Wahoos beat out Hokies for second commitment within a week in Gaithersburg’s Simpkins III

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Posted on Friday, Apr. 24, 2020, 10:37 pm

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By Jerry Ratcliffe

William Simpkins III (Photo: hudl.com)

For the second time this week, Virginia’s football program has beaten Virginia Tech for a recruit from the Class of 2021.

William Simpkins III, a 6-foot-2, 175-pound cornerback from Gaithersburg, Md., announced on his Twitter account Friday that he has committed to UVA. 

Simpkins had a long list of suitors and chose the Cavaliers over Virginia Tech, NC State, Louisville, Pitt, Syracuse, West Virginia, Georgia Tech, Maryland, Duke, ECU, FIU, Liberty and UMass, all of which offered him a grant-in-aid. Virginia was the first program to offer him.

A 3-star rated prospect, Simpkins is ranked the No. 75 corner in the country by 247Sports (Class of ‘21), while Rivals rated him as the No. 34 overall junior in Maryland. Rivals ranked him as a safety rather than corner.

One of the factors that attracted so many schools to the Marylander was his ability to play tight press defense.

“It doesn’t matter if it’s a 5-star or a no-star receiver, it doesn’t matter, that’s how I play,” Simpkins said. “I play press no matter what.”

There will be more to follow on Simpkins this weekend. You can check out his junior season highlights here.

Earlier in the week, UVA gained a commitment from 4-star defensive end/outside linebacker Josh McCarron of Everett, Wash. McCarron appears on “The Jerry Ratcliffe Show” on Saturday morning (9-10 a.m.) on ESPN-Charlottesville, 102.9 FM & 1450 AM.