(Photo: Spencer Barnes/WCSN)
At the beginning of each team’s first drive of a football game broadcast on ESPN, the network takes the time to flash a graphic on the top of their scoreboard. The primetime slot on the Worldwide Leader in Sports is a big game, and the network knows the thousands of people watching might not be familiar with two teams not usually thrust into the spotlight.
So four players from each team — two from the offense and two from the defense — are deemed the game’s “impact players”, and as Arizona State football’s reigning defensive MVP, graduate defensive back Shamari Simmons was introduced to the 993,384 people reported to be watching to be watching the Sun Devils face-off against Texas State last Thursday by ESPN.
He proved why real quick.
Seven minutes into the week three matchup, the Bobcats drew up a quick bubble screen, but Simmons read it all the way, blew past his blocker, and made a huge impact on Texas State’s senior wide receiver, Joey Hobert.
Just one season after leading the whole team in defensive snaps as a safety, Simmons has shifted to nickel in year two, a crucial position in defensive coordinator Brian Ward’s 4-2-5 defense. So far, Simmons is gunning to repeat as the team’s defensive MVP.
“(Simmons is) a pro. I mean, he really is,” Ward said. “He manages the process during the week. He loves ball. If put himat any position in our secondary, he’d be able to function and function well… He earns it every single day, and that’s why that guy is going to play a long time at the next level.”
Thanks partly to Simmons shifting to nickel, the ASU defense has unlocked a new level so far in 2024. After allowing over 30 points per game last season, the Sun Devil defense is allowing just 19.5 points per game through three weeks, a mark that ranks top 50 in the country.
One of the major advantages Simmons offers this defense is exactly what he showed at the beginning of Thursday’s game: being a deterrent to the screen game.
“Being able to blow up screens really was a weakness for us last year, and it’s a strength for us this year,” defensive backs coach Bryan Carrington said. “Just as far as his demeanor and how he approaches the game, him wanting to be physical playing in that nickel row gives him access a little bit closer to the trash to get his hands dirty.
“He was able to set the tone early on in that Texas State game, but that’s just who he is.”
As part of the Pat Tillman Leadership council, it Simmons’ job to set the tone for his teammates, one he does not take lightly, but while others might take the route of coaching up their teammates, Simmons is quiet and lets his play do the talking.
However, that doesn’t mean his leadership style is any less effective. Players and coaches have gushed about Simmons and his ability to not just play an excellent nickel but also raise his teammates’ level of play simultaneously.
“Shamari is not going to talk a lot; Shamari is just going to do,” head coach Kenny Dillingham said.
That ability to lead with his play showed up in arguably the most important moment of last week’s game. About six minutes into the fourth quarter, the Bobcats began a drive deep in their own territory but had a chance to break the 28-28 stalemate.
On the first play of a drive from their own 11-yard line, the Bobcats handed the ball off to their best player, junior running back Ismail Mahdi. Mahdi broke through a gap and had to break just one more tackle to get to the open green ahead of him. But Simmons shredded his blocker, wrapped around Mahdi, and stripped the ball out of his hands. ASU recovered the football and, five plays later, kicked what ended up being the game-winning field goal.
“He’s not a guy that just talks about it; he’s the guy that lives it, and I feel like that is what players respect nowadays,” Carrington said. “You got a lot of guys that want to win the popularity contest, want to be rah, but on the field, they’re quiet, and they’re insecure, and they’re not confident.
“So, when guys see a guy can talk about it and then he’s about it on Saturdays, in between these white lines and on practice every day, then that’s really a testament to who he is as a person, and guys can easily follow behind it.”
Nothing about Simmons can be described as ‘rah-rah.’ Coming out of high school in Lineville, Alabama, Simmons had zero stars as a prospect, according to 247Sports. Without a high recruitment ranking, he ended up attending Hutchinson Community College for two seasons before transferring to Austin Peay University at the FCS level.
Simmons was named to the 2022 ASUN All-Conference team in his final year with the Governors. Dillingham and Carrington quickly identified him as a potential cornerstone of the team and culture they were trying to build.
“He just came in as a very mature kid, a kid that came in with a lot of experience,” Carrington said. “We were able to appreciate him buying into our culture. He’s one of the guys that we evaluated as a staff upon entry of us building and forming this roster as one of those guys that was kind of 10 toes down.”
Simmons’ impact on the field has already been clear. His 18 tackles so far this season rank third on the team and first among defensive backs, trailing only the teams’ starting linebackers. But nickel corner is arguably where the team has seen the most injuries through three games, making Simmons’ role as the team’s lockdown starter even more impactful.
Junior Laterrance Welch has not seen game action since Week 1, and on Wednesday, Dillingham announced that sophomore Cole Martin, the back up to Simmons, will miss the remainder of the season due to a hip injury that required surgery.
It has been a long journey to where Simmons is now, but he has found a home in Tempe, and regardless of the circumstances or how many ESPN graphics he’s featured on, he won’t forget that journey.
“My journey has been a really long journey, but I wouldn’t trade it in for nobody in the world, a five-star or anybody,” Simmons said. “It really kept me humble to the person I am now. I feel like you can ask me any question and I would never be too big on somebody or something like that. My whole journey humbled me and made me just be more appreciative of the things I have now.”
