La Mesa (Calif.) Helix offensive lineman Josh Simmons opened up his recruitment Tuesday night by decommitting from Oregon. The four-star Simmons ranks as the No. 274 player in the 247Sports Composite.

Simmons committed to Oregon back in January, calling the Ducks his dream offer. They’re still involved moving forward but Simmons said he wanted to go through the process and give other schools a fair shot without being committed.

“It’s a big decision for sure and I made it really early in the process, without seeing a lot of other schools,” Simmons said. “This is a huge decision obviously and I think it’s only fair that I go and take my visits and see what else is out there.

“I had a good conversation with coach Cristonal and he was great to talk with about it. He was very understanding, I thought he might react differently, be all upset but he was great. He’s a very nice coach and I’m sure he knows Oregon will still be the place for me after I look around. That's why they're still very high on my list, he's a great coach and Oregon is a great program so we'll see what happens."

Scholarship offers have been coming in steadily for Simmons over the last month. Michigan and Illinois just offered earlier today and Miami offered on Monday.

Penn State and Michigan State offered over the weekend and you can bet now that he’s back on the market several more schools will try and jump in to the picture.

“I’m still trying to figure out where I want to officially visit but I do have a few schools in mind,” Simmons said. “I’m very interested in Michigan and was really surprised when they offered me. I talked to coach Warinner (OL coach) and they’re definitely in it.

“I also want to visit LSU. Coach O (Orgeron) has been talking to me and told me he wants me to come up and visit and they just won the national championship. They have a great program so I want to see them."



Simmons said Georgia and Texas are two more schools he would like to see.

"I’ve been talking a lot with those schools, before I committed and even after I did, they stayed on me," Simmons said. I like Texas and their tradition and how they play. Same goes for Georgia. They’re one of the most physical teams in the country and just manhandle other teams so I like their style and think I would fit in well."

Simmons is a massive two-way lineman who could end up as a nose guard or offensive guard in college but we like him on the offensive line. He shows quickness of the ball, strength at the point of attack and the ability to cave in the interior of an offensive line by himself.

As a guard, he can overwhelm an opposing defensive lineman with his size and strength. He's a road grader as a run blocker and shows the feet to project as an excellent pass blocker as well. His upside is very high and it's easy to see why he's being recruited at the national level.