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LB John Simon - (2012 B1G DPOY, Super Bowl Champ)

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Ohio State's John Simon: ?We?re playing for each other?
By Jeff Tyndall
[email protected]
Published: Sunday, June 3, 2012


OSU then-junior running back Jordan Hall carries the ball during the Gator Bowl Jan. 2 against Florida in Jacksonville, Fla. OSU lost, 24-17.

The seniors on the Ohio State football team cannot play for championships this year. Not for trophies. Not for banners. So they plan to play for their fellow classmates.

?We?re playing for each other,? said senior defensive end John Simon. ?And when you come in here every day and work out with these guys, you really don?t want to let them down.?

The 2012 season will be absent of even a chance to compete for the Big Ten Conference and national championships as a result of the NCAA-imposed bowl ban dating back to December 2011. Former coach Jim Tressel knowingly fielded ineligible players during the 2010 season after six players ? former quarterback Terrelle Pryor, former running back Daniel ?Boom? Herron, former wide receiver DeVier Posey, former offensive tackle Mike Adams, former defensive end Solomon Thomas and former linebacker Jordan Whiting ? traded memorabilia for tattoos, resulting in a vacation of wins for that season, donation of team?s winnings from the 2011 Sugar Bowl victory against Arkansas to charity and a ban that will keep the team out of postseason action this fall.

Pressure mounted, and Tressel was eventually forced to resign from his post as Buckeyes coach on May 30, 2011.

Simon recounted the dark moments.

?It was a tough time,? Simon said. ?But we?re a new team and we?re doing everything we can to get better.?

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http://www.thelantern.com/sports/oh...playing-for-each-other-1.2875812#.T8yJb8XczQY
 
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Big Ten notebook: Simon gives credit to teammates for honor
By Tim May
The Columbus Dispatch
Saturday July 28, 2012

CHICAGO ? Ohio State senior defensive lineman John Simon was tabbed by the Big Ten as one of the players to watch, a designation that made him feel honored and a tad uncomfortable.

He?s not a fan of the solo bow.

?It?s exciting, and to get recognition is a great honor, but it really just shows what my teammates are doing for me,? Simon said yesterday at the Big Ten Kickoff Luncheon. ?You don?t see (Ohio State defensive tackle) Garrett Goebel on a cover showing him getting triple-teamed making it easier for me on the edge, or Hank (Johnathan Hankins) taking up extra blocks, or guys in the back having good coverage giving us extra time to get to the quarterback.

?So it really is a team sport, and I owe a lot to them.?

Known for having an insatiable desire to lift weights and train, though, it must be gratifying to Simon to gain some recognition for what has amounted to his life?s work to date.

?Absolutely, it is definitely cool to see it pay off,? Simon said. ?But like I said before, it?s because of the hard work of my teammates. I had to do a little bit to get there, but like I said, taking up three blocks is a lot harder than beating one guy, so I have to give props to the guys who do what they do on the field to help me.?

Coach Urban Meyer never misses a chance to praise Simon, comparing his work ethic with other players he has coached as ?one and 1A. The other guy is a lefty (Tim Tebow).?

As Meyer said of Simon, ?He?s a nut job,? and he meant that in a good way. ?He just told me his dad texts him every morning with like ?great arm workout.? So I know where he gets it now. His dad is out of his mind just like he is. Great family.?
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http://www.buckeyextra.com/content/stories/2012/07/28/simon-gives-credit-to-teammates-for-honor.html
 
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Simon sets bar high for Buckeyes
Senior inspires with work ethic
BY DAVID BRIGGS
BLADE SPORTS WRITER

CHICAGO -- Urban Meyer evoked double takes recently when he designated Ohio State defensive end John Simon as "Tebowish."

It was high praise. For Meyer, his Heisman-winning former quarterback at Florida represents a once-in-a-generation standard in his dedication.

But on second thought, the first-year OSU coach reconsidered the comparison to Tim Tebow.

"I should say Tebow is Simonish, out of respect," Meyer said, smiling.

Asked where Simon ranked among his hardest workers in 27 years of coaching, Meyer replied, "He is 1 and 1A."

Meyer has been at Ohio State for just eight months, and already he knows Simon will be the leader of a defense with nine returning starters. He knows the All-Big Ten senior who can bench press 225 pounds 48 times -- the record at the NFL combine is 49 repetitions -- well enough to have long ceased asking his staff for Simon's progress reports. He knows Simon will be a confidant for life.

"Just incredible character," Meyer said Friday at the Big Ten media days. "He's got a job any time he wants. I hope he goes and plays football for 20 years, and then when he's done, he says, 'Coach, I need a job.' "

Like Tebow, Meyer believes Simon is the type of player whose example can help fashion a team in his vision.

That example is set on Saturdays in the fall, where the 6-foot-2, 265-pound rusher had seven sacks and 17 tackles for a loss last season. But more important to Meyer are the ways it comes through the rest of the year.

Simon is a worker of whose ilk players and coaches have never seen.

The Youngstown native began weightlifting in fourth grade, following the lead of his iron-pumping father, John Simon III. He came to live for the struggle of pushing his body to its edge.

When a reporter asked Simon during a news conference this week what he did for fun over the summer, he noted his morning workouts. Each day, Simon sets his alarm to 4:30 a.m. for a 6 a.m. lifting session at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center.

Meyer, seated on the podium to Simon's left, laughed.

"As bizarre as it sounds, that's his answer," he said.

"If you're going into workouts and not having a good time, you're not reaching your full potential of what you can achieve," Simon said. "I'm not saying they're not hard, but the physical pain and the mental pain you have to go through to endure those workouts is what makes it fun."

Who is this guy? Who does this? Meyer made sure his teammates found out.

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http://www.toledoblade.com/Ohio-State/2012/07/29/Simon-sets-bar-high-for-Buckeyes.html
 
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simon.png
 
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Bestbuck36;2186762; said:
The SEC might have "speed" but Ohio State has "Simon"!!


It's truly amazing how we keep finding these freaks. Kudla, D'Andrea, Gholstin and now Simon. Awesome to be a Buckeye!
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Rob Rose? Lawrence Wilson? Quinn Pitcock? Tim Anderson? Just to name a few more. :biggrin:
 
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