Joshua Simon feeling many emotions heading into first game as Gamecock
Joshua Simon stood at the podium, looked up and crossed his arms. He couldn’t help but share what he was feeling inside.
Come Saturday night, Simon will be suiting up for the first time as a Gamecock. This was the dream, a chance to play for his home state school. And in just a few days, it’ll become a reality.
“Man, I’m a whole lot excited. Excited probably couldn’t express how I feel,” Simon said.
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Excited is just one of many feelings running through Simon’s head as kickoff approaches. He said he’s been doing his best to tune it all out. After all, South Carolina will be playing a very good North Carolina team under the lights in Charlotte.
In years past, when Simon played for Western Kentucky, there were some strong power-five opponents to go up against. So this upcoming matchup doesn’t feel much different from what he’s experienced.
But just like any college football player, the emotions are definitely there.
“Exciting? Yeah. Anxious? Kind of, sort of, yeah. Big stage up there in Charlotte. But no, nothing different,” he said.
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If anything, Simon has had the past few months to get his mind ready for this moment. Since transferring, he’s been impressing with his play on the field. During one of the first days of fall camp, he leaped high over freshman defensive back Jalon Kilgore in a 1-on-1 drill and made a diving catch in the end zone.
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“Things for me have gone pretty smoothly,” Simon said. “I have grown and I’m continuing to grow. In this game, you’ve got to grow every day. You’ve got to continue to get better every day. So that’s something I pride and focus on doing.”
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And the expectation is Simon will be able to translate over well to playing against SEC competition. He, along with Trey Knox, were named the team’s starting tight ends on the first depth chart of the year.
But it doesn’t come as a complete surprise considering his size and ability as a pass-catcher. Standing at 6-foot-4, 240 pounds, Simon caught 86 passes for 1,146 yards with 16 touchdowns at Western Kentucky.
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As for how Simon will be used in first-year offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains’ offense, that remains to be seen. However, he said he’s just as excited as his other teammates about what it could look like this season.
“Tune in Saturday. It should be a pretty good show,” Simon said.
