Georgia Football: Tyler Simmons from hero to scapegoat
By Eric Taylor
It has been quite a road for former Georgia football wide receiver Tyler Simmons. Once celebrated for what should have been a game-sealing punt block, those cheers have more recently become jeers in his direction.
The play that Georgia football fans will not forget fans happened just over two years ago in Atlanta inside Mercedes-Benz Stadium. As soon as Alabama snapped the ball, you could see that Tyler Simmons had a jump on his man and he was quickly making his way to the punter.
Georgia fans jumped out of their seats as they saw the ball hit the ground and started jumping up and down when Georgia recovered. However, it was not to be.
What came next has not been forgotten, nor will it be any time soon. You could almost hear the united sigh over Georgia as that little yellow flag deflated an entire fan base. Even years after the game, fans still use the hashtag #TylerSimmonsWasOnside. That is how gut wrenching this one missed call was.
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Yet, even more, gut wrenching is how the hero of this tale has been treated by his own fans just two years after this heroic deed.
Simmons is from Powder Springs, Ga. and went to McEachern High School. He committed to Georgia back in 2016 over Alabama, California, Georgia Tech, and Miami. He was a three-star recruit and the No. 34 wide receiver in Georgia that year. So why did so many turn on this once homegrown hero?
Simmons came into the 2019 season as one of the few upperclassmen in Georgia’s receiving room. Fans and media expected a lot from of production from him to balance out the youth the Bulldogs had at receiver. That didn’t exactly go as planned.
In 2019, quarterbacks targeted Simmons 36 times, fourth-most on the team. He wasn’t exactly the go-to receiver or even the top slot guy. He was Georgia’s fourth option in the passing game. Simmons did catch 20 of those passes for a catch percentage just above the 50 percent mark (55.56). However, he was third on the team in yards per catch, (11.85) among receivers with 20-or-more catches.
Simmons was a dynamic weapon for the Bulldogs, but for some reason, the fans couldn’t ignore his drops. The fact of the matter is, Simmons only dropped four targets this past season. Another four of his targets were uncatchable passes by Jake Fromm. So Fromm missed him just as much as he dropped the ball.
Another area where Simmons drew the ire of the fan base is on special teams, the very place where he began to get all his praise. Simmons had a knack for fumbling punts which led to him losing his job as Georgia’s punt returner.
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Even with all his mistakes, Simmons should still be remembered for what he did on that cold night of January in 2018. He’s taken his lumps since then, but he is still a Damn Good Dawg. I hope an NFL team sees his potential and takes a shot on the kid. He’s well worth it. He’s a solid No. 4 or 5 receiver and with some coaching could be a solid return man at the next level.