The story behind his viral “Money Drop” moment at the All-American Bowl
- Cover 4 on Georgia football: How many more national championship weeks like this one are coming?
- BREAKING: Nation’s No. 2 junior safety Peyton Woodyard had made his college decision
- The never-before-seen way (in Athens) the ‘Dawgs can sign ANOTHER All-American TE this year
