The Arizona Cardinals released a bonus episode of their offseason docuseries “Cardinals Flight Plan.” In this episode, fans are given an inside look at the combine interview with linebacker Isaiah Simmons, whom they selected eight overall in the 2020 draft.
What do we learn in the nearly eight minutes of the video?
His brother changed positions
Simmons has an older brother who also played football. He played at Kansas University. Changing positions is in the family. Like Isaiah began at Clemson as a safety and eventually moved to linebacker, his brother did the same thing at Kansas. He began as a safety and converted to linebacker.
He was a great track athlete in high school
Simmons’ athleticism has never been in doubt. In high school, he also excelled in track.
He was a multi-state champion as a long jumper. He holds the state record in Kansas — 24-feet-seven. He came in second at state in the 200 meters. He admitted he should have won and that he let up at the end of the race. “I thought I had it,” he said. “It was my fault.” He also won state as part of the relay team.
Simmons returned to Clemson for senior year for 2 reasons
Simmons wanted to get his degree, which he did. He also noted that he wanted to get more experience at linebacker.
It paid off. He was a top-10 pick and has his degree. He lauded Clemson’s graduation rate among athletes.
One thing about his head coach, Dabo Swinney, is Simmons was impressed by how he mentored players for their future beyond football.
He knows his draft status doesn’t matter in the NFL
Simmons was not highly recruited out of high school. He was last-minute signing with Clemson in a class of five-star athletes.
He didn’t care. He wasn’t hurt or angry. He was “hungry”. He busted his tail to prove himself.
He equated that to the NFL.
“A guy like myself, winning national championships and maybe a guy who went to a Division 2 school, when you get to the NFL, that stuff doesn’t matter,” he said. “It’s whoever can ball, you can ball.”
Having to outperform higher-ranked players “never phased (him) at all.”
Simmons is a bit of an outdoorsman
He told the Cardinals that, when it is warm, in his free time he likes to go the lake, fish and hang out on a boat.
Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Stitcher Radio.
Ep. 267
Ep. 266
