Ad Disclosure
Jeffery Simmons is still having to pay a price for the bad mistake he made leading up to his college career in Starkville.
When many hear the name Jeffery Simmons, they can’t help but go back to the incident involving the former five-star defensive lineman from Noxubee County High School in Macon, Miss. If you were unaware, Simmons punched a woman several times, including once she was on the ground. He was only suspended by Mississippi State for the first half of his college debut.
It was an ugly incident that had many calling for him to never be allowed to play at Mississippi State. Ultimately, Dan Mullen and the MSU administration felt differently and allowed Simmons to enroll in school and play for the Bulldogs.
That decision, while highly controversial at the time, proved to be the right call as Simmons has proven to be a model representative for the school and one of the best players in the nation by the time his junior season came to a close.
However, Simmons previous actions will continue to haunt him in some regard as the NFL will not allow him to attend the upcoming NFL Combine, according to Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network. In recent years, the NFL has implemented a policy banning players with past issues involving violence from attending the event.
While this is an unusual situation, not being in attendance for the combine isn’t likely to negatively impact Simmons’ stock in the eyes of NFL teams. He will still have the opportunity to show what he can do at Mississippi State’s upcoming Pro Day event this spring.
Look for a high number, if not all, of NFL teams to be in attendance when MSU’s Pro Day arrives due to the fact Simmons and several of his teammates project as elite prospects in the 2019 NFL Draft.
A graduate of the University of Tennessee, Michael Wayne Bratton oversees the news coverage for Saturday Down South. Michael previously worked for FOX Sports and NFL.com
