One on One with John Simpson
Junior Offensive lineman, John Simpson played both guard positions for the Tigers in 2017, the North Charleston native entered the 2018 season with 15 knockdowns in 460 snaps over 21 games in his career.
So far this season, Simpson played 49 snaps in helping the offense gain 531 yards against Furman, played 60 snaps in a start against Texas A&M, in a start against Georgia Southern, he helped the offense gain 286 rushing yards and 309 passing yards, He appeared in 42 snaps against the Yellow Jackets of Georgia Teach, played 79 snaps in a comeback win against Syracuse, Simpson was apart of the 13-play, 94-yard game winning drive, and he played 51 snaps as the Tigers gathered 698 yards and a school-record 11.8 yards per carry against Wake Forest, which would result in the entire offensive line earning offensive player of the game honors.
Q – You graduated from Fort Dorchester High School, can you talk about what it was like to be coached under someone like Coach LaPrad?
Simpson – “Coach LaPrad was one of the best mentors that I have ever had and being around his program which is still doing good. I am just really proud to say that I was able to apart of the building blocks to where they are now.”
Q – You have an ex-teammate, Dakereon Joyner who is now playing with the Gamecocks. Do you guys still talk to each other at all?
Simpson – “Oh yeah, we always hit each other up every once in a while. We give each other words of encouragement, I always encourage him to stick in there, because he is used to being the star. Right now it’s not looking like how he wanted it to look. I just like to give him words of encouragement
Q – Your coaches have gone out of their way to tell us about your improvement and how much they are impressed by you this season. Talk about what that means to you.
Simpson – “It obviously means a lot to me because I want to make them proud. Sometimes I don’t fulfill their expectations of myself and I always want to work to improve myself and make those things right.”
Q – You were a state champion wrestler your junior year, talk about how your wrestling background helped your football background.
Simpson – “Wrestling obviously helped me a whole lot, I think that it helped me to be more coachable. It also helped me to have that drive to never quit and to never give up and also being hardnosed and ready for anything.”
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