Mississippi State football: Modern-era Mount Rushmore
By Ethan Lee
Jeffery Simmons
Mississippi State has produced a long line of great defensive lineman over the years, and that’s especially true over the past decade or so. Fletcher Cox, Chris Jones, Kyle Love, Preston Smith, Josh Boyd, Pernell McPhee, A.J. Jefferson, and Montez Sweat all played for Mississippi State and all had phenomenal college careers. But none of them were quite as good on the field as Jeffery Simmons was.
Simmons was remarkably talented and played a huge part in Mississippi State’s success from 2016 to 2018. His play was one key reason for MSU’s dominant defense in 2018 (which was arguably the best defense in the country that season).
During those three seasons, Simmons racked up 163 total tackles, including 33 tackles for loss. In 2017 and 2018, Simmons had 30 of those tackles for loss and had 7 sacks. He was borderline unstoppable up front and helped provide an impressive pass rush for Mississippi State while playing alongside Sweat.
Simmons was a semifinalist for the Bednarik Award in back-to-back seasons, first-team AP All-SEC in back-to-back seasons, won the Conerly Trophy (given to the best player in Mississippi) in 2018 and was eventually drafted in the first round with the 19th pick by the Tennessee Titans.
Like the other players on this list, you’ll find Simmons’ name all over the Mississippi State record book. From tackles for loss to blocked kicks, Simmons did a little of everything on the defense side of the ball. Given how quick he moves for a man who is 6-foot-4 and over 300 pounds and his incredible stats, it’s unsurprising why the Titans picked him in the first round of the 2019 draft.