Simmons unlikely to play in Northwest's playoff opener

Northwest Missouri State head football coach Adam Dorrel confirmed previous published reports Thursday that senior running back Jordan Simmons did get injured in practice Tuesday.

He would not specify what the injury was and also didn't completely rule Simmons out of Saturday's first round playoff game against Harding (Ark.) at Bearcat Stadium.

"All I can say is he sustained an injury at practice," said Dorrel. "He is being evaluated. Will he play or not this week? Probably not. That's not 100 percent for sure yet."

Simmons' injury was reported as a broken arm on D2football.Com and by the St. Joseph News-Press Wednesday. It was also reported that he underwent surgery Wednesday, a procedure Simmons referred to during a tweet beforehand.

A source was quoted in the D2football.com article as saying the injury was a result of a "freak accident." This part was confirmed by Dorrel.

"That would be a very good way to term it," said Dorrel. "He was fielding a punt. He got ran into by a receiver on the opposite end of the field that extended his pattern a little bit longer. The pattern went long and it was a bad position."

Should Simmons have to sit out for any length of time, it would be a huge blow to Northwest Missouri State's chances of making a deep playoff run.

Simmons is Northwest's leading receiver with a career-high 50 catches, second leading rusher with 450 yards and 10 touchdowns and punt/kickoff returner.

Simmons was recently selected second team All-MIAA as a returner and honorable mention All-MIAA at running back.

"If he doesn't play, I would probably say right now we'd miss him wholeheartedly," said Dorrel. "If he doesn't play, probably the biggest thing would be in the passing game, first, and then going into the return game."

Fellow lead back James Franklin III would stand to see an increase in carries if Simmons is not available.

He leads the Bearcats in rushing with 723 yards and 12 touchdowns.

It could also mean more work for back-ups Billy Creason, Denver Lohnes and Kohlman Adema-Schulte.

It's a murkier situation in the receiving and return games as to who would fill Simmons' shoes.

Senior receiver Tyler Shaw stands back with Simmons on kick-offs, and could be asked to handle punt return duties as well.

"I think what we've done a little bit is tweaked what we're going to do this week from a passing standpoint and a return man standpoint," said Dorrel. "I'm confident in the kids we got. They'll step up. We always talk this time of year about injuries are going to happen and kids have got to be ready."

Simmons, a three-year starter, has not missed a game due to injury over the last three years.