Blue White Illustrated

A young head coach takes over a once- dominant football program, and his quest to bring it back to prominence is boosted by a young player named Shane Simmons. Does that sound like a familiar plan? If so, it may be because it is, only this one has already happened. Originally from the community of Rus- sett in Laurel, Md., Simmons enrolled as a ninth-grader at DeMatha Catholic High School in Hyattsville, a private academy that boasts one of the largest alumni net- works in the National Football League. When Simmons was still in junior high, the Stags 6nished 9-4 and 6-4, a far cry from the routine 12-0 and 11-1 6nishes that it used to so o9en enjoy. Head coach Elijah Brooks had just taken over for Bill McGregor, who had been in charge of the football program for 29 years, and he was still getting situated a9er his promotion from assistant coach. Similar to how some Penn State fans are holding out hope for James Franklin's recruits to reach their star potential, there was reason for opti- mism for Brooks, despite a slower start than some had wished, due to the buzz surrounding his younger players. One of those players was Simmons, who arrived in 2012. He was tall and wiry, and he boasted a skill set that Brooks coveted. In the four years that followed, as Simmons earned dozens of scholarship o8ers and was given four stars by Rivals.com, De- Matha won three consecutive Washington Catholic Athletic Conference titles. Named a captain as a senior, Simmons helped lead the Stags to one of those 11-1 6nishes. "His on-6eld accomplishments speak for themselves," Brooks said, "but very few will understand how in7uential Shane was in resurrecting our program back into the national spotlight." For Simmons' parents, Walter and Jen, one of their favorite qualities about their son – and there are a lot of them – is the humility he exudes. Shane rarely accepts credit and always de7ects it to those who surround and support him. "It's always the team for him," Jen said, "and I think that's one of the things that always makes him successful." In recalling the success he enjoyed during his high school career – DeMatha occa- sionally played on ESPN and was o9en in the national rankings – Simmons credits not only his own classmates but the players who preceded them, some of whom en- rolled while McGregor was still the coach. The Stags won a conference championship in 2013 under Brooks, and that, Simmons said, "kind of got the train rolling. The year a9er, we won back-to-back cham- pionships with my class. Also my class and the class under us, we're more na- tionally known now. We have kids who are going to the Under Armour game, Rivals camps, a lot of prestigious camps and all that... so I think that has brought light to the program." Shining a positive light on his team is at the forefront, always, for Simmons. Shortly a9er he 6rst started collecting scholarship o8ers, which was earlier than most – "He had three o8ers before he even stepped foot on the high school 6eld," his mom said – he started to visit college campuses. Far and wide he traveled – from Arizona State to Alabama to Florida State to Texas and about everywhere in-between. (At Simmons focused on ensuring team's success | CLICK HERE to see video of Simmons in action. Rivals.com THE SIMMONS FILE STATS Helped DeMatha Catholic compile an 11-1 record and win its third consecutive Washington Catholic Athletic Conference champi- onship as a senior... Made 82 total tackles, including 23 tackles for loss and 16 sacks, and forced three fum- bles last fall... Also played tight end for the Stags HONORS Named a four-star recruit by Rivals.com, as well as the No. 104 player nationally, No. 6 defensive end and No. 4 player in Maryland... Re- ceived Defensive Player of the Year accolades from The Washington Post in 2015... Was named All-Met by the Post following his junior and senior seasons and was a consensus All- State choice both years... Chosen to play in the Under Armour All-America Game, where he was voted a team captain U P C L O S E & P E R S O N A L

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