Sept. 11, 2007
BELLINGHAM, Wash. -
by Jim Carberry, WWU Sports Information Office
Shane Simmons grew up with the same dream as almost every youngster who has thrown a pass, shot a jumper or swung a bat: to play professional sports.
"In football season I'd want to be a Seahawk," the Western Washington University senior said. "In basketball I'd want to be on the Sonics, and in baseball I'd want to be a Mariner."
But while the reality of life eventually erases such hopes for millions of youngsters, the Vikings middle linebacker is turning his "Impossible Dream" into a real possibility.
"I don't like to bring it up too much, but I can sense it (the possibility of playing professionally)," he said. "I want to play in the NFL. I'm preparing for it. It's become a realistic goal."
To comprehend the difficulty of playing in the NFL, especially for a player from a small-college program, one need only look at the historical odds.
Of the nearly 2,000 players that have taken the field for the Vikings, including Hall of Famers and All-Americans, only one has been drafted (defensive end Dave Weedman in the 12th round in 1968), and only two have played in the NFL. Safety Erik Totten played in a couple of games for the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2002, and Michael Koenen currently is in his third season punting and kicking for the Atlanta Falcons.
That's it.
Western Coach Robin Ross knows what it takes to make it in the pros. A 10th-round draft pick of the San Francisco 49ers who also played for the Seattle Seahawks in a preseason, Ross was an assistant for the Oakland Raiders and still has many connections to the league.
And, according to Ross, it takes someone special to make it to the NFL, especially from a Division II school.
"They have to be exceptional at this level," said Ross, who has coached nearly a half-dozen college players who went on to the NFL. "They measure you as far as size, 40 (yard dash) time, hand size. Those are comparable if you are from USC or Western. But performance-wise, it comes down to numbers."
The 6-foot-1, 225-pound Simmons has proven he has the numbers. Last season, he was leading NCAA Division II nationally in solo tackles (9.8 average per game) and leading the powerful North Central Conference in total tackles (11.2 per game) before an injury ended his season after five games.
But the most impressive number of all is the number 4.57. That was the time he took to run 40 yards -- with NFL scouts watching.
Ross, who is in his second year at Western, recalled his first impression of Simmons' speed last year: "I thought, `Wow, can he run.' Any linebacker who does under 4.6, you know he can run. Four or five scouts already told me they'd be back."
To get to where he is today hasn't been easy for Simmons, however. Like most youngsters who dream of becoming a pro, he found life's journey filled with many potholes.
He grew up in a sports-minded family with parents who encouraged and supported Shane and his sister, ShyAnn, as they played a variety of sports. Always good-sized and athletic, Simmons found success in whatever sport he played, including soccer, basketball and baseball, in which he was a second-team all-state outfielder as a sophomore at Kentlake High School in Kent.
Eventually, though, he dropped each one to concentrate on football, which he began playing in seventh grade.
"I loved it right off," Simmons remembered. "I loved the contact. I played quarterback, safety, special teams, anywhere I could."
It didn't take the Kentlake coaches long to realize they had someone special. By his sophomore season, he was starting at quarterback and safety, where he earned all-league honors.
But midway through his junior season, reality hit like a crack-back block. A broken ankle caused him to miss five games. Fortunately, he didn't have to come back all by himself.
"I had a lot of support from my family, my teammates and my coaches," said Simmons. "I was determined to have a good senior year. We had good senior leadership, and we had a very successful senior year."
The Falcons certainly did, going 9-2, winning the North Division of the South Puget Sound League and making it to the second round of the Class 4A state playoffs. And a big part of that success was because of Simmons.
He passed and ran for 1,694 yards and 19 touchdowns in being named the SPSL North Division Offensive Player of the Year, and had 73 tackles, two interceptions, two blocked punts and a fumble recovery at safety. For his efforts, he was named as one of the state's top 100 seniors by the Seattle Times and was selected to play in the East-West all-star game.
He already had received some attention before his senior year when he attended three camps, including the University of Oregon camp, where Ross was an assistant. "We mentioned him during recruiting," Ross recalled. "When I saw him (at Western), I remembered him."
