How Emery Simmons' family-first mindset has paved his own path for success

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A single look at Emery Simmons' recruitment throughout high school can tell you a lot.

Coming out of South View High School in Hope Mills, North Carolina, Simmons was a three-star prospect who was on the radar of multiple different programs. As he narrowed his decisions throughout his recruitment, Simmons spent various amounts of time committed to three different schools: Indiana, Penn State, and his eventual choice North Carolina.

Some may say that Simmons' apparent indecisiveness could prove to be detrimental to a program, citing his appearance in the transfer portal in November of the 2021 season as a evidence of a move that was "only inevitable with time".

Yet, those same people simultaneously wouldn't have a clue as to why the now-senior wideout took such a unique path to Indiana.

"When I was on the road, it was not the easiest thing to do," Simmons said of his decision to attend North Carolina on Monday. "For me, I felt like it was going to be difficult for me to actually grow and mature as a man. So I just sat down with my parents, we talked about it, prayed about it, and I just decided to stay closer to home because I didn't want to miss my little brother."

The bond Simmons and his brother shares is extremely close. Not only is it important to him to be there for his monumental moments as he grows and develops as a young man, but it makes it clear that Simmons priorities are set in stone: Family comes first, everything else comes second.

"The whole time, he's been growing up and doing his thing, sports, everything," Simmons said. "I've kind of been in college so I haven't really seen it. So I mean, when I did get the chance to go home at Carolina when I was there, it was an hour and 45 minutes to home. So if he had a game or something, I'd go home and see it and come right back up to school."

SImmons' transfer has certainly been an adjustment for both sides, but as his younger brother has matured, the opportunity to stay close while not physically close has materialized as well.

"Now we're a little bit farther, but I mean, now he's getting to the age where he's on social media and everything so I can still chat it up with him and kind of joke around with him and everything, and he's coming into his own," Simmons said.

Simmons brother isn't a football player, however. Instead, he's chosen basketball as his sport of focus. So, while in some areas he can't relate, they do share a few things in common. One of those commonalities is their trainer, who also happens to be their dad.

"He's starting to feel the repercussions of my dad being his coach and training him," Simmons said as he cracked a smile. "He called me up like, 'Dad's making me mad, getting on my nerves.' I'm like, 'You got it, we all went through it, I went through it, you better toughen up, that's all I can tell you.'"

Emery knows that the tough love he received from his father helped develop him into the man and athlete he's become today, and it's what he wants to pass onto his little brother now.

"With me and him, it's tough love from far away," Simmons said.

Emery does have his father to thank for a lot of his work, as they established a strong routine from an early age that allowed him to flourish into such strong opportunities for himself. The routine began to be so much to the point that his coaches would have to tell him to stop the extra workouts because of the fatigue it caused during the team's practices.

"That's just the mindset my dad instilled in me, with him being a former military guy," Simmons said. "Those guys knew what I was trying to do, I just wanted to be great. That's all I wanted was to show consistency and be great at whatever I do. If I put myself in that situation, then I wanted to put my best effort forward."

Although he's much further away from his family back home than he ever has been, there is a sense of familiarity here at Indiana. In fact, it's largely what enticed Simmons to originally commit to IU in the first place.

So, when Simmons made the decision to enter the portal and leave North Carolina, it didn't take long for him to find his home away from home. To Simmons, not only is Bloomington the best place to be for him to play his college football and emerge as a leader, but there's an evident reciprocation of his close-to-heart values.

"Coming back around in the portal, it was just like 'Why even think about it?'", Simmons said. "[I] already know coach Allen, coach Allen knows you, like, you love him, he loves you and I know what this football team stands on. LEO, love each other, why not go ahead and solidify it and just come?

"I love just being around good quality people. You can't beat it. You're gonna enjoy yourself wherever you go and no matter if it's two hours away, 11 hours away, eight hours up the road, if you're somewhere you genuinely, genuinely feel love and the camaraderie between you and your teammates, you're gonna love it and you're gonna ball out for them."

Among all of those new teammates, one that remains the same is Josh Henderson, another former Tar Heel who transferred to Indiana this past winter. Although his little brother is back at home, having Henderson still in the same uniform means there's still a brotherhood even in a much different-looking Indiana locker room.

"Josh and I live together now, so that's my guy," Simmons said. "Like, that's a guy I would love to help me in an alley if I ever needed help in a fight because he is a true ride-or-die. If you down for him, he down for you, 100 percent."

Henderson's own college decision was unknown to Simmons until he received a text from him while he was riding around his hometown. Once he heard of his decision, however, it became even more of a no-brainer than it was before.

"He had texted me like, 'Hey, I know where we going,'" Simmons explained. "I was like, 'What you mean you know where we're going?' because I had heard other rumors about him going other places. He said, 'I'm going to IU,' and I said, 'Indiana?', and he said 'Yeah, what you gotta do?', and I said 'I guess I'm coming then.'"

Simmons paused after his story, laughing as he finally came back around.

"That was all she wrote."

Simmons figures to be a steady target in a dynamic crop of wideouts in the cream and crimson this season, carrying experience and confidence on his side. Yet, it won't be an emergence should it happen. Instead, it would be the culmination of a journey that only someone with the mentality and drive that Simmons has could endure.

The only thing to do now is watch.

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