According to On3’s Pete Nakos, the Oregon Ducks have landed defensive lineman Jerome Simmons out of the NCAA transfer portal. Simmons was previously in the Boot with Louisiana-Monroe and South Carolina after coming to FBS football via JUCO. Now, the 2026 season will be spent in the Pacific Northwest under head coach Dan Lanning.
Simmons missed the early portion of the year, not making his 2025 debut until Sept. 20 against UTEP. He wound up playing in eight games, recording 10 tackles and even a pass breakup. All of this came while being classified as a redshirt junior by ULM’s official roster.
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One year of eligibility will remain for Simmons. This comes because of his lone season in Columbia with South Carolina. Simmons did not get to play for the Gamecocks, opting to redshirt the entire year. Probably not the plan he imagined but it’s turned into a positive as an opportunity to play for Oregon has opened up.
Multiple other big-name schools were involved in Simmons’ portal recruitment. NC State hosted him on a visit, as did the Florida Gators. Both of those are close to home, originally being from Bamberg (SC) Bamberg-Ehrhardt. Simmons will instead head up to Big Ten country.
