Josh Simmons’ on-field moniker at Ohio State was born out of a bit of necessity.
At a previous school, some teammates tried to combine Simmons’ first and last name into something new, referring to him as “Jim” in that condensed form.
With Josh Fryar projected to start at tackle and Joshua Padilla being an additional backup in the offensive line room, offensive line coach Justin Frye asked if there was something else Simmons could go by to eliminate confusion. He told him of the Jim nickname, and “Jimmy” Simmons was born.
“At first it was something to keep in-house, so when it got on Twitter I was like, ‘Oh, yeah,’” Simmons said.
In some added clarification, Simmons stated he’s going by Jimmy on the field and Josh off of it.
So call him Jimmy, call him Josh, but Ohio State will – likely – be calling upon Simmons to protect the blind side of whichever quarterback wins the starting job for the team.
“He’s bought into the room, he’s bought into the culture,” Frye said. “He’s around the guys. He works the way he’s supposed to. He’s still learning to work some of the ways that he needs to, and he’s around a good room of guys that know how to do that. He’s bought into that. I think that’s been the easiest transition for him.”
When the Buckeyes pulled Simmons from the transfer portal out of San Diego State, the thought was that he’d compete at right tackle, where he’d played his entire collegiate career to that point.
While Ohio State is still working through a rotation of players at different positions along the offensive line, per Frye, Simmons has been working primarily at left tackle in recent practices and was the starter there in the most recent practice open to the media.
Simmons was initially recruited by Frye while he was the offensive line coach at UCLA. Since that time, Frye has seen a lot of growth from Simmons.
“He’s a more mature guy,” Frye said. “That’s the thing when you get these guys from the transfer portal, they’ve known college football. With some of those younger guys that came mid-year, they’re just first-year guys. He’s been in a locker room, he’s played in college football games. So I think the speed of the game is a little slower than an actual rookie.”
His transition into OSU’s “brotherhood” after enrolling this summer happened quickly. Fryar said that Simmons’ personality made him a natural fit with everyone else in the position group.
“I don’t think it took long,” Fryar said. “A couple of days and then we were good after that.”
“At some other schools, they’d be like ‘Hey,’ kind of test the waters a little bit,” Simmons said. “But here it was just open arms. Immediately upon arrival, guys were like, ‘Hey, you want to go hang out after lifts?’ It was amazing.”
Josh Fryar and Jimmy Simmons could be locking down Ohio State's offensive line at tackle in 2023.
His talent stood out to his teammates right away.
“Freaky athleticism,” Fryar said. “Watching film and seeing him go up on a linebacker, it’s kind of scary how he moves.”
One shock upon Simmons’ arrival, he said, was the speed of Ohio State’s defensive ends. He knew players like JT Tuimoloau and Jack Sawyer and Kenyatta Jackson Jr. could rush with quickness off the edge, but just how fast they were took him by surprise.
Going against such pace on the other side has forced Simmons to develop his pass sets in short order. Where he’s made the biggest strides, he feels, is in the angles he takes to cut off defensive ends from his quarterbacks as he kick-slides.
“When you’re talking about pass blocking, especially against these dudes, you’ve got to understand what type of pass play it is, whether it’s long or short,” Simmons said. “So you’ve just got to work on those angles accordingly.”
“What’s the old adage or cliche, ‘iron sharpens iron?’ You’re going against some of the best players in the country on a Tuesday, Wednesday,” Frye said. “You look back to Zach Harrison last year when he was at the (NFL Scouting) combine and they asked him why his game elevated his senior year. He said, ‘Because I went against the two best tackles in the country every day in practice.’ Well, we get that opportunity as tackles now to make sure that we’re getting great edge looks from all those guys.”
Frye said that added to the adjustments Simmons had to make, understanding that every play and every down of practice carries meaning. Especially when one is going against the caliber of player that Ohio State recruits.
“Freaky athleticism. Watching film and seeing him go up on a linebacker, it’s kind of scary how he moves.”– Josh Fryar
There’s no secret to maintaining a perfect angle in pass protection, Frye said. It comes from experience and using the techniques you’re taught.
“You coach the guys and give them tools in their toolbox, the fundamentals,” Frye said. “We talk about getting to the right spot, meaning, ‘What’s the intersection point between where the end is and where the quarterback is?’ So being on that string of basketball players (at tackle), ‘Be in man (defense).’ But the good news is, in football, you can use your hands and be physical, where in basketball it’s a foul. So getting to that spot and then having a plan when you’re at the spot, that’s what you’ve got to work on.”
One person Simmons has leaned on for advice is left guard Donovan Jackson, Ohio State’s returning starter who has made multiple preseason All-American teams off a first-team All-Big Ten season in 2022.
“He has the best mind,” Simmons said. “One of the best minds on the field to pick, especially when it comes to offensive line play. He’s played in those big games, so when I’m going against those big-time players, just turn to him.”
Through Donovan’s help and some of that above-mentioned athleticism, Simmons has set to work making what he feels is a “pretty big” transition from right to left tackle. He’s never played the latter in his career.
“It was a lot of grind,” Simmons said. “Especially in camp, you’re just like, ‘I’ve got another day of this?’ But you’ve just got to put your head down and go to work.”
He isn’t taking his potential starting job for granted. Every day he’s renewing his focus on improvement.
The Buckeyes will hope such strides show up as he takes the field, goes by Jimmy for a few hours and starts protecting their new quarterback’s blindside Sept. 2.
“There’s a lot of expectations,” Simmons said. “I take it with a grain of salt. Maybe I’m kind of making some progress right now, but I’m still trying to work to get better at it.”
