TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCTV) – \u201cSeeing the stuff he does doesn\u2019t seem real,\u201d said Godby junior Jayse Doss of his teammate, Jamarin Simmons. \u201cThe one hand, the way he goes over people.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s 24\/7 always open. If he\u2019s guarded, he\u2019s still getting open,\u201d added Godby head coach John Holston.<\/p>\n
That is what\u2019s made the Godby wide receiver one of the top recruits in the country.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m just always open,\u201d said Simmons. \u201cEvery time I run a route, a kid is like, he\u2019s always open, he\u2019s always open.\u201d<\/p>\n
It\u2019s also earned him one of the best nicknames in the game.<\/p>\n
\u201cEverybody just started calling me Waffle House.\u201d<\/p>\n
Waffle House, because like the American institution, Simmons is always open, 24-7-365.<\/p>\n
\u201cLast year it caught fire and became a trended thing,\u201d said Holston. \u201cI started seeing kids around the area with him on their phones as a screensaver which was a little weird at first, but now I guess it\u2019s reasonable.\u201d<\/p>\n
Never smothered or covered, the nickname has lived up to the hype, as earlier this month, Simmons\u2019 talent on the field made him one of just eleven high school football players to sign an NIL deal with Nike.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis man\u2019s in high school with a Nike NIL deal, can\u2019t be real,\u201d said Doss. \u201cFor him to be a big athlete like this is insane for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTo have a kid come out of Tallahassee and to get everything that\u2019s done nationally in Tallahassee right at Godby serving one of the poorest zip codes in Florida, that\u2019s huge,\u201d added Holston. \u201cIt just shows that you don\u2019t have to go anywhere special to get what you need. If you put in the work, you can get it and they\u2019ll find you.\u201d<\/p>\n
Work that\u2019s earned him the respect of his teammates, and made them better in return.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s a five-star for a reason, so going against a five-star everyday perfecting my craft and making me improve, me also pushing him as a player,\u201d said Doss.<\/p>\n
\u201cI push them to be the best. To be the best you have to go against the best,\u201d said Simmons. \u201cI feel like a leader. All my teammates look up to me. Not many kids make it out to do what I\u2019m going to go do. It\u2019s a blessing.\u201d<\/p>\n
That\u2019s an order, we can get behind.<\/p>\n
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