Rookie nose tackle earned former star's tweet when he was in high school

Darren Urban

Elijah Simmonswas years away from his own professional opportunity when he stood on the stage during the NFL draft, a member still of his Pearl-Cohn High School team.

He was far from unnoticed, however. J.J. Watt saw to that.

Right about the time Simmons stood in front of the TV cameras in Nashville along with a dozen other top area high school football stars while the hometown Titans were selecting coincidentally, defensive lineman Jeffery Simmons Watt saw the future Arizona Cardinal.

Watt, still with the Texans and a couple of years from spending two seasons with the Cardinals, tweeted: "Can we draft #72 from the Tennessee metro high school team? Kid looks like a beast."

"I didn't see it at first," Simmons said some six years later, reminiscing the moment. "Four or five other guys that were in there, one of them said like, 'Bro, did you see this, who was talking about you?' When I looked and saw it was J.J. Watt, it was crazy."

Simmons responded to Watt, "Trying to get like you my man."

That will take some doing from here. Watt is a future Hall of Famer. Simmons was undrafted in April. But he remains beastly at 6-foot-1 and 335 pounds, a nose tackle trying to find a way into the Cardinals' suddenly deep defensive line room.

The Cardinals liked him at Tennessee enough that he was on the radar as a possible third-day draft pick, and with many veteran defensive linemen limited at minicamp, Simmons got multiple reps with the first unit.

"As an undrafted free agent rookie, that's rare, so take advantage," defensive lineman Calais Campbell said. "Make it look good. He's a big strong guy, I'm sure he bench-presses over 500 pounds. But he works hard. It's hard to get good information this early, but he hasn't messed up much. He's focused and eager."

He seems at peace with the idea the only Simmons he heard called on the NFL draft stage was that day he heard the Titans pick. He knew the Cardinals had interest and said it wasn't the only team but wasn't going to dwell on how he arrived in the pros.

"I never took anything for granted," Simmons said. "When opportunity comes, it comes. I never doubt anything. They pick who they pick. Now I have the opportunity to live out my dreams. I just have to take it with a grain of salt."

Simmons approaches his position room's depth chart the same. He competes. He gleans advice and information from the veterans when he can.

That's exactly the approach his coach wants Simmons to take.

"The battling the depth chart, if you are counting numbers, that's an external factor that's really pointless," Jonathan Gannon said. "Control what you can control and become the best player, because you don't know how it's going to kick out."

Maybe, just maybe, Simmons can find that spot in the NFL that Watt had once suggested. The Cardinals do happen to host the Texans this season.

"Hopefully," Simmons said, "I can meet him at a game."