Catching Up With John Simon
Friends, but not fashion equalsAfter having the chance to interview Jamie Wood, Carlos Hyde, and Jordan Hall, we get the chance to move back over to the defensive side of the ball, as we sat down with John Simon (or “All Flannel Tops” as he is affectionately known around here) of Youngstown Cardinal Mooney.
Simon was one of the first to sign onto the Class of 2009 and chose the Bucks over offers from Notre Dame, Illinois, Nebraska, Stanford,and Pittsburgh, among others. John is listed at 6-3/285 and with most of that 285 pounds consisting of pure muscle, he seems to be ready to compete at the college level as a true freshman. The Buckeyes are certainly lucky to be getting this Scout.com 5-star recruit and U.S. Army All-American, as Nader Abdallah, the teams best defensive tackle last season, has graduated, leaving a position in the rotation open. Check out what Simon had to say about the opportunity to play this season, who would win a fight between him and Kelly Pavlik, and what he thinks about Jamie Wood’s opinion of his ‘all flannel tops and jeans’.
You committed pretty early in the recruiting process, even though schools like Notre Dame were recruiting you hard. What about Ohio State made you so sure this is where you wanted to play your college football?
Ohio State really stuck out to me because of the family atmosphere. You can tell all the players and the coaches came together to form a team.
What do you plan to major in at Ohio State?
I will major in exercise science. I hope to one day become a strength coach.
You’ve had a lot of time to hang out with your fellow class members. What is the most interesting thing you’ve learned about this group of guys so far?
That’s a tough one. I’d have to say each one of us seems to be preparing everyday for college. We have a very respectable and hard working class.
There is a lot of depth at Defensive Tackle on the roster this year. What do you need to do to stand out from the group and earn some playing time as a freshman?
I feel I have to come in and go all out every play and just do anything extra I can.
What was it like playing in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl? How did you and the other Buckeyes in the game compare to the rest of the nation’s top talent?
It was a great honor playing in the U.S. Army All-American Game. I was able to compete against the best players in the country. The Ohio State players played great games and made some huge plays.
What current or former Buckeye does your style/skill set compare to? What current/former NFL player does your style/skill set compare to?
I don’t know it’s hard to compare myself to other players.
Who benches more, you or your dad?
Myself (laughing)
Being from Youngstown, who would win a fight-you or Kelly Pavlik?
Another tough one (laughing). Youngstown guys don’t fight each other. He’s the pride of Youngstown.
Buckeye Nation knows you are a big, strong defensive tackle who works hard, but what can you tell them about yourself that they don’t already know?
I’m dying to be a Buckeye!
In an interview we did with Jamie Wood he suggested if he could give on of the guys in this class fashion tips it would be you, saying you were “all flannel tops and jeans right now”. What’s your feeling on this and will you be getting rid of the flannel tops and jeans anytime soon?
(Laughing) Nah, I will not be getting rid of them. I wear what’s comfortable and though I respect Jamie’s fashion, it’s not for me. You gotta be yourself.
And now for some highlights:
Another good job Alex, these interviews have been a highlight during this dead time for football. Hopefully you didn’t steal this one from someone else! haha
Most entertaining one yet! Funny questions!
He can wear as much flannel as he wants so long as he is a stud on the dline.
Alex = 11W POY/ MVP, no offense Corey and Chris, haha.
Cant figure out if John will be better at pass rushing or run stuffing. For my physical well beings sake, i dont think I’ll say.
There is honestly no reason not to think JS will be one of the greats. Good Luck.
Hey 11W. Isn’t Simon in the 2009 recruiting class?
“Simon was one of the first to sign onto the Class of 2010 and chose the Bucks”.
You are correct RBuck, it should be fixed now. We’ll be sure to dock Alex’s pay for that error, you know how we like perfection around here. :)
Wow good catch…pay dock is accepted…wouldn’t mine John’s clone in the 2010 class though!
When are you going to get my boy PJ Hill?
When he leads OSU to a national title!
Anyone know why he is a Scout 5-Star (5th ranked DT), but a Rivals 3-Star (36th ranked DT)? How is there that much disparity?
I don’t follow it that much, but my guess is each one tries to be a bit different than the other service. Recruiting has blown up in the last 5 years and each one of these sites is trying to distinguish themselves from the other.
Running on a limited sample, Rivals and ESPN are both biased more towards athletes committed to southern schools, more so than seems obvious.
For once, I 100% agree with you Pogue. I like to think I follow recruiting quite extensively ( at least OSU) and I think its almost blatant how ESPN favors southern players.
Because it is impossible to know about every player in the country. I’m guessing a notre dame fan did the Rivals review.
You never know how good a guy will be till he gets in the program. It doesn’t matter if your a 3 star guy or a 5 star guy if you don’t work hard your not going to be a good player at this level.
I still want someone to explain to me how geographical location dictates athleticism.
That’s true… you never know how good a player is gonna be. Take Troy Smith as an example. I believe he was a 3-star recruit and was the last person recruited in his class! So look 4 a low-key player to make a significant impact in either this yrs class, last yrs class or next yrs. ibal there is no way geographical location dictates athleticism. Some say that there’s more speed in the south, but if you look back to the national championship, Ted Ginn Jr. made the Florida defense look like they were running in slow motion! And he’s from Cleveland!
Its due to the population explosion in southern states, simple more people= better odds of finding speedsters.
Im gonna smack the next person who tells me the warm weather contributes to some physical advantage.
Having grown up in columbus and now living down south I can tell you there are more speeders down here then up north. Other than that southern players tend to be better athletes but not as skilled overall. By that I mean most are pretty dumb.
I dunno Tampa,
I lived in the Sarasota area for three years, but was born and raised in Dayton. I think alot of it is perception. Besides, comparing speed at skill positions is splitting hairs. I mean, who cares if you run a 4.3 or a 4.5, there is no real drop off there, but they sound completely different.
Florida beat us because of speed in the trenches. Meaning D-ends, linebackers, and o-line.
I’ve played basketball at a d-1 level in both states ohio and fla. and I can tell you that in ohio you would see one or two guys on the court that were great athletes. In fla everyone on the court is a great athlete. They just play faster. That doesn’t mean they are better players though. Most great athletes down here never get the grades to even play in high school. Its a different culture down here for sure.
lol I’ll smack them w/ you iball. Speaking of southern speed fellas, we did sign 2 running backs this year from Florida: Jamal Berry and Carlos Hyde! This may just be Buckeye football fever talking through me, but I think that the 09 Buckeyes are gonna win more games than the 08 Buckeyes. Let’s face it, no big-10 coach is recruiting like Coach Tressel, we’ve already got Terrelle Pryor, and USC is also reloading this year. I would be surprised if we went 11-1 or 12-0 in the regular season. 2 much hype?
would or wouldn’t?
wouldn’t
Espn is talking like the browns want beanie wells today.
Do you think Mangini would take a chance on getting burned 2 straight years on a Buckeye top 10 pick? I’m not saying Beanie is going to be a 1st year bust like the Gun Show, but does anyone think he takes that into consideration?
I think so Corey. Why wouldn’t he? The chance may be slim, but that’s gotta something he’s thinking about.