‘After turning in one of the best seasons ever for a freshman defensive player at South Carolina in 2004, Simpson came back in 2005 to earn first-team All-America honors from the Football Writers Association of America and consensus all-SEC recognition. Simpson ranked third in the SEC and led all SEC defensive backs with 103 tackles, 72 of which were unassisted. His 13 pass breakups tied for the second-highest total in the SEC. Simpson was honored as the SEC Defensive Player of the Week after making 13 tackles (nine of which were unassisted), picking off a pass and recovering a fumble that he returned 19 yards for a touchdown in the Gamecocks’ win over Kentucky. Prior to the season, he was ranked as the top safety in the country and was a first-team All-America honoree from The Sporting News.’