The University of Florida earned a commitment from Pahokee quarterback [autotag]Austin Simmons[/autotag] on Tuesday, marking the first addition to the Gators’ recruiting class of 2025.
A four-star recruit who also plans on playing baseball at the college level, Simmons is a major get for Florida. He’s ranked No. 56 overall on the 247Sports composite and is No. 6 among quarterbacks in his class. There is a chance that Simmons gets to Gainesville sooner than expected, though.
In a recent interview with Footballville, Simmons said that he’s completed all of his high school credits and boasts a 5.34 GPA between both high school and college courses he’s taken. That means the 17-year-old could, in theory, reclassify as a 2024 or even a 2023 in the summer.
Hey Gainesville, I’m Home! 🐊 @coach_bnapier @Hayesfawcett3 pic.twitter.com/Mbp1sCzIkx
— Austin Simmons (@austnsimmons) April 4, 2023
Simmons picked Florida over Arkansas, Florida State, Miami, Penn State, Tennessee and UCF among others.
As a sophomore, Simmons threw for over 3,100 yards and 24 touchdowns, according to MaxPreps. He led the Blue Devils to the regional finals, where they fell to eventual rural state champion Hawthorne Hornets (the FHSAA moved to rural, suburban and metro classifications this year after previously going by school size).
Simmons is also a star on the diamond. His fastball clocked 93.8 mph earlier in the week in a big win for the True North Titans, who play in Miami-Dade County. Simmons’ homeschooling allows him to play at multiple programs depending on the sport. It’s a plan that’s clearly served him well and set him up for success.
Things look good for Florida under center for years to come with 2024 commit [autotag]DJ Lagway[/autotag] and Simmons under commitment. [autotag]Jaden Rashada[/autotag] proved that nothing is ever truly a done deal until the player is on campus, though, so now Napier and Co. have to hold on to who they’ve locked up.
[lawrence-auto-related count=5 category=1739]
[mm-video type=video id=01gwm85jb2b4asy3ntsp playlist_id=01eqbz250mdknqvm5z player_id=01f5k5y2jb3twsvdg4 image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01gwm85jb2b4asy3ntsp/01gwm85jb2b4asy3ntsp-52d1861305e83287029956218ee16282.jpg]
Follow us @GatorsWire on Twitter and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.