2016 Football Roster
Sep 12 (Fri)
6:30 p.m.
T.J. Simmons
- Height:
- 6-0
- Weight:
- 232
- Class:
- Senior
- Hometown:
- Lakeland, Fla.
- High School:
- Lakeland
2016: Redshirted the 2016 season ... scout team player of the week (Wake Forest).
2015 (Junior): Closed out the year third on the team with 73 tackles, 34 solo, tied for fourth with three sacks (20 yards) and fifth with six tackles for loss (26 yards) ... appeared in all 13 games with 12 starts at middle linebacker ... led the team and finished with game-high honors in stops in the season-opening Southern Illinois win and at No. 7 Michigan State ... set career-highs in tackles (15), sacks (2.5) and TFLs (4) vs. the Spartans ... the four stops for loss share fifth on IU’s single-game list ... the 15 tackles matched a team-high in 2015 ... collected 11 tackles, seven solo, against SIU ... posted seven solo stops against No. 1 Ohio State ... added six tackles in the Florida International and Western Kentucky victories ... IU defensive player of the week (Michigan State) ... three-time game captain.
2014 (Sophomore): Finished second on the team with 72 tackles and 46 solos ... added two sacks (12 yards), 6.5 tackles for loss (25 yards) and his first career fumble recovery ... led the team and tied for eighth in the Big Ten with two forced fumbles ... played in all 12 games and started 11 times at middle linebacker ... paced the team in tackles six times, including twice with game-high honors ... recorded at least six stops in seven games ... collected a game-high 13 tackles at Bowling Green ... made a game-high nine stops with one sack against No. 8 Michigan State ... carded seven tackles, five solo, and one TFL and he forced and recovered a fumble in the Purdue win ... received Indiana’s Terry P. Cole Award as the most valuable player of the Purdue game ... delivered seven stops, six solo, with one for loss, at Rutgers and at No. 7 Ohio State ... also forced his first career fumble vs. the Scarlet Knights ... netted six tackles and 1.5 TFLs in the win at No. 18 Missouri ... had six stops, one for loss, against Penn State ... four-time IU defensive player of the week (Missouri, Iowa, Rutgers and Purdue) ... IU special teams player of the week (North Texas).
2013 Honors: CollegeFootballNews.com Freshman All-American honorable mention ... ESPN.com Big Ten All-Freshman team ... BTN.com honorable mention All-Big Ten Freshman team.
2013 (Freshman): Started all 12 games at middle linebacker ... first Indiana true freshman to start in the middle since John Kerr in 2002 ... 12 starts at linebacker tied an IU freshman record ... posted 68 tackles, 42 solo, with one sack (5 yards) and 3.5 tackles for loss (16 yards) ... recorded at least seven stops six times ... finished with a game-high nine tackles and a half-TFL in his first collegiate game against Indiana State ... matched his season-high with nine stops the following week vs. Navy ... collected a career-best eight solos with the sack and two tackles for loss at Michigan ... added eight stops against Minnesota ... tallied seven tackles and two pass breakups in the Penn State win and seven stops against Missouri ... IU defensive player of the week (Indiana State) ... enrolled in spring classes and participated in practice.
Prep/Personal: Linebacker for head coach Bill Castle at Lakeland High School ... finished his career with 325 tackles ... made 121 stops, three sacks, 32 tackles for loss, two interceptions and one fumble recovery as a senior ... first team all-state and two-time all-county selection ... Top 16 player in Polk County and Bright House Top 30 player ... rated the No. 53 inside linebacker nationally by ESPN ... also lettered in weight lifting ... mother is Pamala Willis ... born on Oct. 24, 1994, Timothy Bernard Simmons, Jr., is a liberal studies major.
