Simon says Texas is the choice

I’ll leave it to the discernible reader to decide if there’s one or two plays on words in the title. 

As you now know and what we’ve long suspected, Shreveport (La.) Calvary Baptist Academy’s James Simon, is a Longhorn commit. Simon had been recruited by Texas for a long time, though there were points of ramping up and ramping down. Simon, the On3 Industry Ranking No. 9 running back in the country, joins a positively loaded running back room. Though, because of the assembly line nature of Texas products leaving for the NFL, he may never play with Jaydon Blue and he may only overlap with CJ Baxter for one season. 

The rapid departures of running backs in which both Bijan Robinson and Jonathon Brooks left after three years explains why Tashard Choice has free rein from Steve Sarkisian to take two running backs in every class. That, and many of the players, such as Keilan Robinson and Tre Wisner, provide a lot of value on special teams. 

Simon’s running style often looks like that of a smaller back. I say that as a compliment thanks to his East-West agility. But make no mistake, he’s only looking for daylight to get North-South. Having stood next to Simon yesterday in Nashville, I was surprised by his size. He’s 6-foot, 200 pounds and combines elusiveness with power in a way that reminds me of Duke Catalon. 

Simon pairs well with fellow Texas commit Rickey Stewart who has a cut-and-go slashing style. 

So what’s next for Choice? Probably landing his best recruiting haul in 2026 as he’s already well positioned with a handful of elite talents in a LOADED instate cycle and even has a commitment from Aledo’s Raycine Guillory.

Having his 2025 class wrapped up so early will allow Choice to focus on those 2026 studs.

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