John Simpson

John Simpson is an American football offensive guard who currently plays for the Clemson Tigers.

Early life and high school

Simpson grew up in the Dorchester-Waylyn neighborhood of North Charleston, South Carolina, where he and his younger brother were raised in a single parent household by his mother, and attended Fort Dorchester High School. Rated a four star prospect, Simpson committed to play college football at Clemson over offers from Florida, LSU, South Carolina and Alabama.

College career

Simpson played in nine games (160 total snaps) as a true freshman on Clemson's 2016 National Championship team, missing multiple weeks due to a foot injury. He appeared in 12 games as a sophomore, playing 300 total snaps of the bench as a key reserve on the Tigers' offensive line. Simpson was named the Tigers' starting left guard going into his junior season. Simpson started all 15 games for the Tigers, playing a total of 858 snaps, as the team won the 2019 College Football Playoff National Championship was named third team All-Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) and to the second team by the Associated Press.

Simpson was chosen by head coach Dabo Swinney to represent Clemson at the ACC's 2019 media day. He gained national coverage by a wearing a blonde wig to imitate the team's starting quarterback, Trevor Lawrence, whom most members of the media had expected to be Clemson's player representative. He was named preseason first team All-ACC and to the Outland Trophy watchlist entering the season. He was also listed as the second-best offensive guard prospect for the 2020 NFL Draft by ESPN analyst Mel Kiper. Simpson was named a first team midseason All-American by the Associated Press. Simpson was the only offensive guard to be named a consensus first team All-American for the 2019 season.