Pahokee quarterback Austin Simmons committed to the University of Florida on Tuesday, and Gators Wire caught up with him in the afternoon to talk about the decision.
Around 11 a.m. EDT on Tuesday, Pahokee quarterback [autotag]Austin Simmons[/autotag] announced his commitment to the University of Florida.
Four and a half hours after making that announcement, Simmons stood on second base at Killian High School in Miami delivering a Gator chomp after scorching a double to center field for the True North Classical Academy Titans baseball team.
Gators Wire caught up with the class of 2025 two-sport athlete following a 5-3 Titans victory over the Killian Cougars to talk about what went into the decision to pick Florida with two years of high school eligibility left.
“It was the coaches, really, behind the football program,” Simmons said. “I went to UF a couple of times last month in March. I just had this one big spark. Between the coaches, the whole program and everyone behind the whole school of the University of Florida.”
Head coach Billy Napier and offensive analyst Ryan O’Hara have been the main points of contact in Simmons’ recruitment. O’Hara has been coaching quarterbacks for Napier since 2018, and Simmons thinks that he’ll be able to develop easily under him. The two hit off during his second visit to the swamp in March.
“Being in the meeting room with coach O’Hara, seeing how he coaches quarterbacks,” said Simmons, “with the approach he takes on different quarterbacks in the meeting room, I feel like he would be one of the quarterback coaches just for me.”
Being offered by Kevin O’Sullivan and the Florida baseball team also helped nudge Simmons closer to a decision.
“I could always just walk on as a baseball player and try and make the team,” he said. “But, yeah, having an offer from the baseball program as well, that’s another box checked off. Having that secure and locked down, having those two offers, that really made me choose Florida.”
Simmons trains with TBT training in Boca Raton, and one of his coaches there has Florida connections. Sully had heard about Simmons through the grapevine but didn’t realize he was the “lefty that throws 93 from TBT,” until Simmons was standing in front of him.”
During that Simmons’ most recent trip, he said that he had a chance to talk with [autotag]Anthony Richardson[/autotag] briefly. It was shortly ahead of Florida’s Pro Day and Richardson had somewhere to be, but he encouraged a then-uncommitted Simmons to consider UF, stating that it’s “the place to be.”
The Pahokee quarterback has also been in contact with current Florida quarterback [autotag]Max Brown[/autotag] and 2024 commit [autotag]DJ Lagway[/autotag]. Brown is already with the baseball team after skipping his freshman year, and Lagway plans on being a two-sport athlete as well. Simmons’s second visit to the Swamp coincided with one of Lagway’s, which is when the two started to get to know each other well.
Simmons is doing some recruiting work of his own for Florida now that he’s locked in a commitment to the Gators. Five-star wide receiver [autotag]Jeremiah Smith[/autotag], who also plays in the South Florid area, took note of the commitment on Twitter, and Simmons says he’s trying to get him to join him at UF.
“We go way back,” Simmons said of his relationship with Smith. “Just trying to get him to come to Florida. That would be a really good deal right there. I’m just trying to get him to come to Florida.”
Simmons added that he thinks Smith is open to the idea and will come around eventually but that it’s his choice in the end.
Then there’s the reclassification question. Although he’s technically a sophomore, Simmons is done with high school and boasts a 5.34 GPA thanks to his college-credit courses. He says he and his family are still figuring things out, and that there’s no news on him reclassifying as a 2024 or 2023 yet.
For those wondering how that’s even possible, Simmons is home-schooled, which allows him not only to play football in Pahokee and baseball Miami but also lets him take courses at an accelerated pace.
“Everyone keeps asking me how I have over a 5.0 in my GPA,” he said. “It’s just college credits, really. It all combines up to it.”
If sports don’t work out in the long run (which seems unlikely), Simmons says he wants to major in sports medicine and a minor in business for a future in physical therapy.
Simmons is a consensus four-star recruit that has yet to receive a grade from ESPN. The 247Sports composite has him ranked No. 56 overall nationally and No. 6 among quarterbacks in the class of 2025. The On3 industry ranking is slightly less bullish on him at No. 96 nationally and No. 9 at his position.
Perfect Game ranks Simmons as the 120th-best player in the state of Florida in his class and the No. 10 left-handed pitcher. He hasn’t been clocked by the service since last year, though, when he was throwing 87 mph. If that 92-93 mph reading is accurate, Simmons should jump considerably over the next year.
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