Mississippi State DT Jeffery Simmons Declares for 2019 NFL Draft

Mississippi State defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons is going to test his skills against the rest of the 2019 NFL draft class.

In a letter released on the Bulldogs' official athletics site, Simmons announced he will forego his final year of college eligibility to turn pro:

Simmons is going out on a high note after recording a career-best 15.5 tackles for loss in 12 games for the Bulldogs this season. 

It would also be hard for Simmons to improve his NFL stock with one more year in college. The Mississippi native is ranked as the No. 4 defensive lineman and No. 9 overall prospect in the 2019 draft class, per B/R's Matt Miller. 

Miller did label Simmons as the biggest question mark among the top defensive linemen because of a 2016 arrest for simple assault after a video was released that appeared to show him hitting a woman. 

"Conversations this week led me to believe that a number of teams will still value Simmons as a Round 1 talent," Miller wrote in October. "Multiple evaluators confirmed first-round grades for him, and one said Simmons is a top-10 player without the video."

The next step for Simmons will be addressing any questions NFL teams have about his character during the pre-draft process. 

Simmons will officially end his college career on Jan. 1 when Mississippi State faces Iowa in the Outback Bowl.