South Carolina football redshirt senior offensive lineman Torricelli Simpkins lll declared for the 2025 NFL Draft on Jan. 5 after his lone season with the Gamecocks and four years at North Carolina Central University.
Simpkins III started his career at North Carolina Central University (NCCU) where, despite missing his freshman year to COVID-19, he shined. Simpkins III earned MEAC Offensive Lineman of the Year in his redshirt junior year, after being on the First-Team All-MEAC as a sophomore.
After Simpkins III's redshirt junior year at NCCU, he entered the transfer portal and signed with the Gamecocks. Simpkins started all 13 games for South Carolina at right guard.
In his singular season with the Gamecocks, Simpkins III earned back-to-back SEC Offensive Lineman of the Week in both weeks eight and nine against then-No. 24 Vanderbilt and then-No. 10 Texas A&M and was given Third-Team All-SEC honors at the end of the season.
Simpkins III was asked how he felt to win SEC Offensive Lineman of the Week in back-to-back weeks, and he had this to say about it.
“And me being able to come out with the award twice,” Simpkins III said. “It just shows that we all are playing for each other.”
Strengths
At the 2025 NFL Combine, Simpkins III stood at 6 feet, 5 inches, and weighed in at 312 pounds. The average height and weight of an NFL offensive lineman is 6 feet, 4 inches, and 313 pounds. Simpkins III's combination of above-average height and average weight provides him with good strength as either a guard or a center.
“We all play with passion, physicality ... We fight for each other up front,” Simpkins III said. ”It's a brotherhood. You're going to fight for your brother.”
NfL Draft Buzz says Simpkins III is an impressive pass blocker with good fundamentals and knows where to place his hands in order to get positioning on his defender.
Simpkins III is strong and large enough to hold his ground against bigger power rushers that will line up against him on the interior. Once Simpkins III has his grip on a defender, he will rarely ever let go, and he possesses fantastic grip strength.
Simpkins III has shown his ability to be a versatile lineman by being able to play both guard and center. In career at NCCU, he played the majority of his snaps at center, but in Columbia, he played right guard.
“If you put me at guard, or if you put me at center, I'm going to help run the show regardless,” Simpkins III said.
Throughout his collegiate career, Simpkins III has shown his incredible toughness, most recently in 2024 playing all 13 games in a tough and physical SEC schedule that ranked as the 12th hardest schedule in football. He has shown the ability to stay available and has never missed time due to injury in his collegiate career.
Weakness
Even though Simpkins is a great pass protector, he lacks run block technique and has not been very effective in protecting his running backs. He mostly relies on his body and strength to block defenders rather than gaining leverage from good run block technique.
Simpkins can struggle with footwork, which can result in him losing leverage against defenders, per NFL DRAFT BUZZ.
According to NFL DRAFT BUZZ, Simpkins lacks quickness off the line, which can lead to his defender winning at the point of attack, which is evident by his 5.45 second 40-yard-dash-time that ranked last in his position.
NFL fits and draft outlook
Simpkins III was one of 11 Gamecocks to receive an invite to the 2025 NFL Combine and attended the event at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana. Simpkins excelled in the broad jump, jumping 9 feet, 2 inches, which ranked second among centers.
Simpkins III ranked among the last in the NFL Combine in his 10-yard-split, running a time of 1.84 seconds, and ranked 20th among offensive linemen in the vertical jump at 29 inches. Simpkins III also did not perform well in the 40-yard dash, running a 5.45 which ranked dead last in the entire combine.
A subpar performance in the NFL combine has led his draft projections to slip out of the seventh round, and Brian Bosarge of Draft Countdown has Simpkins going undrafted in 2025.
There are many teams in the NFL that are in desperate need of an interior offensive lineman, especially one that can play both guard and center.
The teams that need an interior offensive lineman are the Baltimore Ravens, New England Patriots, Houston Texans, Seattle Seahawks and the Miami Dolphins, and Simpkins would be a great fit for any of these teams. The Patriots and Texans both rank in the top five for most sacks allowed in the past season and need an offensive line that protect quarterbacks Drake Maye and C.J. Stroud.
NFL DRAFT BUZZ has compared Simpkins III to Panthers offensive guard Chandler Zavala. Zavala was drafted in the fourth round by the Carolina Panthers in 2023 out of North Carolina State.
Zavala started at guard for the Panthers in his rookie season before eventually getting injured and being put on injury reserve in week 12 of the 2023 season.
His frame also matches very well in the NFL with Pro Bowl Detroit Lions center Frank Ragnow who stands at 6 feet, 5 inches and 310 pounds. Frank Ragnow has been to four pro bowls and has been a captain of the offensive line for the Detroit Lions for seven seasons.
Even though Simpkins III may not be drafted, Brian Bosarge said he will most likely be picked up on a 90-man roster in camp but will have to show out to make the final 53-man roster.
What's next?
The 2025 NFL Draft will begin on Thursday, April 24, at 8 p.m. EST and end on Saturday, April 26. The Green Bay Packers are set to host, and it will take place in Green Bay, Wisconsin.