Antuan Simmons

Antuan Simmons
Date of birth	March 31, 1979 (age 45)
Place of birth	Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Career information
Position(s)	Cornerback
Height	5 ft 9 in (175 cm)
Weight	185 lb (84 kg)
US college	Southern California
Career history
As player
2003	Barcelona Dragons
2004–2005	Los Angeles Avengers
Career highlights and awards
	Second-team All-Pac-10 (1998);
Career stats
	Playing stats at CBS.com;

Antuan Simmons (born March 31, 1979) is a former American football cornerback.

College career

Simmons played college football at the University of Southern California. He is famous at USC for intercepting a pass by catching the ball with his legs during a game against UCLA in 2001, returning the interception 34 yards for a touchdown.

Near the end of the 1999 college football season, Simmons suffered a back injury which required him to sit out at the end of the season. While undergoing an MRI on his back in the summer of 2000, a series of tests determined that there were tumors in his chest and near his kidneys. As a result, Simmons spent six weeks in the hospital and underwent three surgeries. Simmons survived a near ordeal with death and lost forty pounds. Yet, through determination, Simmons returned to USC in January 2001 and fully prepared for the 2001 football season. Prior to the 2001 season, Simmons was USC's spokesman at Pac-10 Media Day, and Simmons ended up starting all twelve games at free safety. His interception and touchdown against UCLA are considered a gratifying highlight for Simmons and the 2001 season.

Professional career

Undrafted in 2002, Simmons signed with the San Diego Chargers, but did not survive the final cuts. In 2003, he played for the Barcelona Dragons of NFL Europe and signed with the San Francisco 49ers but again did not make the roster. He played in the Arena Football League (AFL) for the Los Angeles Avengers from 2004 to 2005.

After football

After his playing career ended, he began coaching. Presently, he is the head defensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Laguna Creek High School, in Elk Grove, CA.

Simmons helped their then starting running back, Don Jackson to lead the section and division in rushing yards in the 2010 season. Before the end of the season, he was leading the state in yards, and was number 4 in the nation, before Laguna failed to make the playoffs.

External links

This biographical article relating to an American football defensive back born in the 1970s is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

This Arena Football League-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.