(Photo: Scotty Bara/WCSN)
When Mike Bercovici’s final Hail Mary pass landed in the hands of Jaelen Strong to give Arizona State a 38-34 victory against USC, safety Jordan Simone was one of the first to give the quarterback a hug. With all attention on Bercovici and Strong, Simone was glad just to be a victorious teammate on a night that will go down in Sun Devils lore.
But Simone deserved some attention for his performance as well.
“It was the best performance we’ve had from a safety since I’ve been here,” ASU head coach Todd Graham said.
Simone, 22, finished the night with 20 tackles against the USC Trojans, a team that entered the matchup at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum as 13-point favorites on Saturday. The redshirt junior wasn’t alive the last time a Sun Devils defender accomplished that feat, as Mark Tingstad was the last to reach 20 tackles when he did so in 1988.
“I was just doing what the coaches asked me to do,” Simone said. “Preparation leads to success and we prepared all week for USC. Everyone did their job and I was just fortunate enough to come in and make some plays.”
Making some plays is all Simone has done in 2014 after a long climb to the starting lineup. After transferring from Washington State following the 2012 season, Simone sat out the 2013 season and worked with the scout team. In the spring he was considered a filler of sorts in the bandit safety role that would presumably become Marcus Ball’s once the bigger, more athletic safety was healthy.
By the time fall camp came, he was in a battle with James Johnson and Ball for the starting role. Now the job is all his and along with it came a scholarship in August, one week before the team’s season opener. Through five games, Simone is second on the team in tackles, tied for first in interceptions and tied for first in fumbles forced.
“I’m really proud of him,” Graham said. “I think he’s playing extremely well and has the capabilities of being even better. He’s one of those guys that has that fight in him that I like.”
The challenge for Simone now, according to Graham, is finding consistency and dealing with the success that has rapidly come to the safety. Luckily for Simone, he has three roommates that can help him out.
“He definitely has a lot of great roommates to humble him, so we’re always on him,” ASU running back D.J. Foster said. “He’s a great person, a great friend and a great teammate so we have no worries about him.”
Foster is one of Simone’s three roommates, along with Bercovici and wide receiver Ellis Jefferson. Simone said the apartment has featured a lot of smiles in the days after the Hail Mary victory, as all four of the roommates played major roles in the victory.
Just a couple months earlier though, Simone would drop his roommates off to pick up their scholarship checks. However, nothing about Simone’s quick ascension into a major role has been surprising to Foster.
“To be honest, I did [expect it],” Foster said. “I’ve never seen somebody work so hard in the offseason and we knew his potential. He just needed to believe in himself and I think with each week he’s getting better and better.”
Getting better with every day is something that Graham stresses often and it is something that Simone has taken to heart.
“You can always get better in the little things,” Simone said. “In fundamentals, in tackling, and just controlling what you can control and that’s your attitude and your effort.”
You can reach Adam Stites on Twitter @AdamStitesASU or by email arstites@asu.edu
