Pair of Bloomingdale stars making waves
VALRICO, Fla. (BVM) — They’ve been friends since the seventh grade, and now they’ll finish their high school careers on the same football field. Quarterback Tre Simmons and five-star Alabama commit Agiye Hall both ended up at Bloomingdale High School following transfers from Jefferson and Seffner Armwood, respectively.
Now they have used their talents to lead the Bulls to a 5-0 start, blowing most teams out of the water because of this elite offensive connection.
“He’s my boy,” Simmons said. “We always played together, so once we got to play together officially, it just became natural.”
Through these first five games, Simmons has passed for 800 yards and eight touchdowns, registering an additional three on the ground. Hall has racked up 418 receiving yards to go along with five touchdowns.
i’m gonna be the best … pic.twitter.com/qFZimkGq4m
— agiye Hall (@HallAgiye) June 11, 2020
Both players, overflowing with football skill, say that playing with one another makes it a lot easier to produce this kind of output.
“It helps me a lot to know you have somebody that can bail you out, help you out no matter the pass you throw or catch you make,” Simmons said. “…It’s no doubt, the ball’s in the air he’s gonna come down with it. It makes it easy for me to get the ball to him no matter what the situation.”
Aside from effortlessly supplying big-time numbers, having these two in your arsenal makes it a lot easier to call plays offensively. With opposing defenses needing to key in on this super duo, things open up for their teammates.
Head coach Jacob Coulson talked about his players’ strengths and what makes them so effective in his system.
“Everybody always said he (Hall) wasn’t a team player but he’s been nothing but a team player since he got here,” Coulson said. “I’ve been very impressed with his blocking on the perimeter for our run game as much as I have been with him catching the football and going and scoring.”
As for Simmons, the less-touted of the two, his talent is still right up there with the best recruits in the world of football.
I Wanna Be Legendary So Bad I Can’t Sleep At Night . pic.twitter.com/eH0TQtN6Kl
— tre2️⃣ (@TreSimmons8) September 29, 2019
“He’s (Simmons) probably a tick undersized for the big dogs of D1 football, but he can throw it just as good as any Power 5 guy,” Coulson said. “He has probably some of the best touch on a football, especially on a fade, post, any deep ball that I’ve seen on a high school QB and I’ve been doing this for a while.“
College recruiters have evaluated their talents the same way. When their time at Bloomingdale comes to a draw, they’ll both be competing at the next level. For Agiye, the 6-foot-3 wide receiver, he’s the No. 10-ranked pass-catcher in the nation. With that type of hype, committing to Nick Saban’s Crimson Tide was an obvious choice.
With NFL potential and the opportunity to be utilized heavily in Alabama’s system, there couldn’t be a better landing spot for Hall.
“The excitement and love I’ve been getting, I want to see it in person,” Hall said. “That’s something a lot of schools lack, especially with their commitments.”
Simmons has benefitted from playing alongside Hall, with his recruiting beginning to pick up steam. He currently holds an offer from Division II Chadron State College, but is garnering interest from the Division I Arkansas – Pine Bluff Lions. If he keeps playing the way he has been, there’s a likely chance that he’ll have more offers to pick through.
But in the face of all their accomplishments, neither player has won a state championship. That’s something they hope to achieve together and add to their resume before it’s all over, bringing their longtime friendship through football full circle.
“We just have to stick together through adversity. Keep fighting through the whole season,” Simmons said. “When we play together, it’s kind of hard to beat us.”
