Simon says: A whole lot on the field
The talking doesn't stop.
Before the snap. During the play. After the whistle.
That's the first thing Rich Hansen wants you to know about one of his former star pupils, Notre Dame linebacker Shayne Simon.
“You know what, he's just a fiery guy,” said Hansen, Simon's coach at St. Peter's Prep. “I remember in high school, he doesn't shut up on the field. He plays with a really great motor and talks on the field with a really great motor. Sometimes, I just think it's out of excitement, out of passion, because has so much fun doing it.
“And I think it's contagious, an energy that's contagious and makes others around him play with a heightened sense of awareness. I think that's the best compliment you can give, that he makes guys around him better. Just loves to play. If he makes a play, a teammate makes a play, he's jawing and he's excited.”
Added fellow Irish linebacker Drew White, ‘Shayne Simon and Jeremiah Owusu(-Koramoah) are incredible players and I'm blessed to be able to line up next to them. It definitely gives me some more confidence knowing I've got two dudes left and right of me that are making plays. Those guys are great for the defense, but really all 10 other guys on the field fuel me to, we call it hunting. So we're just running to the ball and we're in hunt-mode. I don't want to be the only guy on the field to not give maximum effort and energy because I know those 10 other guys are. It really just sets up a great dynamic and culture for the defense to fly to the ball.”
Simon's play of late is generating a new level of excitement for Notre Dame, which is coming off the program's biggest win in decades after toppling then-No. 1 Clemson and climbing to No. 2 in the polls. The Fighting Irish (7-0, 6-0 ACC) visit Boston College (5-3, 4-3) Saturday looking to keep rolling towards a potential ACC Championship game berth and possible College Football Playoff spot.
“I mean it was definitely a fun game to play in,” Simon said of the Clemson game, in which he registered four tackles, one for loss, and broke up two passes. “Huge atmosphere. That's why you come to Notre Dame, to play in these big-time games.
“It's not the mountaintop; I'm looking for more. There's more plays for me to make. There's things I have to work on to get better and better. It was a good game, but I have a lot more to prove, lot more to play for and I'm looking forward to doing that.”
The game against the Eagles, a surprising team this year in the ACC with first-year head coach Jeff Hafley and former Notre Dame quarterback Phil Jurkovec triggering the offense, is a reunion of sorts for Simon.
In addition to Boston College extending Simon his first collegiate offer, the Eagles' roster features senior offensive lineman Ben Petrula, a teammate of Notre Dame's trio of St. Peter's Prep standouts Simon, Jayson and Justin Ademilola. Additionally, Eagles wide receivers coach Joe Dailey, Hansen notes, also has deep ties to St. Peter's Prep.
Hansen remembers in Simon a player with dominance transcending both sides of the ball.
“He made a lot of plays for us on both sides of the ball,” Hansen said. “People don't know or don't remember he was an unbelievable offensive matchup for us as well. Too strong for corners, too fast for safeties.
“I do remember playing at home against our rival St. Joseph Regional, we were up and they were putting together a last-minute drive. We went to man coverage and we locked Shayne up on their best threat, the tight end, and Shayne picked off a pass off in the end zone to end the game. It was just our best on their best and our best was better.”
Despite his effervescent approach on the field, Simon is keeping an even keel in
“I made some plays to help the team and I'm just hoping to do the same moving forward,” Simon said.
“I think for our defense, we're all about energy. Whenever we get a negative-yardage snap, we get juiced up and hyped up and that really plays into our energy level and allows us to keep going back out there and keep trying to get stops.”
