Yukota "Ko" Simpson (born November 9, 1983) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

safety Safety is the state of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings The word 'safety' entered the English language in the 1 ...

. He was selected by the

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East div ...

in the fourth round of the

2006 NFL draft The 2006 NFL draft, the 71st in league history, took place in New York City, New York, at Radio City Music Hall on April 29 and April 30, 2006. For the 27th consecutive year, the draft was telecast on ESPN and ESPN2, with additional coverage offe ...

. He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

. He also played for the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. The team plays their home game ...

Early life

Simpson was born in

Rock Hill, South Carolina Rock Hill is the most populous city in York County, South Carolina, United States, and the List of municipalities in South Carolina, 5th-most populous city in the state. It is also the 4th-most populous city of the Charlotte metropolitan area, be ...

and attended Castle Heights Middle School and Rock Hill High School where he helped lead the team to a Class AAAA State Championship playing on both offense and

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. He signed a

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with South Carolina in 2003, but did not enroll until spring of 2004 under then

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Lou Holtz Louis Leo Holtz (born January 6, 1937) is an American former college football coach and television analyst. He served as the head football coach at the College of William & Mary (1969–1971), North Carolina State University (1972–1975), the N ...

College career

Simpson attended and played college football at South Carolina. In his freshman season, Simpson recorded 50 solo tackles, 11 assists and six interceptions. Against

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

, in only his second collegiate game, he intercepted a David Greene pass and returned it 57 yards for a touchdown. He was named SEC Defensive Player of the Week for his performance in the Gamecocks' win over

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the West South Central region of the Southern United States. It borders Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, and Oklahoma ...

which included a fumble recovery returned 57 yards for a touchdown. His six interceptions led the Southeastern Conference and he was named Freshman of the Year in the SEC by the

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, becoming the first South Carolina player to ever win the award. As a sophomore, Simpson had 103 total tackles, two fumble returns and an interception. He was consensus All-SEC and named a Football Writers Association

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

Professional career

Buffalo Bills

Simpson was selected by the

in the fourth round of the

with the 105th overall pick. On September 11, 2007, Simpson was placed on

injured reserve The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in ...

Detroit Lions

Simpson was traded to the

for a seventh round pick on September 4, 2009. On November 25, Simpson was placed on injured reserve with a torn patella with a separated MCL. He was released by the Lions on September 4, 2010.

NFL statistics

Personal life

On January 1, 2009, Simpson was arrested by a

police officer for hindering police while they were attempting to break up an unruly crowd. According to the police report, Simpson verbally abused officers.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Simpson, Ko 1983 births Living people Players of American football from Rock Hill, South Carolina American football safeties South Carolina Gamecocks football players Buffalo Bills players Detroit Lions players Rock Hill High School (South Carolina) alumni 21st-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century African-American sportsmen