Simms-sational

During the recruitment of true freshman wide receiver Marcus Simms he made it clear time and time again that he wanted to be right in the mix from start of his career.

If his first Gold Blue Game at The Greenbrier is any indication he is putting his best foot forward to accomplish that.

Simms stole the show at times during the West Virginia spring game flashing his speed as well as moves in the open field to finish with five catches for 52 yards and a pair of touchdowns as well as a nasty juke on safety Shane Commodore to get into the end zone.

“He has no clue what he is doing. It is actually fun to watch. He does everything wrong and all he does is score touchdowns,” head coach Dana Holgorsen said. “That’s but he looks like. He has a long ways to go but he can start. He can stop. He has great hand-eye coordination. He can stretch the field.”

It's just another bullet in the chamber in what has become a luxury of riches for West Virginia at the wide receiver position.

The Maryland native selected the Mountaineers over a number of offers including Maryland, Pittsburgh, Arizona, Boston College, Rutgers and a number of other schools.

A consensus first-team all-state selection, Simms hauled in 43 receptions for 1,020 yards and 20 touchdowns serving as a big-play threat down the field. It was those qualities that attracted the West Virginia coaching staff when he first committed to the football program in the spring of last year.

Simms enrolled at West Virginia in January to start his college career and before that started the process of learning what he needed to do to put himself in the best position to capitalize on his situation.

Equipped with plus speed and athleticism, Simms was recovering from a shoulder injury when he first enrolled on campus but quickly started to carve out a bigger role day-by-day.

"They said once I get healthy they are going to throw me right in the mix," Simms said previously.

And throughout the spring he has put himself in exactly that spot as the dynamic playmaker has the size at 6-foot, along with the speed to make an impact this fall. In fact that’s what Holgorsen expects.

“He is going to be a contributor for us next year,” he said.

Redshirt junior Shelton Gibson can’t help but see himself when he watches the young Simms on the field as he plays at such a high speed but has yet to master what he needs to do on the field.

“He’s young, and he is out there playing. He is so fast. Right now, he doesn’t know how to control his speed, but is going to be an awesome player,” he said.

Sophomore Gary Jennings also has paid close attention to the development of Simms after going through a similar adjustment last year and has noticed many of the traits that has him in line to seize a role on this team and make the most of his opportunities. However, it is not the physical aspect of his game that needs fine tuning it is on the mental side of things.

“He’s young and he’s really fast but he’s going to be dangerous once he picks things up,” he said.