Yesterday's turn in our Spotlight Series celebrated the career of the man known as "The Professor", safety Damien Richardson. With 38 days until the season opener, we stay in the secondary and highlight a player who's ASU days extended past his playing career, safety Jordan Simone.
A two-time state champion at Skyline High School in Sammamish, WA, Jordan did not receive any collegiate offers coming out of high school. Undeterred, he stayed in his home state and walked on at Washington State for the 2011 season, earning his varsity letter and appearing in 11 games for the Cougars, mostly on special teams.
His impact was felt early on, recording a season-high four tackles in Week 1 against Idaho State, earning Cougar Special Teams Player of the Week honors for his performance. He would finish the season with 13 tackles before leaving Washington State at the end of the year.
After taking 2012 away from football, Jordan enrolled at Arizona State in 2013, spending his redshirt sophomore season on the scout team. His redshirt junior season would prove to be his breakout season. After earning his first career start against Weber State, Jordan would announce himself with authority two weeks later with a 13 tackle performance at Colorado in Week 3.
He would post four more games with double-digit tackles in the 2014 season, highlighted by an incredible 20 tackle game at USC on October 4th, becoming the first Sun Devil to reach that mark since Mark Tingstad in 1988 against Arizona.
Who is the hardest-hitting defender in ASU football history? pic.twitter.com/THiPf5uwIW
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Jordan developed a reputation as a hard-hitting defender, ending the 2014 season with 100 tackles (74 solo), both good for second on the defense behind Damarious Randall. He added two interceptions, two fumble recoveries, one forced fumble and one sack.
His 8.3 tackles per game led the team, earning him the program's Darren Woodson Outstanding Secondary Award. Jordan would also take home Honorable Mention All-Pac-12 honors, as well as a nomination for the Burlsworth Award for the nation's top player who started their career as a walk-on.
After coming up short for the Pac-12 South title, Jordan returned for his senior season in 2015, and was named a team captain for his contributions the prior year. He entered the season on the preseason watch list for the Nagurski Award, given to the best defensive player in college football. He proved the pundits right in the opener, recording 7 tackles and one interception in a 38-17 loss to Texas A&M.
His dominant presence in the secondary continued, recording five games with double-digit tackles, reaching a season-high 13 tackles against Washington State in early November. Unfortunately, his season and career would come to an early end the following week when he tore his ACL against Washington.
Despite the early end to his season, Jordan made the most of it, finishing third on the team with 91 tackles (74 solo), adding four sacks and two interceptions. He was nominated for the Burlsworth Award for a second season, becoming a semifinalist for the 2015 edition. He would further become Arizona State's fourth semifinalist for the Jim Thorpe Award (best defensive back in college football), and the first since Nijrell Eason in 2000. He earned Honorable Mention All-Pac-12 honors for the second straight season, was named Second Team All-Pac-12 by the Associated Press, and Made Phil Steele's 2015 Postseason All-Pac-12 First Team.
Jordan's knee injury wasn't a roadblock, but instead an opportunity. After a long road of rehabilitation and training, Jordan got to live his dream when he was invited to Seattle Seahawks minicamp in 2017.
His NFL career would be short lived however, tearing his ACL for a second time during a preseason game against the Los Angeles Chargers. His time on the field would not end, as he joined the Sun Devil broadcast team in 2018 as a sideline reporter and co-host of the pregame show, a position he would hold until the 2021 season.
Few players achieve stardom starting as a walk-on, but Jordan accomplished that to an incredibly high degree, leaving his mark on the Arizona State football program for years to come. A true Sun Devil for Life, he is our selection for today's Spotlight Series as we inch ever closer to the start of Big 12 title defense season.