Coming out of high school in Cherry Hill, N.J., USF wide receiver Naiem Simmons said he had no college scholarship offers. As in … zero?
"Zero, man,'' Simmons said. "I had nothing. Nobody wanted me. Nobody. My grades weren't the best at the beginning of high school. I was a smaller guy. I had nothing.''
So, he bided his time, put his head down and went for his only option — a year at Milford Academy, a prep school in New Berlin, N.Y., where the spartan dormitories resembled Army barracks, beds in every corner, six guys sharing a converted classroom space.
"The people were great, but the experience was … different,'' Simmons said. "Some nights, you might be thinking to yourself, 'Where am I? What am I even doing? Will anybody ever want me?' You're constantly fighting those thoughts.''
Simmons (5-foot-10, 182 pounds) no longer has doubts. He earned a spot at Wagner College, a Football Championship Subdivision school, where he caught 72 passes in two seasons and became an all-conference player. Believing he could perform at college football's highest level, Simmons entered the transfer portal and found his ideal landing spot with the Bulls.
And now?
"Man, I am loving what's ahead for me and I'm loving where this program is going,'' Simmons said. "We've got work to do. I've got work to do. But we are moving in a great direction.''
The Bulls (2-2, 1-0 AAC) are headed to Navy (1-2, 0-1 AAC) for a Saturday afternoon conference road game after last week's riveting offensive showcase, a 42-29 victory against the Rice Owls.
Simmons had a game for the ages — eight receptions (on eight targets) with a school-record 272 yards and one touchdown. It was also the highest receiving-yards single-game total for a Football Bowl Subdivision player in state of Florida history.
"I don't know how you could have a much better game than that,'' offensive coordinator Joel Gordon said. "Naiem had been one of the guys on some of the opportunities that we had missed (in previous weeks). Give all the credit to him for working and practicing and being ready when his number was called.
"When he got confident, man, you wanted to keep feeding him. We fed him all night long. And he just kept delivering.''
Bulls quarterback Byrum Brown, who passed for a career-high 435 yards, hit Simmons on five plays of 42 or more yards.
"Naiem has been consistent since Day One, always in the building, always making the right decisions and practicing hard, always going full speed,'' Brown said. "It wasn't a surprise to the team. Naiem is a good weapon for us.''
Maybe the best part of all?
Simmons, seemingly on top of the college-football world, is the same guy who once thought he had nothing.
Not Easy Or Comfortable
Naiem (pronounced: Nye-eem) is a Muslim name meaning "ease'' or "comfort.'' Simmons said the original plan was for him to be a junior, but his father, Nathaniel Simmons, preferred a distinct identity.
Since high school, right through the odyssey that led him to USF, football has never been easy or comfortable for Simmons. He doesn't want that to start now.
According to USF wide receivers coach L'Damian Washington, Simmons has a "walk-on mentality.'' And that mirrors the approach of fellow receiver Sean Atkins, who was a walk-on before earning a scholarship at USF and now leading the Bulls in receptions.
"They come to earn everything and do not want to be entitled to anything,'' Washington said. "Naiem has an underdog mentality of just, 'How can I go and get everything out of it?' That's how he approaches it, the same as Sean Atkins.''
After last season at Wagner, where the Staten Island campus is just a ferry ride away from the New York City skyscrapers or the Statue of Liberty, Simmons had 50 receptions, 796 yards and six touchdowns while earning second-team All-Northeast Conference honors.
He wanted more.
"It wasn't so much proving it to other people on the outside,'' Simmons said. "It was more like proving it to myself, showing that no matter what conference I'm in, I could catch the same passes and run the same routes.''
Once Simmons officially entered the transfer portal, his phone blew up. Other coaches and programs wanted Simmons — really wanted him.
"I'm not going to lie, at first, it was great to feel so wanted,'' Simmons said. "Whatever I thought I missed coming out of high school, when I was basically ignored, this made up for it like ten-fold. Some days, it seemed like I was talking to 20 different coaches. It actually got kind of overwhelming and wasn't so much fun. But I had choices.''
Golesh, the former offensive coordinator at Tennessee, was newly hired at USF and dove headlong into the transfer portal. He liked what he saw in Simmons.
"We thought Naiem was the best slot receiver in the portal, so we went after him,'' Golesh said.
Once Simmons sorted through his offers, he said the decision was easy.
"With Coach Golesh's offensive background and the opportunity to help get USF's program going in the right direction to this beautiful school in Tampa, Florida … are you kidding?'' Simmons said. "I give thanks every day for being here.''
There's not a hint of entitlement from the player who still marvels at "the stuff we have here at USF … like we have a chiropractor … we have a dietician … and our indoor facility is great.''
The exclamation point?
"I have my name on the back of my jersey,'' Simmons said with a smile. "First time in my life. It's nice to get the Simmons name out there and I know my dad is happy with that.''
Family In The Stands
When Simmons had his game of games against Rice, the crowd included his father, who owns an office-cleaning business, and his mother, Selena Santiago, a mortician.
"My mom thinks everything I do is great and I appreciate that because she's a great mom,'' Simmons said. "My dad has been along for every step of this football journey. He has been my coach. He has funded everything. He knows what it means to me.
"It's nice to be recognized, but I know my dad really loves it for me. Seeing me have a game like that, I think it was one of the best days of his life. After the game, he took my gloves. He said, 'I need those gloves!' He wanted my cleats, too. I said, 'You can take the gloves, but dad, I need to keep my cleats.' It was funny. He was very excited. I want it to be low-key, but I do love making my parents proud.''
Simmons, who has shifted from the slot to mostly playing on the perimeter, doesn't want to get too carried away. He knows the priority is preparing for Navy.
If you doubt his focus, consider that Simmons has never eaten red meat (beef or pork) in his life. He confessed to accidentally taking a few bites of a breakfast sausage sandwich before he realized the ingredients.
"Whether it's eating the right thing, getting the right sleep or taking care of my body, I take this very seriously,'' Simmons said. "Football is something I hold near and dear. There's no Plan B other than getting my degree (in criminology). So far, football has led me to some pretty memorable places.''
And it produced a game he'll never forget.
"Everything just clicked, but the truth is we have a lot of receivers on this team that can do the same thing,'' Simmons said. "Whether I'm catching them or someone else is catching them, it's cool either way as long as we win.
"I'm just excited to see where we take this thing. We get this offense going and keep it going, it's going to be very good. We play really, really fast and it's fun. Like, if you blink, you'll miss something. If you go to the bathroom, you might miss a touchdown, maybe two. I think we're going to keep getting better.''
Simmons said the key is maintaining proper focus and knowing there's always going to be a next play. Simmons had just seven receptions through the first three games. But Golesh, after watching Simmons' practice-week dedication, predicted a breakout game.
Golesh was right.
Boy, was he right.
"But now the only thing that matters is the next game,'' Simmons said. "Football can be taken away from you at any time. You won't see me taking any of this for granted.''
"Naiem is every bit of 5-foot-9-and-a-half and he has the heart of a lion,'' Washington said. "I am super proud of him because he has done nothing but respond and go to work. Good game, he responds. Bad game, he responds. People underestimate the ability to know how to respond to things — good, bad and indifferent. He understands.''
And there's one thing he knows for sure.
Simmons, who once thought he had nothing, has found everything he ever wanted at USF.
–#GoBulls–
