DE Antonio Simmons could have bigger role against Pittsburgh

Georgia Tech defensive end Antonio Simmons could see more playing time against Pittsburgh on Saturday. Simmons had a strong pass-rush game against Miami quarterback Brad Kaaya this past Saturday, giving the Yellow Jackets a boost in an area where they’ve struggled.

Simmons is part of a rotation at end, where KeShun Freeman and Rod Rook-Chungong have both started all five games. Simmons gets playing time as does Anree Saint-Amour.

“I think Antonio’s doing well,” coach Paul Johnson said Tuesday at his weekly news conference. “He’s played a great deal this season. He needs to be a little more consistent in the run game, but probably to this point he’s probably been our best pass rusher.

Simmons has one sack for the season but has been credited with seven quarterback hurries. No teammate has more than two. Tech probably did its best job of the season disrupting the quarterback against Miami and Kaaya, but could use more production there. The Jackets’ five sacks are tied for 111th in FBS and the opposition’s 65.2 pass completion percentage is 118th in FBS.