It's a new rankings release week at Rivals, and one Michigan State commit has moved up from a three-star to a four-star prospect.
Class of 2025 defensive tackle Derrick Simmons has been bumped up from a rating of 5.7 to a rating of 5.8 to earn his fourth star.
"I’m very grateful for the bump on Rivals," Simmons told Spartans Illustrated. "I think my years of hard work have paid off, and it’s being represented by this bump. All my hours of lifting, practicing, studying film, etc. are very much worth it."
Simmons committed to Michigan State on June 27. He took an official visit to East Lansing during the weekend of June 14.
He has returned to Michigan State many times since his official visit. Simmons was in East Lansing for the "Spartan Dawg Con" event in July. He also took various game-day visits throughout the 2024 season, including for MSU's matchups against Florida Atlantic on Aug. 30, Ohio State on Sept. 28 and Indiana on Nov. 2.
He is planning to sign with the Spartans in December and enroll at MSU in January.
Simmons currently ranks as the No. 10 prospect in the state of Michigan and No. 43 defensive tackle in the 2025 cycle, however, the position rankings and state rankings will not update until Thursday or Friday this week, and Simmons is expected to rise significantly in both categories as well.
At this point in the 2024 season, Simmons has helped lead Frankenmuth High School to an undefeated record of 13-0. The Eagles have a semifinal matchup against Grand Rapids Catholic Central High School on Saturday at 1 p.m. Eastern Time. The winner of that game advances to the Michigan High School Athletic Association (MHSAA) Division 5 State Championship on Nov. 30 to play the winner of the contest between Flat Rock and Pontiac Notre Dame Prep.
Prior to his Michigan State official visit, Simmons took official visits to Cincinnati and Northwestern. After his trip to MSU, he took official visits to Purdue and Illinois before eventually announcing his pledge to the Spartans.
In addition to the schools mentioned above, Simmons also had scholarship offers from Akron, Boston College, Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan, Toledo and Vanderbilt.
Simmons now becomes the second four-star commit in Michigan State's 2025 recruiting class. He joins cornerback LaRue Zamorano III as the Spartans' current four-star pledges.
