Mississippi State’s Jeffery Simmons Should Already Be A Piesman Finalist

Jeffery Simmons has gotten the 2017 season started off fairly well. The sophomore stud on the defensive line has been an absolute force against Charleston Southern and Louisiana Tech, with the latter bringing him to the attention of all that are actively paying attention to college football.

A blocked extra point. A blocked punt and then recovering that punt for a touchdown. A scoop and score for 90 yards for his second touchdown. Jeffery Simmons has not been stoppable through the first two games of the season.

And he is now the perfect candidate to be the first to bring the Piesman Trophy to Mississippi State.

In case you don’t know what the Piesman Trophy is, it is, well, you should know some of the history behind it and the reason why it exists. You see, big men make big plays on the football field too. However, most of the attention flocks to running backs, receivers, quarterbacks, and sometimes defensive backs and linebackers.

Linemen don’t receive enough attention. And, in 2015, SB Nation decided to change all of that. And they’re rewarding absurdly beautiful plays made by linemen.

The Piesman Trophy will be awarded for the best play in which a lineman throws, catches, or runs with the ball, because those are things linemen don't usually do. The play can come from any level of college football, from FBS to Division III.

The Piesman rewards plays such as, well, this:

Let’s look at that with titanic music:

And here’s this play, with fun and dirty dancing music:

Simmons has been a controversial name for college football fans given what happened before he enrolled at State, but he has since kept himself out of the attention of onlookers and out of trouble. I wouldn’t be surprised to see this part of Simmons’ past discussed again by casual fans and pundits alike as the season progresses.

That said, it’s my understanding that the Piesman is focusing on big men making big plays, and it’s more than clear that Jeffery Simmons is doing just that. The sophomore might just be the first Piesman Winner for the Mississippi State Bulldogs. He should already be a finalist given his play so far.