There are 37 days that separate us from Ohio State's march to Blacksburg. To help pass the time until the Buckeyes put the Sandman to bed I will countdown Ohio State's top 100 players according to the rubric* listed at the bottom of this article.
Urban Meyer described John Simon as a "grown-ass man".
NO. 37 JOHN SIMON, DE (2009-12)
Born: 1990 (Youngstown)
High School: Cardinal Mooney
OHIO STATE CAREER
- The Buckeyes were 41-10 with Simon on the team.
- 2012 team was undefeated (12-0).
- 2009 Big Ten Title.
- Defeated Oregon 26-17 to win the 2010 Rose Bowl.
- Defeated Arkansas 31-26 to win the 2011 Sugar Bowl.
- 5 tackles for loss against Nebraska (2012) ranks first all-time at Ohio State for TFL in a game.
- 4 sacks at Wisconsin (2012) ranks first all-time at Ohio State for sacks in a game.
- Went 3-1 against That Team.
HONORS
- 2012 Captain.
- 2012 Team MVP.
- 2012 Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year.
- 2012 All-Big Ten.
- 2011 Captain.
- 2011 All-Big Ten.
NFL DRAFT
Round 4 to the Baltimore Ravens with the 129th pick of the 2013 draft.
If Urban Meyer has another child he will name it after John Simon.
John Simon's famous speech after defeating Cal in the 2012 season per Marla Ridenour of akronbeaconjournal.com:
Ohio State senior defensive lineman John Simon’s postgame speech was so stirring that coach Urban Meyer vowed to name his next child after him.
The co-captain addressed the team after a 35-28 victory over the University of California Saturday at Ohio Stadium. Simon had battled a shoulder injury all week and although trainers kept telling Meyer that he should be fine, it didn’t heal as quickly as they had hoped.
Yet Simon played anyway, finishing with one tackle for loss and a sack.
“He just lost it in the locker room as far as just sharing, opening up his soul,” Meyer said. “It makes us all look in the mirror and say, ‘Are we doing enough for our team?’
“Can you put a jersey up there or something that says John Simon, because that’s a grown-ass man, excuse my language. If we have another child, I want to name him Urban John Simon Meyer or something. That’s how much I love that guy.”
Urban Meyer and Mike Vrabel are talk about John Simon in this article about Simon's work ethic from baltimoreravens.com
Coach Meyer's "Grown-Ass Man" speech from The Lantern:
| CATEGORY | POINTS |
|---|---|
| HEISMAN | |
| NO. RETIRED / HONORED | |
| BIG TEN MVP | |
| TEAM MVP | 5 |
| ALL-AMERICAN | |
| CAPTAIN | 8 |
| 1ST ROUND NFL DRAFT PICK | |
| ALL-BIG TEN | 6 |
| ACADEMIC ALL-AMERICAN | |
| NFL DRAFT PICK | 2 |
| ACADEMIC ALL-BIG TEN | |
| LETTER | 1 |
| TOTAL | 22 |
For more information on other players who wore No. 54 go here.
Sources- The Ohio State Team Guide, akronbeaconjournal.com and Wikipedia
| CATEGORY | POINTS |
|---|---|
| HEISMAN | 8 |
| NO. RETIRED / HONORED | 8 |
| BIG TEN MVP | 6 |
| TEAM MVP | 5 |
| ALL-AMERICAN | 4 |
| CAPTAIN | 4 |
| 1ST ROUND NFL DRAFT PICK | 4 |
| ALL-BIG TEN | 3 |
| ACADEMIC ALL-AMERICAN | 3 |
| NFL DRAFT PICK | 2 |
| ACADEMIC ALL-BIG TEN | 1 |
| LETTER | 0.25 PER YEAR |
