His mom died when he was just 5, and it was thoughts about her that contributed to his emotion on national signing day.
Simmons is someone, his former high school coach Josh Shaffer will tell you, whose inner drive helped him overcome obstacles that have dragged down many of his peers.
“He wears No. 31 because that was the date his mother passed away when he was a kid, so that's struggle No. 1," Shaffer said. "And then, struggle No. 2, growing up in Fort Pierce, here's a city that is in the top 100 for overall crime rate in the country. So it's not exactly the best place to grow up and become your best self. He overcame a lot of that and really transformed into a great human being overall more than just a great football player."
The new Husker gives much of the credit to the man with the same name. Greg Simmons Sr. was always there to keep his son's head on straight during the hardest of times.
Just like he was there for that signing day ceremony to deliver a special message.
"Greg, I want to tell you I love you," his father said. "If your mama lived today, she'd be proud of you, too."
