Latest / CBN Sports 1-ON-1 / Ep. 2 LA Ram's Ty Simpson
Transcript
- Will Dawson: ⁓ and I just came home in my little apartment, my dad was there, and I just kind of you know kind of teared up and got emotional just because, right, like everything that I've known just you know, just felt like it was all crumbling and you know, not what I needed to do. Welcome to CBN Sports One on One, where you'll hear exclusive interviews with some of the biggest names in sports right here on the CBN Sports Podcast Network. I'm your host, Will Dawson. If you're like most of us and you love sports, If you're tired of the dark side of sports culture, me-focused athletes, or even organizations that bow to an unbiblical belief system, you're going to love this podcast. There's no yelling, no sensationalism, just conversations with athletes and coaches that recognize that their purpose is bigger than their sport. This week, our guest is Rams first-round pick, quarterback Ty Simpson. I sat down with Ty in Tuscaloosa during his final season in Alabama, and Ty talks about His football crisis, his dependence on Christ, and how much playing time in the NFL is really going to mean to him. Let's jump right in. So let's talk about your high school days before you came to Alabama. You had success essentially at every level, didn't you? ⁓ I mean, I I I guess you could say that, right? Like ⁓ I started playing football when I was in fourth grade. ⁓ my dad being a being a coach, he didn't want me to start too early. So fourth grade was it. ⁓ you know, it was kind of peewee ball, ⁓ middle school, you know, kinda just out there. And then I didn't, you know, win a state championship till I was a senior in high school was the first time ⁓ my school's ever done it. So ⁓ it was it was pretty cool. ⁓ you know, I just kinda I knew I was, you know, talented, but I didn't really know. And then, you know, I had an opportunity to go here. and, you know, just kind of blessed and highly favored. Well you were highly recruited, highly regarded in high school. I I would say probably your junior year, is that when when the rankings come out and you're like top three in the nation as far as pro style passer? I guess so. I wasn't really sure. So that's not really something that you paid attention to. Yeah. I mean like I guess like people would tell me or whatever, but like I knew none of it really mattered until you got to college, you know. ⁓ you know, you you see the stories all the time about how nobody recruited so and so or this guy was, you know, however many stars coming out. So I knew especially like coming here, right? Like, you know, that stuff didn't matter at all. I've talked to a lot of quarterbacks in the past. We we were talking about Brott Fandergriff and ⁓ he had won a couple of state championships and he's he told me that he was kind of believing the hype in high school and that in high school it was a little difficult being the man. You were the man in high school. Did you did you have any issues like that? ⁓ I think it was more of the fact of like me being a s small town kid and going to a small town school of not knowing like what's outside of it. ⁓ 'cause I knew I was the best player, you know, ⁓ at my school and, you know, in in my county or whatever in my district. But I didn't know, you know, outside. ⁓ I knew it had p had potential, right? But like nothing, you know, told me like this was gonna work out, you know, the way that you saw it. ⁓ so, you know, I just kind of always kind of put my head down and it was just like, you know, just gotta find a way to get better. So you you get recruited by Alabama, but l before that, let's talk about growing up, re raising a Christian home. Yeah. So ⁓ growing up always, right? Like my my mom and dad, you know, we went to church every Sunday, would go to church on Wednesday ⁓ nights. ⁓ my dad was a deacon. ⁓ my my mom's mom and dad, ⁓ we went to church when, you know, we went to go visit them. Same thing with my ⁓ dad's mom and dad, just kind of was always, you know, around me. ⁓ and then being ⁓ with my dad at his at his college with his team, right? ⁓ heck college football coach at UT Martin. ⁓ just seeing the way that ⁓ he ⁓ kind of you know preached the gospel ⁓ with his team and his players was really cool. So I've always been a part of it. Was there a moment then that you felt like I'm not living the way in high school that I'm not living the way that I should be and I need to give my life to Christ or is that something that's always kind of been part of your life? ⁓ it's always been kind of part of my life just because I've I've always had, you know, somebody there to like guide me in in a type of type of way. ⁓ just because right, like I was living with my mom and dad. ⁓ you know, it was just a routine, right? Like Sundays I'd go to, you know, go to go to church, right? Wednesday nights if it wasn't during football season, you know, go go hang out with the boys ⁓ at at church. ⁓ but it really I got when I got to college, that was when it kind of changed for me, right? 