Bonesville: The Authoritative Independent Voice of East Carolina

News & Features from ECU, the AAC and Beyond

  • Home
  • News & Features
  • Recruiting
  • Photos
  • Audio
  • Roundup
  • Comments
  • Legacy Archives

• ECU 2022 Baseball Schedule
• AAC Tournament Schedule

• ECU 2022 Football Schedule
• ECU 2021-22 Hoops Schedule
• Recruiting: Football • Hoops

Game times and TV coverage
set for 5 ECU football games

Football Recruiting
Florida produces another quarterback gem for ECU

August 27, 2020 By Sammy Batten Leave a Comment

Tweet
Share
Share
Pin

East Carolina’s football record book is littered with the names of quarterbacks from the state of Florida.

There’s the great Jeff Blake (1988-91), from Daytona Beach, who orchestrated the historic Peach Bowl comeback against N.C. State. Delray Beach native James Pinkney (2003-06) and Lakeland’s Dominique Davis (2010-11) both rank among the top five in ECU quarterbacks in career passing yardage.

Winter Garden’s Travis Hunter led the Pirates in passing yardage for three straight season from 1987-89, while Longwood’s Rob Kass (2005-09) had some big moments under center for ECU before moving to tight end. And there’s also Kurt Benkert, from Cape Coral, whose East Carolina career was derailed by injuries before rebounding for a big senior year after transferring to Virginia.

Walter Simmons III (247sports.com photo by Andrew Ivins)

The Pirates dove back into the Sunshine State for another potential game-changing quarterback on August 1 when Walter “Tre” Simmons III made a verbal commitment to play for coach Mike Houston.

Simmons joined Houston’s recruiting class of 2021 after considering other scholarship offers from Coastal Carolina, Georgia Southern, Georgia State, Georgia Tech, Illinois, LSU, Marshall, Memphis, Old Dominion, Southern Miss, UAB, UCF, USF, Virginia, Virginia Tech and West Virginia.

“East Carolina just stayed real with me the whole (recruiting) time,” Simmons said. “From the day they offered me, they never stopped talking to me and they always kept recruiting me, no matter what. Their coaching staff never lied to us. They said I was the only quarterback on their board. They weren’t going to take any quarterback unless it was me. It was either me, or nobody, and they got me.”

A 6-foot-2, 180-pounder from Oakleaf High School in Orange Park, which is part of the Jacksonville-metro area, Simmons is rated the No. 3 quarterback prospect in the state by 247sports.com.

Entering a senior campaign at Oakleaf that begins Sept. 11 against Sandalwood, Simmons has already been a varsity starter for three seasons and amassed 5,190 career yards and 41 touchdowns passing. He earned third-team All-First Coast honors as a junior from the Florida Times-Union after racking up 1,895 yards and 19 touchdowns passing and 611 yards and three more scores rushing for an Oakleaf squad that finished 7-3.

The junior performance was enough to catch the attention of East Carolina. The Pirates began showing interest in Simmons after the 2019 season and offered a scholarship on March 27. Once the offer was made, Simmons began researching the American Athletic Conference program and despite the restrictions in place due to COVID-19 he took a trip to Greenville with his family to visit campus in July.

“I didn’t know much about them when my recruitment started,” Simmons said. “Then I started looking into it and it just felt right. We went up there, me and my family, on our own to check out the campus and get into the buildings that we could get into without any coaches around. That was about two weeks before I committed. Campus was real quiet, but we loved it.”

The verbal commitment continued a tradition of Simmons’ family members playing college football. Walter Simmons, Sr., was a defensive end at Edward Waters College, an NAIA school in Jacksonville, while Simmons, Jr., was a defensive tackle for Bethune-Cookman.

The family connection to football prompted “Tre” to get an early start in the sport at age six. He started out playing defensive end and linebacker for the Pop Warner Sweetwater Ravens. When the team’s starting quarterback moved away when Simmons was about 11 he made the transition to quarterback.

“I had to work at it,” Simmons said of the move to quarterback. “I used to not be able to throw (the ball) 10 yards. But I just kept working, doing push ups and lifting dumbells until I got really good at passing the football.”

Simmons describes himself as a cross between Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson and Russell Wilson of the Seattle Seahawks.

“I have the legs of Lamar and the arm of Russell Wilson,” Simmons said. “Being able to take over a game goes with the Russell Wilson part, too.

“I’m able to throw on the run and take over the offense. I only run if I’m sitting in the pocket and there’s nothing there. I can easily get down on the ground and get 10 yards or maybe break one loose for a touchdown. That’s nothing to me. But I can also sit back in the pocket and deliver the ball without running. Running is always second to me.”

Some of Simmons’ more impressive efforts during his junior season included racking up 300 of Oakleaf’s 396 yards of total offense in a victory against Clay. Simmons ran for three touchdowns (54, 2 and 40 yards) and threw for another in the triumph. He also produced 151 yards rushing on 20 carries and threw for 125 more and three touchdowns in a win against Sandalwood.

While Simmons isn’t familiar yet with some of East Carolina’s quarterback links to Florida, he has met in person another Pirate passer with a connection to the Sunshine State.

Soon after making his verbal commitment to ECU, his father told him one evening “to put on something nice and get in the car.” The two drove out to the Jacksonville area beaches where Simmons was introduced to former Pirate quarterback David Garrard.

Garrard, who played his high school football in Durham, broke 28 school passing and offensive records at East Carolina and started every game for the Pirates between 1999-2001. He was a fourth-round NFL draft pick by the Jacksonville Jaguars and earned Pro Bowl status with the team in 2009. After spending time with the New York Jets and Miami Dolphins, the popular Garrard signed a contact with the Jaguars on May 8, 2015, so he could retire with his original team.

“They know him at the place I train,” Simmons said. “The people there got in contact with him and sent him stuff about me committing to East Carolina. He got in touch with my Dad and it went from there.

“That was real right there. He’s really a great guy and I’m going to stay in touch with him.”

Simmons hopes to put together a career similar to Garrard at East Carolina. But first he’ll join a very competitive quarterback room in Greenville that could, by the time he arrives in January, feature a four-year starter in Holton Ahlers, redshirt freshmen in Bryan Gagg – also a Floridian from Sarasota – and Alex Flinn, along with true freshmen Ryan Stubblefield and Mason Garcia.

RECRUITING CLASS OF 2021 THUMBNAILS…
RECRUITING CLASS OF 2020 THUMBNAILS…

Related

Tweet
Share
Share
Pin

Filed Under: Football Recruiting, News & Features, Recruiting, Recruiting Class of 2021

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recent News & Features

Baseball News
ECU rallies to reach AAC final

Baseball News
Pirates pound Bearcats

Baseball News
Worrell’s slam lifts ECU

VIEW FROM THE EAST
Man with deep roots notes Pirates’ progress

Baseball News
Pirates walk off in 10th for sweep

Baseball News
Pirates continue roll

Baseball News
Pirates overtake Houston for 12th straight win

VIEW FROM THE EAST
Pirates grind to success

Baseball News
ECU edges Campbell, 7-6

Baseball News
Pirates clinch AAC crown

More News & Features

ECU Schedules

  • ECU 2021 Football Schedule
  • ECU 2020-21 Basketball Schedule
  • ECU 2021 Baseball Schedule

ECU Recruiting

  • Football Recruiting Class of 2021
  • Football Recruiting Class of 2020
  • Football Recruiting Class of 2019
  • Football Recruiting Class of 2018
  • Football Recruiting Class of 2017
  • Hoops Recruiting Class of 2021-22
  • Hoops Recruiting Class of 2020-21
  • Hoops Recruiting Class of 2019-20
  • Hoops Recruiting Class of 2018-19
  • Hoops Recruiting Class of 2017-18
  • Hoops Recruiting Class of 2016-17
Tweets by bonesville

Past Football Schedules

  • ECU 2020 Football Schedule
  • ECU 2019 Football Schedule
  • ECU 2018 Football Schedule
  • ECU 2017 Football Schedule
  • ECU 2016 Football Schedule
  • ECU 2015 Football Schedule
  • ECU 2014 Football Schedule
  • ECU 2013 Football Schedule
  • ECU 2012 Football Schedule
  • ECU 2011 Football Schedule
  • ECU 2010 Football Schedule
  • ECU 2009 Football Schedule
  • ECU 2008 Football Schedule
  • ECU 2007 Football Schedule
  • ECU 2006 Football Schedule
  • ECU 2005 Football Schedule
  • ECU 2004 Football Schedule
  • ECU 2003 Football Schedule
  • ECU 2002 Football Schedule
  • ECU 2001 Football Schedule
  • ECU 2000 Football Schedule
  • Historical Schedules

Past Basketball Schedules

  • ECU 2019-20 Basketball Schedule
  • ECU 2018-19 Basketball Schedule
  • ECU 2017-18 Basketball Schedule
  • ECU 2016-17 Basketball Schedule
  • ECU 2000-2015 Basketball Archives

Past Baseball Schedules

  • ECU 2020 Baseball Schedule
  • ECU 2019 Baseball Schedule
  • ECU 2018 Baseball Schedule
  • ECU 2017 Baseball Schedule
  • ECU 2016 Baseball Schedule
  • ECU 2015 Baseball Schedule
  • ECU 2001-2014 Baseball Archives

Recruiting Class Profiles

ECU Recruiting News
Pirates aim high for interior line talent

ECU Recruiting News
Well stocked Pirates enter fray for O-linemen

ECU Recruiting News
ECU faces uphill battle in hunt for tight ends

ECU Recruiting News
Pirates cast wide net for wide receivers

ECU Recruiting News
Loaded Pirates still courting running backs

ECU Recruiting News
ECU targets quarterbacks of the future

AAC Football Recruiting News
Transfer portal reshaping AAC football programs

Class of 2022 Defensive Report Card
ECU’s former weak link becoming big strength (updated)

Class of 2022 Offensive Report Card
Help is on the way for blocking corps (update 3)

American Athletic Conference Recruiting
Bearcats lead AAC’s early signing push

Class of 2022 In-depth Analysis
Surprises, depth highlight early recruiting haul

VIEW FROM THE EAST
‘What a difference a year makes’

Football Recruiting Report
Prolific receiver Webb may enroll early

Football Recruiting Report
Another gifted running back headed to ECU

Football Recruiting Report
ECU wins pledge from hotly recruited RB Gunn

Football Recruiting Report
Coveted lineman Sacra may enroll early

Football Recruiting Report
Pirates lure a star from DB factory

VIEW FROM THE EAST
Harrell on quest for unanimous effort

Football Recruiting Report
West Craven star Mims sticking close to home

VIEW FROM THE EAST
Pirates ready for preseason camp

Football Recruiting Report
Lineman built his future during COVID layoff

Football Recruiting Report
Norcross star on track for early enrollment

VIEW FROM THE EAST
Pirates pulling from portal

Football Recruiting Report
Big man Allen tapping into ‘nasty side’

Football Recruiting Report
ECU gets one of NC’s top D-line prospects

Recent Web Roundups

GREG VACEK'S WEB ROUNDUP
Saturday, May 28, 2022

GREG VACEK'S WEB ROUNDUP
Friday, May 27 2022

GREG VACEK'S WEB ROUNDUP
Thursday, May 26, 2022

Writer Archives

  • Bonesville Staff
  • Brian Bailey
  • Sammy Batten
  • Bethany Bradsher
  • Brett Friedlander
  • Al Myatt
  • NFF
  • Greg Vacek
  • Danny Whitford

Recent Web Roundups

GREG VACEK'S WEB ROUNDUP
Saturday, May 28, 2022

GREG VACEK'S WEB ROUNDUP
Friday, May 27 2022

GREG VACEK'S WEB ROUNDUP
Thursday, May 26, 2022

GREG VACEK'S WEB ROUNDUP
Wednesday, May 25, 2022

GREG VACEK'S WEB ROUNDUP
Monday, May 23, 2022

GREG VACEK'S WEB ROUNDUP
Sunday, May 22, 2022

GREG VACEK'S WEB ROUNDUP
Saturday, May 21, 2022

More Web Roundups

Copyright © 2022 Bonesville.net · Website by Seaport Webworks. · Log in · Privacy Policy