Throughout his four years at Ohio State, John Simon made quite a name for himself as one of the Big Ten’s most feared defensive players.
Now, he’s trying to do the same thing at the next level.
Simon recorded 20.5 sacks and had 42 tackles for loss in his standout four-year career as a Buckeyes defensive end. He was named the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year during his senior season in 2012 and was a third-team All-American. Simon played for three head coaches: Jim Tressel, Luke Fickell and, in his final year, Urban Meyer.
The Youngstown, Ohio, native was a fourth-round selection by the Baltimore Ravens in the 2013 NFL Draft. Prior to the 2014 season, though, Simon did not make the Ravens’ active roster and was assigned to the practice squad. The Houston Texans, however, signed Simon off the Ravens’ practice squad to their active roster for the 2014 campaign.
Last season, his first in Houston, Simon played in 11 games for the Texans in primarily a backup role at outside linebacker. He notched 1.5 sacks and recorded 12 tackles for the 9-7 Texans.
Now, Simon is preparing for his third season in the NFL. The Texans begin Organized Team Activities on Tuesday, but before that Simon discussed an array of topics with Eleven Warriors by phone Friday afternoon. He talked about life in the NFL, his thoughts on Ohio State’s 2014 national championship season, the differences between Tressel and Meyer as coaches and more.
Check out some highlights from roughly a 15-minute conversation we had with former Ohio State All-American, John Simon.
Eleven Warriors: First of all, does it feel like it's been three years since you entered the NFL? And secondly, just what is life like as an NFL player.
John Simon: Well, it’s been great. It’s definitely a privilege to be in the NFL and it’s just like college in the sense it goes faster than you think. I didn’t realize it was my third year until it kind of just came to my mind the other day. Life moves real fast so I’m just trying to embrace every minute and make the most of my opportunities here in Houston.
11W: What's biggest adjustment going from college life to NFL life for most people?
JS: I would probably say you’re more on your own. You don’t have that base that you do in college, those groups that help you all the time with school. You know, you’re an adult now. You’re expected — if you don’t do what’s expected of you, that’s your job. You’re required to do it and if you don’t do it you lose your job. It’s a little more demanding in that sense, but it’s not too much different, to be honest.
11W: What is that like, constantly having that pressure to perform knowing that your job is on the line almost all the time?
JS: It’s competition on a daily basis, but I think if you’re an NFL football player you kind of thrive on that competition. You’ve been training for that competition since you’ve been young. You’ve been working through the ranks and you kind of just thrive on that and enjoy the competition. It’s not something that you dread going to, it’s something that you enjoy and you look forward to competing against the best players in the world.
John Simon spent a lot of time in Columbus chasing opposing quarterbacks.
11W: Speaking of that, you play with one of the best defensive players in the world. I know you guys made that bet during last year's Big Ten championship game, but what is working with J.J. Watt like?
JS: It’s great. To have him on your team definitely makes everybody around him better. He is what he shows to be — he’s not a fake person. What you see is what you get. He’s everything you want in a teammate. He works hard, he’s dedicated, smart guy, loyal to his teammates. We have a pretty good relationship and anytime that I’m on the field with him it elevates my game because you don’t want to let him down because he’s such a good teammate.
11W: When Houston signed you it meant you were reunited with Mike Vrabel, who coached you at OSU. I assume you were pretty excited about that?
JS: Yeah, he coached me my senior year in college when he took over the defensive line so I was with him my senior year. Coming to Houston last year, it was exciting. He’s a great coach, great guy and someone you always want to pick his brain and learn from because he’s been so experienced in the NFL. He’s very keen as to what’s going on in the life of players and he relates to his guys well. Everyone in our linebacker room appreciates having him there.
11W: Transitioning into some Ohio State stuff, how much were you able to follow the title run last season and what did that mean to you as a former player?
