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Ko Simpson
No. 30     
Safety
Personal information
Date of birth: (1983-11-09) November 9, 1983 (age 40)
Place of birth: Rock Hill, South Carolina
Career information
College: South Carolina
NFL Draft: 2006 / Round: 4 / Pick: 105
No regular season or postseason appearances
Career history
* Buffalo Bills ( 2006 2008)
Career highlights and awards
* SEC Freshman of the Year (2004)
Total tackles     174
Sacks     1.0
Forced fumbles     1
Fumble recoveries     1
Interceptions     3
Stats at NFL.com
Stats at pro-football-reference.com

Yukota "Ko" Simpson (born November 9, 1983) is a former American football safety. He was drafted by the Buffalo Bills in the fourth round of the 2006 NFL Draft. He played college football at South Carolina.

He has also played for the Detroit Lions.

Early life[]

Simpson was born in Rock Hill, South Carolina and attended Castle Heights Middle School and Rock Hill High School where he helped lead the team to a Class AAAA State Championship playing on both offense and defense. He signed a letter of intent with South Carolina in 2003, but did not enroll until spring of 2004 under then head coach Lou Holtz.[1]

College career[]

In his freshman season, Simpson recorded 50 solo tackles, 11 assists and six interceptions. Against Georgia, in only his second collegiate game, he intercepted a David Greene pass and returned it 57 yards for a touchdown. He was named SEC Defensive Player of the Week for his performance in the Gamecocks' win over Arkansas which included a fumble recovery returned 57 yards for a touchdown.[1] His six interceptions led the Southeastern Conference and he was named Freshman of the Year in the SEC by the Associated Press,[2] becoming the first South Carolina player to ever win the award.

As a sophomore, Simpson had 103 total tackles, two fumble returns and an interception.[1] He was consensus All-SEC and named a Football Writers Association All-American.[3]

Professional career[]

Buffalo Bills[]

Simpson was drafted by the Buffalo Bills in the fourth round of the 2006 NFL Draft. On September 11, 2007, Simpson was placed on injured reserve.

Detroit Lions[]

Simpson was traded to the Detroit Lions for a seventh round pick on September 4, 2009. On November 25, Simpson was placed on injured reserve with a torn patella with a separated MCL.

He was released by the Lions on September 4, 2010.

NFL statistics[]

Year Team Games Tackles Fumbles Interceptions
G GS Comb Total Ast Sack FF FR Yds Int Yds Avg Lng TD PD
2006 BUF 16 15 76 50 26 1.0 1 0 0 2 76 38 76 0 4
2007 BUF 01 01 1 1 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2008 BUF 16 11 66 51 15 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2
2009 DET 08 05 30 26 4 0.0 0 1 0 1 8 8 8 0 4
Career 41 32 173 128 45 1.0 1 1 0 3 81 27 76 0 10

[4]

Personal life[]

On January 1, 2009 Simpson was arrested by a Rock Hill, South Carolina police officer for hindering police while they were attempting to break up an unruly crowd. According to the police report, Simpson verbally abused officers.[5]

References[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 Athletic Department. "Player Bio:Ko Simpson". University of South Carolina. http://uscsports.cstv.com/sports/m-footbl/mtt/simpson_ko00.html. Retrieved November 2, 2006.
  2. Iacobelli, Pete (December 7, 2004). "Simpson named AP SEC freshman of the year". Associated Press. Archived from the original on December 3, 2008. https://web.archive.org/web/20081203114104/http://chronicle.augusta.com/stories/120804/usc_secaward.shtml. Retrieved November 2, 2006.
  3. Babb, Kent (May 1, 2006). "Simpson drops to 4th round". The State. http://www.keepmedia.com/pubs/ColumbiaState/2006/05/01/1515370?extID=10037&oliID=229. Retrieved November 2, 2006.[dead link]
  4. "https://www.espn.com.au/nfl/player/stats/_/id/9691/ko-simpson". ESPN Internet Ventures.
  5. Bills Simpson Asks for a Program to Erase Charges Yahoo Sports, February 5, 2009
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