imported>Ser Amantio di Nicolao: Copying from Category:American football defensive back, 1970s birth stubs to Category:20th-century American sportsmen using Cat-a-lot

2024-10-03T20:46:21Z

Copying from Category:American football defensive back, 1970s birth stubs to Category:20th-century American sportsmen using Cat-a-lot

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{{Short description|American football player (born 1979)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2024}}
{{Infobox gridiron football person
| name =
| image =
| alt =
| caption =
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1979|03|31}}
| birth_place = [[Los Angeles, California]], U.S.
| death_date =
| death_place =
| team =
| number =
| status =
| position1 = [[Cornerback]]
| height_ft = 5
| height_in = 9
| weight_lb = 185
| college = [[University of Southern California|Southern California]]
| playing_years1 = 2003
| playing_team1 = [[Barcelona Dragons (NFL Europe)|Barcelona Dragons]]
| playing_years2 = 2004–2005
| playing_team2 = [[Los Angeles Avengers]]
| career_highlights =
* Second-team [[List of All-Pac-12 Conference football teams|All-Pac-10]] ([[1998 All-Pacific-10 Conference football team|1998]])
| CBS = 303404
}}

'''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 NCAA Division I-A football season|1999 college football season]], Simmons suffered a [[back]] injury which required him to sit out at the end of the season. While undergoing an [[Magnetic resonance imaging|MRI]] on his back in the summer of 2000, a series of tests determined that there were [[tumor]]s in his [[chest]] and near his [[kidney]]s. 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 lineup|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 NFL draft|2002]], Simmons signed with the [[San Diego Chargers]], but did not survive the final cuts. In 2003, he played for the [[Barcelona Dragons (NFL Europe)|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 (1987–2008)|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==
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20050406191550/http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7170901/ "Avengers' Simmons thankful to be playing"]
*[http://www.arenafan.com/players/?page=players&player=3940 AFL stats]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Simmons, Antuan}}
[[Category:1979 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Players of American football from Los Angeles]]
[[Category:American football cornerbacks]]
[[Category:USC Trojans football players]]
[[Category:Barcelona Dragons (NFL Europe) players]]
[[Category:Los Angeles Avengers players]]
[[Category:University of Southern California alumni]]
[[Category:20th-century American sportsmen]]

{{defensiveback-1970s-stub}}
{{ArenaFootballLeague-stub}}

Antuan Simmons - Revision history

imported>Ser Amantio di Nicolao: Copying from Category:American football defensive back, 1970s birth stubs to Category:20th-century American sportsmen using Cat-a-lot