Recruits from Florida find brotherhood in shared Husker loyalty

A couple of guys from the Sunshine State with a shared loyalty to Nebraska football. They're quite sure the fun is just starting.

"I feel like that’s my brother, like I’ve known him for a really long time," said Bootle, a Husker cornerback commit from Miami. "We always hit each other up randomly, check on each other to see how we’re doing. I can tell you this: I’m pretty confident both of us will be signing with the Huskers on Signing Day. He’s all in, I’m all in."

Brothers. Yeah, that description works for Simmons, the linebacker from Fort Pierce, who turned away an opportunity from Miami to commit to Nebraska in June.

Simmons said he's since formed a close connection with several players committed to the Huskers: Bootle, JoJo Domann, J.D. Spielman. They talk about their plans. Big plans.

"We want a Big Ten championship. That’s possible. We believe in it," Simmons said. "We know we got the right coaches and we know we got the right players. It’s there."

Simmons knew for sure Nebraska was the place for him as he watched games this fall. He wasn't playing and yet he was … wait, was he nervous? Yes, he was.

He wanted the Huskers to win so much.

“Oh, man. Honestly, it felt like a death in the family when they lost. It really hurt," he said. "That’s how I knew I was really committed to the program and saying I’m all in."

There is another layer to it. Simmons' godfather, Wonderful Monds, was a defensive back at Nebraska in 1974-75, earning first-team All-America honors (Football News) as a senior.

So Simmons didn't need much of a history lesson on Husker football during the recruiting process.

"We always talk about Nebraska every time I see him," Simmons said. "One thing I always try to do is compete with his stats, so it’s going to be kind of fun to have him behind my back 100 percent."

Both Simmons and Bootle got to where they are with the help of strong mentors. They are quick to credit their family's support.

"We don’t have the best life, but we make it happen," Simmons said. "We’re just staying the right way in my household."

And Bootle? Randy Scoates has trained him the past three years at his Idolmaker Physique and Performance gym. He saw the maturity in Bootle from the first meeting.

"He was one of the handful of athletes we have where his dad comes and stays from beginning to end, right there with him, and that’s most of the time," Scoates said. "His dad is really involved with what he does, which is what we like to see."

When you get to Bootle the athlete, speed comes up first.

The 5-11, 175-pound cornerback reportedly ran 40 yards in 4.34 seconds at a satellite camp in front of NU coaches in Miami in June. Those who have seen him run in person vouch for it. He last year blew away kids in the 100 meters at a district meet in Dade County, posting a time of :10.64.

When Husker coaches saw that quickness up close, they did not hesitate. A week after the camp, an offer. Bootle committed in the summer and hasn't looked back.

“You look at the term 'commitment,' it’s not a term you should use lightly," Bootle said. "I think when you’re committed, you should be true to your commitment."

And for those coaches in the Southeast who have a problem with satellite camps? Perhaps it's good to hear the opinion from the people who really matter in this deal — you know, like one of the kids it affects.

Bootle now has a scholarship to Nebraska because of one of those satellite camps.

"At the end of the day it gives kids a chance for more exposure," Bootle said. "Being able to say, 'OK, I can’t make it to Nebraska for a camp, but I like Nebraska and that’s the school I aspire to go to.' And now these kids have a chance in their own backyard to showcase their own talents for Nebraska. Instead of having to spend their own money and travel to Nebraska and then risking the chance of not getting an offer from the school, then it feeling like kind of a wasted trip."

In Bootle's case, those schools in his backyard had their chances and didn't offer.

Miami, which recently switched head coaches from Al Golden to Mark Richt, has made calls of late to Bootle, according to Scoates.

Bootle isn't budging.

“We thought it was funny that when Golden was at Miami, he didn’t offer him, and neither did Florida State, yet they named him best corner at their camps," Scoates said. "Miami is wanting him now, I’ll tell you that."

Besides wanting to continue to grow as a cornerback, Bootle said he definitely has an interest in returning kicks at NU.

Scoates has video of a play where Bootle just flat outruns 10 guys on the field to make a play. This is down in Miami, mind you. Fast dudes everywhere. Not as fast as Bootle. "Blazing fast," Scoates said. "A man amongst boys out there."

Bootle said it's taken work to get that fast. "I'm a worker. I'm willing to put in the work."

It is work that has just started.

His focus every day is on becoming a better football player in every facet.

"I don’t want to just focus on one thing or two things," Bootle said. "If I’m good at something, I want to keep working at it so that way I can continue to be good at it and get even better at it. And if I’m bad at something, I want to work at that even more."

He has felt connected to Nebraska coaches since Day One because "they kept it real with me" and never lied during the recruiting process.

Simmons, meanwhile, has long considered Nebraska one of those top scholarship offers out there.

He could have gone down the road to Miami, but he's been around that lifestyle his whole life. Time for something new. Time to chase big goals with new friends.

"To me, it’s just about getting out and doing things a lot of people in my community have never done before," Simmons said. "Just getting out of Florida. A lot of people in my hood, or my community, have never been out of Florida. Some of them have never been out of Fort Pierce, Florida. Just getting out of Florida and starting a whole new life. It's going to be great, man."