Simpson's Redemption

When I was in the edit bay listening to Mel Kiper, Jr's comments on Jerome Simpson getting drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals in the second round, I thought back to all the times that I may have had a skewed view of football talent. After all, I cover more Coastal Carolina games and hence, more FCS games than the higher level BCS and perhaps I was caught up in that level. Could Chanticleers really make an NFL roster? Tyler Thigpen and Quinton Teal disproved that theory last season. I always thought Jerome Simpson was a special talent who could actually play on Sundays. I truly thought that he would be the first CCU player to play in the NFL (although I'm more than happy to be wrong thanks to Thig and Quinton). It really is mind boggling that CCU has produced three NFL players (and hopefully a fourth with Mike Tolbert). Kiper more or less said that when talking about all the big school receivers on the draft board and a guy from Coastal Carolina is the Bengals answer to helping a receiving corps that may have an AWOL Pro Bowler in Chad Johnson.

As Cincinnati and the NFL learns more about Jerome Simpson, I will always remember seeing him at Coastal Grand Mall folding T-shirts at Champs Sports like any other college student working a part time job. How satisfying will it be for Jerome to have his jersey in that same Champs store a few years down the road?! More than that, Simpson provides a valuable lesson in bouncing back from adversity.

It's a long lost memory now, but CCU fans will always remember the dreaded Super Safety. Back in 2005, I wrote a column in Palmetto Pigskin Preview about one of the lowest points in CCU football history.

From Palmetto Pigskin Preview
November 23rd, 2005
With ten seconds to go, Coastal Carolina was a mere strategic snap away from everything they were looking for: a second Big South title, a second ten win season, and a reason to watch the Division I-AA football playoff pairings show with a close eye. When I saw Jerome Simpson back in punt formation, it was easy to see what the play call was. You’ve got the guy with the best hands, and one of the fastest on the roster. Take the snap, melt down that ten seconds on your way to the back of the End Zone, and take a safety. All that was left to do was celebrate. But then it happened. Think Chris Webber calling timeout when Michigan didn’t have any left in the NCAA Tournament, or Bill Buckner watching the ball in between his legs, or Joe Pisarcik fumbling for the NY Giants in victory formation, as Herman Edwards gave the Philadelphia Eagles an improbable win.
Jerome Simpson was supposed to run into the end zone, but instead went out of bounds at the 4 yard line, giving Charleston Southern 1.5 seconds to ruin Coastal’s 2005 season. And that’s what exactly happened two overtimes later.
Simpson made a mental error, and there’s no defense for it. The look of devastation on his face five seconds after it happened was all the proof you needed.
In September, Jerome Simpson had the #1 play on ESPN SportsCenter. His highlight in the last game of the season was the antithesis of a top play.
University of Memphis basketball player Darius Washington, Jr. had three free throws in the Conference USA Championship to get his team to the NCAA Tournament last year. After making the first free throw to get within one against Louisville, he proceeded to miss both free throws to lose in a heartbreaking fashion. Washington dropped to the ground and pulled his jersey over his head. As the whole nation watched this, something funny happened. Rather than rip the athlete, people across the country embraced him from emails to letters and phone calls. They were able to give him the confidence to get back on the court and put the miscue behind him. The whole country doesn’t know about Simpson’s miscue, but everyone who is associated with Coastal Carolina football does. The challenge on the entire Chants football family (fans, coaches and players) is to be there for Jerome through a long off-season and keep him on track to get back on the gridiron and excel.
Imagine if your son or best friend was the person making that mistake. We live in a world that has negativity. At some point, Simpson will have to deal with an angry email or unruly fans shouting at him on the field. Hopefully, the support of fans, family and friends will dwarf the bad apples he’s bound to come across.
Football is a “what have you done for me lately” kind of sport. People will forget Simpson’s amazing performance that was a huge reason for the Chants upset of James Madison. They’ll forget him attracting double teams to give other receivers the chance to shine.
Jerome Simpson was supposed to run into the End Zone. He has two more years of football at Coastal Carolina, and will never forget that play. It’s my hope that he does run into the end zone many times in the future, and he bounces back from this adversity.

Fast forward three years. Yes, Simpson did bounce back from that adversity. It's a tired cliche, but the term "Everything happens for a reason" fits in this situation. Jerome could have went the other way and never been the same player he was before that fateful play. If Jerome didn't face that bump in the road, perhaps he would not have trained as hard or stayed humble when success came his way. Instead the opposite happened - Jerome matured and used the pain of that disappointment to become an NFL wide receiver. Jerome and his family were driving home from a flea market when Cincinnati head coach Marvin Lewis called to tell him that he was about to be a Bengal. Simpson pulled over on the highway and began jumping up and down crying tears of joy and celebrating with his family. A whole legion of CCU fans were jumping up and down as well.