Georgia Tech’s Antonio Simmons didn’t get drafted on Saturday but he’ll get his shot as he’s signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as an UDFA.
The Georgia Tech football program was one of a handful of power five programs this week who did not have any players selected in this year’s NFL Draft. That being said, they have had two Yellow Jackets sign with NFL teams as an undrafted free agent. The first player to sign with a team on Saturday night was defensive end Antonio Simmons. Simmons signed with the NFC South’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Congratulations to DL Antonio Simmons, who has agreed to join the @Buccaneers as a free agent! #ProJackets #GTProud pic.twitter.com/9YUBGqBudu
— Georgia Tech Football (@GeorgiaTechFB) April 28, 2018
A former three-star prospect coming out of high school, Simmons didn’t have a ton of D1 options according to his 247Sports profile. Outside of the Yellow Jackets, Simmons had just three other options with Army, UCF, and USF being his only known offers. Despite the lack of offers, Simmons would end up at Georgia Tech and did enough to get himself a shot an NFL roster this fall.
Simmons over his four years at Tech totaled 81 career tackles, 7.5 sacks, 17 tackles for a loss, four forced fumbles and one pass deflection. Had Simmons gone just off Simmons career totals, it may not have been enough to earn him a training camp invite however a strong pro day workout gave Simmons a fighting chance.
Next: Georgia Tech Football: Cornerback Corey Griffin signs with San Francisco 49ers
At his Pro Day, Simmons ran a shocking sub 4.5 forty-yard dash which for defensive ends is relatively unheard especially at 6-foot-3 and 245-pounds. Simmons will need to show more than he did this upcoming summer than he did at Georgia Tech if he’s going to make an NFL roster. If he can show a quicker get off and urgency to get to the quarterback, Simmons could find himself in a favorable situation.