Marcus Simms Is Emerging as WVU’s Most Consistent Receiver

It may come as a surprise to some, but junior wide receiver Marcus Simms has arguably become the Mountaineers most reliable target in the passing game.

Through four games, Simms has reeled in 24 receptions for 433 yards and 2 touchdowns. While David Sills V and Gary Jennings have attracted the primary focus of opposing defenses, Simms has gone over 100 receiving yards for three consecutive weeks .

As great as they are, Jennings and Sills have both had moments this year of dropping passes on critical downs. Jennings had a pair of them, back-to-back, in the first half of last week’s game at Texas Tech. Simms has no such memorable errors.

It’s still early, but Simms has seemingly taken over that go-to target role on third down and has flourished. He’s no longer just a deep ball threat, he has added to his game and that becomes a dangerous thought for the rest of the Big 12.

If Simms continues at this pace, it will be almost impossible to stop the Mountaineer offense. Opposing defenses can’t bracket any one WVU receiver, lest they open up the field for easy one-on-one matches somewhere else.

Before the season, we listed Simms as this year’s breakout star, but he’s gone well beyond our preseason expectations. At what point should we look around and crown Simms as an equal to his older receiver teammates?