Clemson is showing interest in this standout Peach State defensive lineman that recently traveled to Tiger Town.
Savannah (Ga.) Calvary Day School defensive tackle Terry Simmons – a 6-foot-2, 305-pound junior in the 2023 class – made an unofficial visit to Death Valley on Nov. 20 to attend the Wake Forest game.
“I really enjoyed Clemson on my visit,” Simmons told The Clemson Insider. “I felt great energy throughout the whole day, and I enjoyed the energy the guys played with.”
The best parts of the game-day visit experience for Simmons came after Dabo Swinney’s team knocked off the then-10th-ranked Demon Deacons, 48-27.
“The highlight would have to be them (the fans) rushing the field and then going in the locker room after the game,” he said. “I got to hear Coach Dabo give a great speech and I met with DeAndre McDaniel and Coach (Todd) Bates.”
What did Simmons hear from McDaniel, a defensive analyst for Clemson, and Bates, the Tigers’ defensive tackles coach?
“To sum it all up, they told me that I’m a great player and they love the way I play,” Simmons said.
Simmons finished his junior season with 67 total tackles, 22 tackles for loss, four sacks and four passes defended in 13 games for a Calvary Day team that went 12-1.
Central Michigan, Liberty and Gardner-Webb have offered Simmons, while schools such as North Carolina, West Virginia, Purdue, Coastal Carolina, Appalachian State, UCF and Charlotte are showing interest, along with Clemson.
The promising prospect has his fingers crossed for a future offer from the Tigers.
“It’d mean a lot,” he said. “I haven’t gotten any P5 (Power Five) offers yet, so getting an offer from Clemson would give me a lot of confidence in myself because I wish to play against the best and a school such as Clemson would give me one of my best chances of doing so.”
Simmons cited the Clemson fan base, as well as the passion he saw from Tiger players — especially junior defensive tackle Tyler Davis — as what stood out the most to him while attending the Wake Forest game.
“It’s a small city and it seemed like the whole town came out to see the game, which is insane,” he said. “And the whole game the defense was playing their hearts out and it seemed like everyone on defense was making plays.
“The play that stuck out to me the most was when Tyler Davis almost ran down a receiver and forced him out of bounds. That’s a player who I look up to and seeing that was cool to me.”
Along with Clemson, Simmons made game-day visits this season to North Carolina, Florida State, Georgia, Georgia State, UAB and Gardner-Webb.
Clemson Variety & Frame is doing their part to help bring you some classic new barware and help one of the local businesses that helps make Clemson special.
Order your Nick’s barware and do your part to help. #SaveNicks
