Skip to main content

Recruiting Update: Will Matt Simms Transfer to Lehigh?

It's the heat of football recruiting season, and slowly but surely the list of potential incoming freshmen at Lehigh next fall are trickling in. But it's actually a rumored potential transfer - and an unconfirmed one at that - that is proving to be the most interesting.

You may have heard that the son of a Morehead State quarterback alumnus - more well known as Phil Simms, Super Bowl MVP for the New York Giants and current NFL commentator for CBS - is transferring.

That would be Louisville redshirt freshman quarterback Matt Simms, who attended the high school powerhouse Don Bosco in New Jersey and is escaping a logjam at quarterback with the Cardinals. Simms had a memorable time in Louisville for all the wrong reasons, starting his career with a four game suspension for "violating team rules" (click on the link to see what it is) and getting a lot of hate from the Louisville fan base after exactly one game in mop-up duty against Pittsburgh. This is in addition to flipping St Peter's fans the bird in the state championship game in New Jersey in 2006.

Some think that "bad-boy" Simms might be best served by going the junior college route, but one source on the Lehigh message board said the following:

Ok here's the story. Understand I know nobody, have no "sources" and read but am not a poster here. I am an LU grad and fan of the team. My dad works at Showtime and in talking to Phil he mentiontoned(sic) to him that should he consider 1AA he will have LU on that list.

Like the poster here, I have no inside information in regards to his (or his father's) interest in his coming to Lehigh to play quarterback. I also don't know if he's academically qualified to become a Mountain Hawk, nor do I know if Matt Simms is ready to "grow up" - since he'd undoubtedly need to do so in order to remain a student at Lehigh. I do know that sophomore QB J.B. Clark just finished a pretty good season this year, and Simms certainly wouldn't be given the starting quarterback position based on his last name alone - he has to work and beat a very good quarterback to become the starter. Conceivably, he wouldn't be the starter until Clark graduates, which (barring injuries) would be Simms' senior year.

But there seems to be just enough to this rumor - a Don Bosco star from New Jersey, a Louisville alumnus on the coaching staff that might just have an in with the Cardinals (linebackers coach Matt Sanders) - and a kid that may need a second chance at an FCS school - that it's worth repeating here.

Might we be seeing Matt Simms in the Brown & White? Stay tuned.

*************

On the recruiting front, the first Lehigh commit has hit the papers: and it's a product from the coal region that Schylkill Haven fans are raving about.

It's RB Zach Barket, who verbally committed to Lehigh just yesterday.

If you read the article, most of the focus is on the fact that Barket was robbed of a spot on the coveted "Big 33" and PSFCA postseason teams, despite the career totals of the 5' 10, 205 lb running back bordering on the ridiculous.

Try 4,195 yards and 66 touchdowns. And that's not for a career. Thats in a single season.

He's a huge get for Lehigh, maybe as big as freshman RB Nate Eachus' signing at Colgate last year. Barket has an impressive statewide trophy case, including Gatorade’s Pennsylvania Player of the Year Award, the Old Spice Red Zone Pennsylvania Player of the Year, the AP Class A Co-Player of the Year, Pennsylvania Football News Mr. Football, Maxpreps Small School National Player of the Year and The Republican & Herald All-Area Offensive Player of the Year.

If that's not enough, how about watching a highlight video? Or two? Holy cow. (Note: you have to be a Scout.com subscriber to watch them.)

[UPDATE: For those that don't have a Scout.com subscription, here's one highlight reel that was recently posted on YouTube. Beast.]

****

Other prospectives that have been linked to Lehigh:

QB/LB/P Matt Falcone (Palmerton HS, PA)

The skinny: This three-sport athlete has been accepted at Penn State - but not for football, where Lehigh, Lafayette and Colgate are interested. Looks to fit best at linebacker, where he amassed 111 tackles for Palmerton last year.

WR/DB/P/K Wade Brogdon (Brookwood HS, GA)

The skinny: Another three-sport athlete with a 3.9 GPA, he was Gwinnett area defensive back of the year with 6 interceptions while also punting, kicking and playing wide receiver. Princeton, Carnegie Mellon and Lehigh are rumored to be interested.

RB/LB Brendan Pidgeon (Oneonta HS, NY)
The skinny: Once rumored to be on Syracuse's radar, this all-state runningback (and heavyweight wrestler) has been linked to Lehigh ina recent report.

DE/LB James Frazier (Elizabeth HS, NJ)
The skinny: Has listed Lehigh, Rhode Island and Penn State as schools he's interested in on his profile (which includes video). He's listed as "fairly raw" but could fit in as an outside linebacker in Lehigh's 3-4. He's also a basketball prospect.

TE/DE Cody Booth (Penn Manor HS, PA)

The skinny: Has listed Lehigh, Boston College, UMass, Villanova, and James Madison as schools he's interested in on his profile (which includes video). At 6'5 215 lb he seems to have established himself as a solid pass-catching threat. The report says he may need to bulk up in the weight room at the college level.

