One week from now, we Bronco fans will either be putting the finishing touches on a wild celebration party or waking up with a giant hangover and counting down the days to Michigan State. Get emotionally prepared, people.
We've got 6 days until kickoff...so today we'll be highlighting #6 on the Boise State roster - Dextrell Simmons.
#6, Dextrell Simmons, Junior, Nickel
Stats
Height: 5'10"
Weight: 202
High school: Westfield High School, Houston, Texas
Junior college: Blinn Junior College, Bryan, Texas
How'd he get to The Blue?
Simmons arrived on campus this spring as a transfer from Blinn JC where he was an honorable mention All-America on the nation's No. 10 JC team. Simmons was a team captain, and he finished with 57 tackles, nine TFLs, two sacks, a forced fumble, and a fumble recovery. The year before, Simmons was part of Blinn's JC national championship team with former Auburn star, current Panther quarterback, and future Kordell Stewart impersonator Cam Newton.
Nickname
"Dex"
Look-a-like
Xzibit
Career highlight
Winning a national championship must have been nice, but I imagine that getting a call from Chris Petersen with a scholarship offer ranks pretty high up there, too.
Career lowlight
Finding out that Boise doesn't have a Steak 'n Shake.
2011 prospectus
Simmons' arrival on campus felt awfully similar to the arrival of a similarly hyped JC transfer, Winston Venable. As such, Dex had a fair share of great expectations heaped on his shoulders. With an open spot at nickel, the thought was that Simmons would step right in and off we'd go with another stellar Boise State nickelbacker. Well, things haven't fallen into place quite that easily. Currently, Simmons sits behind Hunter White and Jonathan Brown for the nickel spot, a victim of inexperience and the completely understandable learning curve of going from JC ball to Boise State. It's not a jump everyone can make as well as Venable did.
A better comparison for Simmons might be Jerrell Gavins. Rather than step right into the starting lineup, Gavins spent some time getting the hang of things at Boise and is now poised to break out his senior season. Simmons' senior season will come 12 months from now, and he'll be competing with Brown for the starting spot at nickel next fall. As for this season, expect to see a lot of Simmons on special teams and a little of Simmons in the nickel rotation. By the end of the year, he could have an expanded role on the defense. But until then, patience is a virtue.
Completely made-up fact
The suit-and-tie pic of Simmons at the top of this post is the first time he has smiled. Previously:
