Within a matter of days, the safety position became a priority for Clemson’s 2016 signing class.
Jayron Kearse and T.J. Green declared for the draft. Jeff Gibson announced his transfer.
Dabo Swinney, Brent Venables and Mike Reed got to work. The Clemson coaches ended up with two in the class: Nolan Turner (Vestavia Hills, Ala.) and Isaiah Simmons (Olathe, Kan.)
Simmons, a four-star, recently spoke to TheClemsonInsider about his Signing Day Eve announcement to Clemson.
When did you know Clemson was going to be the choice?
Simmons: “While I was there, I was kind of getting it — I got that feeling that this is where I wanted to go. I was liking it a lot more than all the others.”
How did the contact with Clemson begin?
Simmons: “After their safeties declared and one transferred, they were like, we don’t have any safeties at all. They kind of went on the hunt for one and I was their No. 1 guy of all the tapes they saw.”
What will you bring to the table?
Simmons: “I’m going to bring some good competition and I’m going to work hard for everything.”
Did it surprise you when Clemson first reached out?
Simmons: “I really was surprised. I was kind of curious why, then when I found out the situation and it made a lot more sense.”
How excited are you to be part of such a highly ranked class?
Simmons: “I’m really excited about it. When it comes to when we’re juniors and seniors and on top of the program, I think that it will be a lot more fun — no that it won’t be fun when we’re young, but because of how much we’ll grow together and be together as a team. It will be a lot of fun to see.”
What are your goals for 2016?
Simmons: “I definitely don’t want to get redshirted and I do want to play early as a freshman.”
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