When Greenwood and Noxubee County square off Friday, two of the state’s top defensive ends will be on display.
Jeffrey Simmons, ranked as the No. 1 prospect in Mississippi by recruiting sites 247Sports and Scout, is a beast for Noxubee. Even though he has bulked up this year, the 6-foot-4, 270-pounder still has explosiveness coming off the edge and has the brute power for a bull rush.
Simmons is mulling offers from Mississippi State, Ole Miss, Alabama and Tennessee to name a few of the schools that have made scholarship offers for the talented defensive end.
Spencer, ranked the 11th-best prospect in Mississippi, is arguably the most athletic defensive end in the state. The 6-foot-5, 235-pounder ran a 4.51-second 40-yard dash at the Southern Elite Combine this summer. He already holds scholarship offers from Mississippi State and Southern Mississippi and saw his recruiting stock rise this summer when he was one of 20 out of 200 players from 18 different states to earn All-Southern Elite Combine honors.
After finishing an English class in summer school in July, Spencer was reclassified from a junior to a senior for this school year. He is 12th on the Mississippi Gridiron magazine’s Super 25, the publication’s ranking of the top 25 high school football players in Mississippi.
Paul Jones, publisher of Bulldawgs 247Sports, says a lot of eyes will on Friday’s matchup.
“You could easily make a case that this game is a matchup of the two best senior defensive ends in the state,” Jones said. “Jeffrey is rated as the top prospect in the state, and Marquiss may be the most underrated guy in the state, largely due to him re-classifying to the 2016 class. I got to see Marquiss a lot this summer and his athleticism and quickness is off the charts. While Simmons has the size advantage, I believe Marquiss matches Simmons when it comes to athleticism.”
Friday’s Greenwood-Noxubee game, set for 7 p.m. at Bulldog Stadium, is a rematch of last year’s North 4A title game. The Tigers won 21-0 and went on to win a state championship, and Simmons was a big reason why. He had four of his team’s seven sacks against Greenwood in 2014.
“We’ve got to slow down Jeffrey Simmons. He is a full grown man. You can’t totally stop him, but we can’t let him beat us,” GHS coach Clinton Gatewood said. “He did a number on our quarterback last year.”
Simmons missed some games in the middle of the regular season after having ankle surgery but is getting close to full strength now, according to Noxubee County coach Tyrone Shorter.
“He’s starting to get back into top form since returning Oct. 23. Everybody feeds off of him because he is such a great leader and gives 110 percent on every play,” Shorter said.
Simmons, who has 86 tackles and 12 sacks on the season, also plays tight end and fullback on offense. He has two rushing touchdowns and one receiving.
Spencer, who has 134 tackles, including 20 sacks and 21 tackles for loss, handles the kicking and punting duties and has seen limited action at tight end this season with one TD reception. He has thrown for a score off a fake punt and had the game-winning two-point pass last week in a 23-22 win over Kosciusko off a fake PAT kick.
“Spencer is a great player,” Shorter said. “He’s very quick and hard to block. He is an incredible athlete who does a lot of things for them. We have to know where he is on every play.”
Spencer and Simmons are key cogs on two of the stingiest defenses in the statewide 4A ranks. The winner of Friday’s North 4A championship could be determined by which defensive end makes the most dynamic plays.
nContact Bill Burrus at 581-7237 or bburrus@gwcommonwealth.com.
