Amid eligibility battle, Justus Ross-Simmons goes for 105 yards against Cal
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The past 48 hours of Justus Ross-Simmons’ life were anything but predictable.
Ross-Simmons woke up Friday morning expecting to suit up for his first collegiate game in 11 months when Syracuse played Cal Saturday afternoon. The fifth-year wideout spent a large chunk of his offseason working for an extra year of eligibility through the NCAA’s new “5 in 5” rule, which can grant some class of 2022 recruits an additional year of eligibility.
But, according to a report from Syracuse.com, Ross-Simmons was removed from a lawsuit in Texas 24 hours before kickoff Saturday, making him ineligible for SU’s contest against Cal. Ross-Simmons hired three lawyers and filed new paperwork around 3:35 p.m. Friday and was granted a restraining order around 6:45 p.m. by Onondaga County Supreme Court Judge Jean Marie Westlake.
“(I) knew it was gonna be a problem,” Ross-Simmons said of his eligibility. “But my agent just took care of everything, so I knew I was gonna be good.”
So, in the span of a few hours, Ross-Simmons went from eligible to ineligible to playing his first college football game in 322 days. Ross-Simmons hauled in six passes for 105 yards, making his season debut as SU’s lead receiver even though the Orange (1-1, 0-1 Atlantic Coast) fell to Cal (1-1, 1-0 ACC) late.
It completed a four-month stretch where Ross-Simmons went from preparing for the NFL to returning to Syracuse, where he’s constantly been in limbo with eligibility concerns. But as long as he’s here — which, currently, is only through Sept. 30, when his injunction hearing is set — Syracuse is happy to have him.
“I’m just thankful to be back,” Ross-Simmons said. “Just take it day by day.”
“He caught the ball well,” SU head coach Fran Brown added. “Justus is a good football player. I’m thankful for having him.”
Ross-Simmons dressed for Syracuse’s Week 1 win over New Hampshire after a Texas judge ruled him eligible through a temporary restraining order prohibiting the NCAA from enforcing eligibility rules against him and other athletes on Aug. 27. Ross-Simmons didn’t play versus UNH, though, as Brown said “it wouldn’t be healthy” to force him back.
On Friday, Ross-Simmons’ name was among 26 dropped from the case in Texas due to jurisdictional concerns. The temporary restraining order from Westlake just a few hours later made Ross-Simmons eligible Saturday.
He made his first catch of the day on SU’s second drive of the game. Steve Angeli fired a ball toward his back shoulder, and Ross-Simmons made an adjustment to get his feet down inside the hashes.
That was his only catch in the first half. The Orange mostly kept the ball on the ground, although Daunte Bacheyie took most of the targets through the air as Angeli started the game relatively slow.
Ross-Simmons came alive in the fourth. He made a 17-yard grab on a third-and-6 and another nine-yard catch to extend SU’s first drive of the fourth.
After Cal took the lead on Kingston Lopa’s pick-six at the 6:18 mark, Syracuse faced a narrow deficit for the second time all game. Angeli went to Ross-Simmons for nine yards on the first play of the drive and missed him four plays later.
Then, on third-and-13 from midfield, Angeli rolled toward the right sideline and was blasted as he fired a prayer toward midfield. Ross-Simmons circled back and made a diving snag at the Cal 24-yard line to keep Syracuse’s hopes alive.
“I’m a lot healthier now,” Ross-Simmons said of the differences in his game. “Last year, I was dealing with a lot of injuries and stuff, but this year, I’m healthy, I’m able to go out there and do what I can do.”
The Orange missed a 46-yard field goal four plays later. But they forced a stop and got another shot to win it 30 seconds after that. Angeli found Ross-Simmons at his back shoulder for 23 yards on the first play of the drive. Then he threw away his last chance with an interception to Lopa on the next play.
Ross-Simmons totaled five catches for 83 yards in the fourth quarter. In his first game back, he gave the Orange a chance to win. They just couldn’t capitalize.
As he sat at the postgame press conference in the bowels of the JMA Wireless Dome, Ross-Simmons was asked what playing Saturday meant to him. Surely, he was affected by the roller coaster of emotions over the past four months. Heck, even the last 48 hours. He’d teetered back and forth with no real certainty for far too long. His future is still murky.
But right now, Ross-Simmons can’t let it change his mindset. When asked if it affected him emotionally, he shook his head.
“No,” he began. “Just stay focused always.”
