Ronald Bernard Simpkins (born April 2, 1958) is a former
American football
American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...
player. He played college football at the
University of Michigan
, mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth"
, former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821)
, budget = $10.3 billion (2021)
, endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...
as an
inside linebacker
Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, p ...
from 1976 to 1979. He became Michigan's all-time career tackle leader in 1979 and was a consensus first-team selection for the
1979 College Football All-America Team
The 1979 College Football All-America team is composed of college football players who were selected as All-Americans by various organizations and writers that chose College Football All-America Teams in 1979. The National Collegiate Athletic Asso ...
. He later played professional football in the
National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...
(NFL) for the
Cincinnati Bengals
The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The c ...
(1980, 1982-1986) and
Green Bay Packers
The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. It ...
(1988).
Early years
Simpkins was born in
Detroit
Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...
,
Michigan
Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...
, in 1958. He attended Western High School in
Detroit
Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...
.
University of Michigan
Simpkins enrolled at the
University of Michigan
, mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth"
, former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821)
, budget = $10.3 billion (2021)
, endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...
in 1976 and played college football as an
inside linebacker
Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, p ...
for coach
Bo Schembechler
Glenn Edward "Bo" Schembechler Jr. ( ; April 1, 1929 – November 17, 2006) was an American football player, coach, and athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at Miami University from 1963 to 1968 and at the University of ...
's
Michigan Wolverines football
The Michigan Wolverines football team represents the University of Michigan in college football at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision level. Michigan has the most all-time wins in college football history. The team is known for its ...
teams from 1976 to 1979.
Simpkins saw playing time as a freshman and won the John F. Maulbetsch Award in the spring of 1977, given each year by the University of Michigan after spring practice to a freshman football candidate on the basis of desire, character, capacity for leadership and future success both on and off the football field.
As a sophomore, Simpkins was the leading tackler for the
1977 Michigan Wolverines football team
The 1977 Michigan Wolverines football team was an American football team that represented the University of Michigan in the 1977 Big Ten Conference football season. In its ninth year under head coach Bo Schembechler, the team compiled a 10–2 ...
that compiled 10-2 record, won the
Big Ten Conference
The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...
championship, and allowed only 97 points (8.8 points per game) in 11 regular season games.
[ Simpkins totaled 144 tackles, nearly double the total of 76 compiled by the team's second-leading tackler.][(to retrieve information on annual statistical leaders, go to "Games & Totals by Season" and select the year for which statistics are to be retrieved)] He also sacked opposing quarterbacks 10 times and recovered five fumbles in 1977.[ In the final regular season game of the 1977 season, Simpkins had 20 tackles (15 solo) and recovered a fumble that set up the game-winning touchdown in Michigan's 14-6 victory over ]Ohio State
The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best public ...
.
As a junior, Simpkins was Michigan's leading tackler for the second straight year. His 144 tackles was once again nearly double the 79 compiled by the team's second-leading tackler.[ He led the ]1978 Michigan Wolverines football team
The 1978 Michigan Wolverines football team was an American football team that represented the University of Michigan in the 1978 Big Ten Conference football season. In their 10th season under head coach Bo Schembechler, the Wolverines compiled a ...
to its second straight 10-2 record with a defense that allowed only 88 points (8.0 points per game) in 11 regular season games. At the end of the 1978 season, Simpkins was selected as a first-team All-Big Ten Conference
The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...
linebacker.[
As a senior, Simpkins was Michigan's leading tackler for the third consecutive season,][ and he was selected as the Most Valuable Player on the 1979 Michigan Wolverines football team. He was also a consensus selection on the ]1979 College Football All-America Team
The 1979 College Football All-America team is composed of college football players who were selected as All-Americans by various organizations and writers that chose College Football All-America Teams in 1979. The National Collegiate Athletic Asso ...
, earning first-team honors from the Associated Press
The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...
, United Press International
United Press International (UPI) is an American international news agency whose newswires, photo, news film, and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations for most of the 20th ...
and Football Writers Association of America
The Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) is an organization of college football media members in the United States founded in 1941. It is composed of approximately 1,200 professional sports writers from both print and Internet media out ...
.
In his four years at Michigan, Simpkins set a school record with 415 tackles (including 262 solo tackles). His career tackles record stood until 1996 when Jarrett Irons
Jarrett Irons is a former American football player. A native of The Woodlands, Texas, Irons played college football as a linebacker at the University of Michigan from 1993 to 1996. He was a team co-captain of the 1995 and 1996 teams and was s ...
concluded his Michigan career with 429 tackles. During his Michigan career, Simpkins also had 11 pass breakups, seven fumble recoveries and an interception.
Professional football
Simpkins was drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals
The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The c ...
in the seventh round (167th overall pick) of the 1980 NFL Draft
The 1980 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 29–30, 1980, at the New York She ...
.[ He signed with the Bengals in May 1980. As a rookie, he started two games following an injury to Glenn Cameron.][
Simpkins did not appear in any games during the ]1981 NFL season
The 1981 NFL season was the 62nd regular season of the National Football League. The season ended with Super Bowl XVI when the San Francisco 49ers defeated the Cincinnati Bengals 26–21 at the Pontiac Silverdome in Michigan.
Draft
The 198 ...
.[ He returned in 1982 but was cut by the Bengals during the first week of September 1981. He returned to the Bengals midseason in 1982, appearing in five games as a backup. In 1983, he appeared in 15 games as a backup linebacker. Simpkins finally became a starter for the ]1984
Events
January
* January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888.
* January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeast A ...
and 1985 Bengals, appearing in all 32 games, including 20 games as a starter.[ In 1986, Simpkins returned to a backup role for the Bengals.][ Following the 1987 preseason, Simpkins was cut by the Bengals in the first week of September.
After being cut by the Bengals, Simpkins did not play in the NFL during the 1987 season. He signed with the ]Green Bay Packers
The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. It ...
in May 1988. After being cut late in the preseason, he was re-signed by the Packers in late September 1988. He appeared in seven games, all as a backup, for the Packers during the 1988 NFL season
The 1988 NFL season was the 69th regular season of the National Football League. The Cardinals relocated from St. Louis, Missouri to the Phoenix, Arizona area becoming the Phoenix Cardinals but remained in the NFC East division. The playoff ra ...
.[
Between 1980 and 1988, Simpkins appeared in 91 NFL games, 22 of them as a starter.][
]
Later years
In the spring of 1990, Simpkins returned to Detroit to coach football. During a career that spanned eighteen seasons, Ron was at the helm for the Cowboys of Western International High School
Western International High School is a public high school, located across from Clark Park, within southwest Detroit's Mexicantown. Western is operated by the Detroit Public Schools system.
As of 2012, it was the final remaining public high school ...
; he retired in 2007.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Simpkins, Ron
1958 births
Living people
All-American college football players
American football linebackers
Cincinnati Bengals players
Green Bay Packers players
Michigan Wolverines football players
Western International High School alumni
Players of American football from Detroit