Coastal receiver is Bengals' catch

Simpson’s small-team dreams come true in front of stars from major schools

By From Staff Reports

Jerome Simpson spent Saturday afternoon at a Winston-Salem, N.C., flea market. The day trip was planned to avoid the nerve-trying television coverage of the NFL Draft.

The call of his life came as he returned home to Reidsville, N.C., in the early evening.

Cincinnati coach Marvin Lewis told the former Coastal Carolina receiver that the Bengals had taken him in the second round. He was the 46th overall pick.

The Simpson caravan pulled to the side of familiar U.S. Route 29. Tears, leaps and hugs ensued.

“We pulled over and put the hazard [lights] on,” Simpson said. “We were jumping up and down, my mother and grandmother were crying, my uncles were crying

“It’s just really crazy. It helps my family out a lot. It is just blessing.”

Just as Simpson routinely soared over defensive backs for acrobatic catches with his 40-inch vertical jump in college, Simpson ascended above projections of analysts Saturday.

Most draft services rated the Football Championship Subdivision standout as a third- or fourth-round prospect.

As Simpson’s name appeared on the draft ticker, he became the highest Big South draft selection of all time. He is the second Chanticleer to be drafted after Minnesota selected quarterback Tyler Thigpen in the seventh round last season.

“To be able to play in a pro league,” Simpson said, “I’ve always had this dream.”

Simpson — the Big South’s all-time leading receiver (2,720 yards) who was the active FCS leader in touchdowns (44) last season — was the sixth receiver taken. He was selected before large-school receiving stars like California’s DeSean Jackson, Texas’ Limas Sweed and Oklahoma’s Malcolm Kelly.

Simpson figures to have a chance to play a significant role as a rookie.

Simpson ran times of 4.43 and 4.47 seconds at the NFL Combine, had a 41-½ vertical jump at Coastal’s pro day and measured in with the longest arms and second-largest hands of any prospect at the East-West all-star game.