Meet Charlotte-area natives in 2025 NFL combine, starting with USC’s Torricelli Simpkins
Torricelli Simpkins III remembers where he came from.
The South Carolina guard is set to compete at the NFL Scouting Combine this week in Indianapolis. But as he trains for the big event at PPF Athletics in Atlanta, he can reflect on his football upbringing in Charlotte at Olympic High School vividly.
He remembers all of the coaches who helped prepare him to get to here — from head coach Brandon Thompson, who still leads the team at Olympic, to coach Jason Fowler, who is now the athletic director at East Mecklenburg High. Simpkins also remembers learning from Rashad Graham, now the head coach at West Ashley High in Charleston, South Carolina; Britt Leggett, now the offensive line coach at Marvin Ridge; and Cam Ray, who was recently at Independence High.
Those memories were part of Simpkins’ winding road to this point. And he believes a potential call on NFL Draft weekend in April won’t just be about him, but also those who helped get him there.
“Those coaches helped me get to this level, and helped me become the player that I am today,” Simpkins told The Observer. “It means a lot, being able to show all the work they put into me is paying off.”
Simpkins started his college career at N.C. Central. The 6-foot-5, 308-pound lineman was a standout center at the HBCU level, as he spent three seasons pancaking opponents into the dirt. But as he began to ascend, there were questions about his ability to dominate better opponents.
Those questions ultimately drew him to the SEC, where he served as the South Carolina Gamecocks’ starting right guard in 2024.
“I love Central,” Simpkins said. “It’s a great place and my first (football) home, so going from Central to the SEC — like everybody was my size. And just the 1s, the 2s and the 3s, they were all good. Everybody was going to give you a good challenge.
“So, going to the SEC, I learned that you can’t take no plays off. If you take a play off, you’re going to get embarrassed. Somebody is going to try to embarrass you, because guess what, they’re trying to earn a spot, too.”
Simpkins typically doesn’t need to worry about being embarrassed. The energetic big man tends to hand out the embarrassments to his opponents.
He wants to compete. And he’s hungry for impact plays — like devastating pancake blocks.
“You have to be very physical, and that’s what I love to do,” Simpkins said. “I like playing physical. That’s my forte.”
Along with learning to play every snap like it’s his last, Simpkins realized at South Carolina that the SEC tends to come with a bit more trickery than the HBCU level. While front sevens tend to stay more static at the lower levels of college football, defenders fly all over the place in the SEC. That meant Simpkins, who had a new offensive line coach in all but one of his five college seasons, had to improve his technique.
He credits Gamecocks offensive line coach Lonnie Teasley with preparing him to handle stunts and games from the defensive front. Those lessons will come in handy on Sundays in the NFL with exotic blitzes and defensive line versatility serving as the norm at the pro level.
Simpkins is also working with former Baltimore Ravens and New Orleans Saints offensive lineman Ben Grubbs during his offseason training to further refine his approach.
Having bounced around the college scene and dealt with several different coaches, Simpkins — who aspires to become a marine biologist after his playing career — is like a sponge when it comes to new information.
“I take the coaching and I try to do my best with exactly what they want,” Simpkins said. “So, I feel like adapting isn’t going to be too hard because I’ve had to do it multiple times already. Just adapting to the different coaching styles. If I have older teammates, they’re obviously going to know a lot more than me, because they’ve been in the league a lot longer than me, and I’m a rookie. So, just being able to learn from those guys, it’s just going to be even better, because I want to learn from those guys.”
As he heads to Indianapolis — one of six Charlotte-area prospects invited to the combine — Simpkins hopes to prove he has the athleticism to stand out at the NFL level.
“From a drills perspective, I just want to show that I can move, a big guy that can move,” Simpkins said. “Basically, just show that I have a good skill set. And interview-wise, I just want to keep getting my name out there, talking to coaches and helping my draft stock go up.”
Simpkins has a trio of NFL linemen around whom he likes to model his game.
He tries to emulate Green Bay Packers lineman Elgton Jenkins — who can play all three positions on the line — from a versatility standpoint. He loves Indianapolis Colts guard Quenton Nelson’s unnerving physicality. And San Francisco 49ers left tackle Trent Williams sets a standard for him as one of the best to play the game.
With those three as his inspirations, Simpkins is focused on establishing his own legacy in the NFL.
“I’m not just going to make myself play better on the field, I’m going to bring energy to make guys around me play better,” Simpkins said. “I’m going to be that pancake (block), that knockdown that everybody is going to be excited about. It’s going to boost my O-line’s morale.
“I’m an energetic player and a very physical player and I’m very competitive. And I even compete with my guys, like during the season, like, ‘I’m going to get more pancakes than you this season. I’m going to get more pancake blocks than you this game.’ Just competing and bringing out the best in everybody.”
2025 NFL Scouting Combine: Charlotte-area natives invited
- Zeek Biggers, DT, Georgia Tech (West Rowan High)
- Power Echols, LB, North Carolina (Julius L. Chambers High)
Bryson Nesbit, TE, North Carolina (South Mecklenburg High)
- James Pearce Jr., DE, Tennessee (Julius L. Chambers High)
- Torricelli Simpkins III, DT, South Carolina (Olympic High)
- Jalon Walker, LB, Georgia (Salisbury High)
2025 NFL Scouting Combine: Carolinas schools represented in Indianapolis
Clemson: TE Jake Briningstool, LB Barrett Carter, RB Phil Mafah, DB R.J. Mickens, DT Payton Page, G Marcus Tate
East Carolina: CB Shavon Revel Jr.
North Carolina: Echols, Nesbit, DT Jahvaree Ritzie, RB Omarian Hampton, G Willie Lampkin, CB Alijah Huzzie, DE Kaimon Rucker
N.C. State: OT Anthony Belton
South Carolina: Simpkins, DB Nick Emmanwori, DT Tonka Hemingway, CB O’Donnel Fortune, DE Kyle Kennard, LB Demetrius Knight, LB Bam Martin-Scott, RB Raheim “Rocket” Sanders, DT TJ Sanders, TE Joshua Simon, DE DeAndre Jules
The NFL Scouting Combine will air live on NFL Network with drills beginning on Feb. 27 through March 3. The Observer will have full coverage from Indianapolis throughout the week. Follow Mike Kaye (@mike_e_kaye) and Alex Zietlow (@alexzietlow05) on X (formerly known as Twitter) for the latest news, notes and more.