JS: I actually drove to the Sugar Bowl and the title game. Houston’s right in the middle of both locations so it was an easy drive. I was fortunate in that aspect and when they won it, it makes it a lot better also. They had a great season, you can’t take anything away from them. What was special for me was the senior class that year was the last players that I played with. I knew those guys well and to see them succeed at that level, I was very happy for those guys. The ones who were fortunate enough to move on and get drafted or picked up in free agency, it’s always good to see guys you played with given that opportunity to play in the NFL.
“I would say the coaching of Urban was a little more direct and it was a little more competitive. You either push yourself or you’re going to be shown up in front of the whole team.” – John Simon
11W: You may not have played with him, but Ohio State currently has a defensive end who is having success similar to yours when you were in Columbus. What do you see when you watch Joey Bosa play?
JS: He’s definitely a physical force on the field, I think everybody — that’s the obvious aspect of his game. What he’s good at is he gets better every week and he’s learning from his mistakes. From year to year, he just continues — his stats get better, his technique gets better and he’s always a guy who is looking for ways to improve his game. You can see by his production on the field, and the production of the whole team winning a national championship, it’s paid off for everyone.
11W: Urban Meyer only coached you for one year, but he often praised you as one of his favorite players. What's your relationship with him like now?
JS: We’re both busy and halfway across the country from each other, but he texts me every once in a while and I’ll text him every once in a while just to keep in touch, see how he’s doing. We do stay in touch and he’s a great mentor for me.
11W: You played for three different head coaches at Ohio State, but what was the biggest difference for you between Jim Tressel and Urban Meyer?
JS: That’s a tough question. They’re both great coaches and they’ve both had high success at the collegiate level so that’s tough. I would say the coaching of Urban was a little more direct and it was a little more competitive. You have the Winner-Loser Day and things like that and they kind of push people into — there’s no way out. You either succeed or you don’t. You either push yourself or you’re going to be shown up in front of the whole team. That was something that Urban kind of implemented that we didn’t have before, but both coaches were great coaches to me and great mentors to myself and I appreciate both of them tremendously.
11W: How often do you get to come back to Columbus and be around the program?
JS: Once OTAs and everything starts I won’t be there for a couple months, but in the offseason I live in Columbus so I’ll be there seven days a week, going in the morning to train with a lot of the former players and we try to get our work done. I see a lot of the coaches and stuff on a daily basis in the offseason, but right now I’m stuck in Houston until hopefully February.
John Simon goes up against former OSU tackle Mike Adams last season, via NC Register.
11W: How many guys do that, come back and work out at Ohio State in the summers?
JS: A lot of it is people kind of come and go, but there are some regulars. James Laurinaitis is big, he’ll come back and we’ll do some stuff together. There’s probably a group of eight or nine guys who will come back in the offseason and actually train at the facility. Others will wean their way out — will be in for a couple weeks then go back to their team’s city and things like that. It’s nice to be able to see people that you played with or even people — like with me, James. I have a good relationship with James and I never played with him. Just having that Ohio State base gives us that connection.
11W: Obviously you're busy during the season, but how many OSU games do you get to catch throughout the year?
JS: We usually have a lot of meetings or we’re on a plane flying somewhere, but for some reason last year I was able to catch at least a half of every game so that was pretty cool. Ohio State’s on national TV so much and they had a lot of night games last year so I was able to catch those.
11W: Last thing before we let you go, just what are you looking for in 2015 both personally and for Ohio State?
JS: I’d absolutely hope for a repeat title and I know they’ve got a lot of guys back. I enjoy watching them, but it’s hard to tell right now. It’s all about how you go out and execute on Saturdays. I know they’re working hard and I’ve seen them in the offseason really getting after it and competing well. They’re on the right track now, they’ve just gotta go out there like they did last year and produce on Saturdays. As for me, we’re hoping to go to the Super Bowl. That’s our goal and we want to win it all. I think that should be everybody’s goal so we’re working extremely hard here, just finished our last practices before OTAs start. OTAs will get a little more ramped up, a little more competitive, a little more demanding so I know the guys are looking forward to that and I’m looking forward to that, as well.”
