Five-Star defensive end Shane Simmons committed to Penn State on Wednesday, joining Woodland Hills’ running back Miles Sanders as the first two members of the 2016 Penn State recruiting class.
Simmons, ranked by 247Sports as the 27th best player in the nation and a five star composite (explanation) picked the Nittany Lions over the likes of Alabama, Florida State, Maryland, and Ohio State. Simmons, who released his top five earlier this month, was expected to commit to either Florida State or Penn State with Florida State getting most of the early predictions until a few days ago. The last ten predictions leading up to Simmons’ commitment were all leaning towards Penn State.
Simmons is described as an explosive defensive end who excels at pass rushing but is also great on defending the run. He’s only the second five star joining Christian Hackenberg (2013 recruiting class) to commit to the program since 2008.
Simmons decision to commit early was to be able to help build a strong recruiting class for whichever school he decided on. Along with 2015 commit Adam McLean, he represents two strong recruiters in commits located in the DMV (District-Maryland-Virginia), a region in which James Franklin wanted to dominate when he first came to Penn State.
McLean was pointed out by Simmons as a major role in his commitment to Penn State, when asked what he did to help pull Simmons to State College, McLean commented saying how he would talk to the five-star constantly and spent a considerable amount of time with him while camping at PSU earlier this summer.
The DMV now has six Penn State commitments, five in the 2015 class and Simmons in the 2016 class. The five 2015 class representatives are Kamonte Carter (Maryland), Johnathan Holland (Maryland), Adam McLean (Maryland), Ayron Monroe (D.C) Brandon Polk (Virginia).
His commitment represents the 11th commitment from a player in the ESPN 300 and ESPN Jr. 300.
Penn State coaches, and fellow commitments love the Simmons commitment, for example , when asked about how he (Adam McLean) felt about the commitment, he replied with a short and sweet “SOOOO PUMPED”. 2015 RB commit Saquon Barkley replied in a text on how he feels saying “I love it”. Below are a few reactions from coaches and commits.
Penn State head coach James Franklin with his obligatory commitment tweet.
#WeAre…Better #107kStrong #PSUnrivaled
— James Franklin (@coachjfranklin) July 30, 2014
Penn State quarterback coach Ricky Rhane is excited to be adding a key defensive player.
We Are … Attacking the Decision Maker! #WildDogs #107kStrong #PSUnrivaled — Ricky Rahne (@RickyRahne) July 30, 2014
Penn State defensive line coach Sean Spencer who played a critical role in his commitment
We are!!! — Sean Spencer (@SpenceChaos) July 30, 2014
Penn State wide receiver coach Josh Gattis tells fans how big of a commitment it is for the program.
#WeAre……………. Better! 2016 the Dynasty is built! Only the Best can bring the Championship back! #WeAre #107kStrong #PSUnrivaled
— Josh Gattis (@Coach_Gattis) July 30, 2014
2015 safety Ayron Monroe, another DMV commit showing his excitement with Simmons commitment.
Ayeeeeee my boy @Shizzeee_ just committed to Penn State! Welcome to the fam bro! Glad to have you! #weare#107kStrong
— ayron monroe (@ay_ronnyron) July 30, 2014
2015 LB Johnathan Holland reiterating that Penn State isn’t playing games when it comes to recruiting.
[Photo: CHRIS HAYS/ORLANDO SENTINEL]Y’all thought we were kidding when we said we would LOCK DOWN THE DMV #WeAre#PSUnrivaled#NoGames ⚪️
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