After his outstanding senior season, Simmons's goal was to play football for a Division I school . While all the Pacific-10 Conference schools showed interest, the best offers were full-ride scholarships to Idaho and Idaho State.
Simmons chose Idaho, but it appeared that his dream would be derailed again. He played in the Vandals' first three games in 2004, but things on and off the field did not go well. The tragic death of a close teammate caused Simmons to suddenly quit and leave school.
"Idaho wasn't a good fit for me," he said of the experience. "My life was up in the air ... playing pro ball wasn't even on my radar. I just wanted to get my college paid for."
The opportunity came when he was recruited by former Western head coach Rob Smith. Simmons liked Smith, the football program and the university, and enrolled immediately so he could participate in spring practices.
If Simmons like Western, then the feeling was mutual.
"The players were real welcoming here," he said. "I felt more comfortable. I knew right away it was the right decision (to come to Western). I just wanted to work hard and gain their respect."
That didn't take too long. As a sophomore, he started nine of 10 games, had 66 tackles (second most on the team), including 8.5 for losses, five sacks, four forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries and an interception. He was voted the team's defensive player of the year and named a Great Northwest Athletic Conference first-team all-star.
But just like in high school, Simmons's junior year at Western wasn't easy. First came a coaching change as Ross replaced Smith. Fortunately for both, they immediately hit it off.
"Right away I knew Coach Ross knew his stuff," said Simmons. "He kept good people and brought in good people. He wants you to leave (Western) being a good football player but also a really good person."
Ross had the same high regard for Simmons: "He is a player of high character with great leadership who the other players all look up to. When I saw him, I put him as our middle linebacker. With his speed ... that would allow him to play sideline to sideline."
Simmons responded by playing sideline to sideline and endzone to endzone his junior year. He had double-figure tackle totals in four of his first five games, but something was wrong. After the fourth game, Simmons felt pain in his right shoulder and neck, and in the first series of the fifth game he hit a player and his shoulder went numb.
"I tried to shake it out and ended up playing the whole game," Simmons said. "But the next day I couldn't lift up my arm to eat a bowl of cereal."
He tried to come back three games later to play Central, but the doctors told him his season was over. It was a down time for him and the NFL dream was now more of a nightmare. "I just thought, `What do I do now?'" he said.
Fortunately, he did what he had done four years earlier: He enjoyed the support of his family, his teammates, his coaches and the medical staff.
"They were there for me," Simmons said. "They kept pushing me."
And no one was there more for him than his parents. "They are so positive ad encouraging," he said. "My Mom always says, you hurt yourself your junior years ... so you are going to have a great senior year."
Mom isn't the only one to think so. Although he only played half his junior season -- and still earned second-team NCC all-star honors -- the national media, like the NFL scouts, has taken notice. He was named to the second-team preseason All-America squad by D2Football.com and ranked among its top 15 pro hopefuls.
Which means the NFL dream is still alive.
"The dream stopped a while," Simmons said. "It came alive when Coach Ross came here. He knew about the NFL. He would say little things to me about pro ball, and tell me it's realistic.
"But it's going to take a healthy (senior) year. I have 10 guaranteed games, and hopefully some playoff games. I just want to play my heart out, and at the end of the year we'll go from there.
Ross likes that attitude. He's seen potential players get so nervous because of the pressure that they lose perspective on life.
"I tell them to be the best players they can be," the coach said. "The rest will take care of itself. And have fun. They get so uptight."
But Ross isn't too worried about his star linebacker: "Shane loves football and will do anything you ask him to do. If he makes the NFL, I'll be happy for him because he will realize his goal. But if he doesn't make the NFL, he'll get his degree. He's a successful person, and he'll be successful."
That's the way Simmons looks at it, too. He plans to graduate in the winter with a major in recreation and is happy to work in that field if he's not spending Sundays on the football field.
As for his legacy at Western, he's only concerned with one thing.
"I hope people remember me as having an impact on the team in a positive way, as someone with good character, who would help my teammates," he said.
But, with a smile, he added, "It would also be nice if they remembered me as a Seahawk."