RB/DB Alan Elder (Gonzaga College HS, MD)

The skinny: Has listed Lehigh, James Madison, Illinois, Holy Cross, and Dayton as schools he's interested in on his profile (which includes video). At 5'11 175 he seems like a prototypical speed back at the Patriot League level with "good natural running ability". Report seems overly pessimistic about his college abilities.

TE Nick Cassetta (Lodi HS, NJ)

The skinny: All-Bergen County TE who caught 21 passes for 310 yards and 3 TDs as a senior. Lists Lehigh, Maryland, UConn, Syracuse, and Hofstra as potential destinations. At 6'4 255 lbs, he might end up as a good blocker, too.

S Kevin Sonnet (Dell HS, NJ)
The skinny: This defensive standout presided over the 12-0 Dell HS defense which held all their regular-season opponents to 28 total points on the year. As a junior, he has 70 tackles and was an enforcer - he would fit nicely with the aggressive "D" we have now. Lists Lehigh, Holy Cross, and Bucknell as his college choices.

More as I get them.

Comments

Anonymous said…
HEY - We have an excellent recruit in Chris Lum from Michigan....he has a lively arm and is going to be a sophmore...when he came the talk was that he was pushing Clark for QB. Do we need the drama??
Anonymous said…
I wouldn't get too worked up about Simms. I agree that from all accounts we have three very good QBs right now in Clark, Cisneros and Lum; and that despite Clark's very good year, Lum could push him in the spring.
As for Barkett, that is great news. Sounds like they type of back we lost last year in Eachus to Colgate. A good quck runner with power to take McGowan's role. Hopefully, Walker is healing well and we have a few more coming to the stable. RBs take their toll with the collisions. Probably the one position you need the most depth.
Anonymous said…
Pushing the MVP of the biggest win in four years for the starting job?? The second leading statistical QB in the Patriot League in 2008?? HAHA
Anonymous said…
guys i dont think there will be much of a competition this offseason
I read all the posts of your educational blog, and I feel you will always share different types of knowledge and information on the subject of Dissertation writing. Keep it up!

Popular posts from this blog

How The Ivy League Is Able To Break the NCAA's Scholarship Limits and Still Consider Themselves FCS

By now you've seen the results.  In 2018, the Ivy League has taken the FCS by storm. Perhaps it was Penn's 30-10 defeat of Lehigh a couple of weeks ago .  Or maybe it was Princeton's 50-9 drubbing of another team that made the FCS Playoffs last year, Monmouth.  Or maybe it was Yale's shockingly dominant 35-14 win over nationally-ranked Maine last weekend. The Ivy League has gone an astounding 12-4 so far in out-of-conference play, many of those wins coming against the Patriot League. But it's not just against the Patriot League where the Ivy League has excelled.  Every Ivy League school has at least one out-of-conference victory, which is remarkable since it is only three games into their football season.  The four losses - Rhode Island over Harvard, Holy Cross over Yale, Delaware over Cornell, and Cal Poly over Brown - were either close losses that could have gone either way or expected blowouts of teams picked to be at the bottom of the Ivy League. W

Made-Up Midseason Grades for Lehigh Football

 We are now officially midway through the 2023 Lehigh football season.  The Mountain Hawks sit at 1-5 overall, and 0-1 in the Patriot League. I thought I'd go ahead and make up some midseason grades, and set some "fan goals" for the second half. The 2023 Mountain Hawks were picked to finish fifth in the seven team Patriot League.  In order to meet or exceed that expectation, they'll probably have to go at least 3-2 the rest of the way in conference play.  Their remaining games are vs. Georgetown, at Bucknell, vs. Holy Cross, at Colgate, and vs. Lafayette in The Rivalry. Can they do it? Culture Changing: B+ .  I was there in the Bronx last week after the tough 38-35 defeat to Fordham, and there wasn't a single player emerging from the locker room that looked like they didn't care.  Every face was glum.  They didn't even seem sad.  More frustrated and angry. That may seem normal, considering the agonizing way the Mountain Hawks lost, but it was a marked chan

Fifteen Guys Who Might be Lehigh's Next Football Coach (and Five More)

If you've been following my Twitter account, you might have caught some "possibilities" as Lehigh's next head football coach like Lou Holtz, Brett Favre and Bo Pelini .  The chance that any of those three guys actually are offered and accept the Lehigh head coaching position are somewhere between zero and zero.  (The full list of my Twitter "possibilities" are all on this thread on the Lehigh Sports Forum .) However the actual Lehigh head football coaching search is well underway, with real names and real possibilities. I've come up with a list of fifteen possible names, some which I've heard whispered as candidates, others which might be good fits at Lehigh for a variety of reasons. UPDATE: I have found five more names of possible head coaches that I am adding to this list below. Who are the twenty people?  Here they are, in alphabetical order.