'Cause I was on my own. You know, it was all my time. I could either sleep in and, you know, and not go to church or ⁓ you know, get up and go by myself, ⁓ not having anybody there. ⁓ and it really hit me my sophomore year when the first time I had a quarterback battle. ⁓ it was because, right, like ⁓ I kind of saw myself as a certain type of type of figure and that was just football, right? Everybody who knew me ⁓ was just like Ty Simpson the quarterback, Ty you know, Ty Simpson, the Alabama football player, Ty Simpson the guy who went to Alabama. ⁓ and so, you know, I kinda envisioned it going, you know, one way. ⁓ and then, you know, when I was battling for the starting position myself more year, it really wasn't going the way that I envisioned it. And, you know, I I was just kinda you know, upset, not understanding what's going on, wasn't playing well. ⁓ and after a scrimmage one day, you know, didn't really go my way. ⁓ and I just came home in my little apartment, my dad was there and I just kinda, you know, kinda teared up and got emotional just because, right, like everything that I've known just w you know, just felt like it was all crumbling and, you know, not what I needed to do. and, you know, my dad being a dad, a coach, you know, whatever, he didn't ask me about, you know, ⁓ are you okay? He didn't ask me, you know, well, ⁓ you know, you gotta suck it up. Or he didn't he didn't just tell me like, no, you're doing this and this bad. ⁓ he just basically just asked me like, you know, how's how's your faith? Right? Like how, you know, are you in the word? ⁓ are you going up the in the church? Are you, you know, constantly like, you know, praying and a you know, asking for guidance and stuff? ⁓ and it really kind of opened my eyes 'cause I was like, No, I'm not. Like I wasn't, you know, I was more focused on how people saw me as a football player and how people perceived me as a an athlete instead of p how people saw me as a ⁓ Christian and a person. ⁓ and kind of put my problems on myself and, you know, living a type of way that like I knew was wrong, but it was the one that I wanted to do. and after that, I kind of kind of was just like a sigh of relief, right? Like, you know, that night I just kind of sat back and, you know, realized like remembered all the time that I did. ⁓ a spent at church when I was a little kid. ⁓ and all the great, you know, the great times and ⁓ the testimonies that I heard in the in the athletes that, you know, I I I kinda look up to. ⁓ and I just, you know, kind of just prayed and ⁓ and just a big sigh of relief was off my shoulders. No anxiety, just, you know, it felt free, honestly. So that enabled you then to go out and play free after that? Did things change for you? Yeah. ⁓ you know It just gave me a different perspective of like, you know, kinda not caring, right? Like, you know, why would I why would I be upset of how people looked at me or how I played when knowing that like there's such a bigger purpose, you know what I mean? Where football is not into the world. ⁓ that, you know, I could throw, you know, however many picks and, you know, do whatever. ⁓ but as long as I believe like I'm gonna be all right. How important is your relationship with your dad, is he like a spiritual mentor for you? ⁓ yeah, absolutely. Him and ⁓ my mom for sure. Of course, ⁓ you know, my my dad always sends me scriptures, you know, literally every morning. I could show you my phone. It's it's probably like six ⁓ tweets or ⁓ pictures every morning of just like scriptures and motivational ⁓ motivational context. ⁓ just because of, you know, the world that he works in and lives in and is, you know, very similar to mine and How, you know, we can kind of get lost in all the all the noise ⁓ and all the distractions instead of keeping the main thing the main thing. When you were battling ⁓ your sophomore year for that for that starting position and you realized, was there something specific that was happening in and how dark did it get for you? ⁓ it just I I have so much fun playing football and and just enjoying being around the guys and enjoying, you know, just competing in general, right? ⁓ but I'm very, very hard on myself, you know, because I have a high standard f and wanna, you know, compete at a high level. ⁓ and it just kinda weighed down ⁓ on me for for a long time. and it it just got no fun, you know, honestly, right? Like I just dreaded coming into the building every day, like, you know, going to practice, going to meetings because it just wasn't very fun to me. ⁓ and then You know, like I said, like I had that moment and I got my joy back 'cause I just, you know, knew that like this is, you know, this is just a game, you know. there there's a bigger picture and there's a bigger there's a reason why I'm playing this g game. It's not just because, ⁓ I'm good, ⁓ and you know, whatever. Like there's a reason why, it's working out the way it's working out. ⁓ and it's, you know, not up to me. What is that reason? ⁓ to, you know, use my platform to, you know, give the glory the The Lord. ⁓ we say this all the time. ⁓ you know, I want people to see me more as a Christian than a football player. How do you handle adversity this season as the as the starter, as the full time starter? ⁓ how have you handled adversity? ⁓ yeah. I mean, it's been hard, right? You know, just because I hadn't been there before. ⁓ but you know, you can't really ha you can't have a bad day knowing that, you know, Jesus Christ died for you. You know, my dad tells that that to me all the time, right? Like, you know Sun's still gonna come up, right? Like, you know, think about all you know all the people in the world who are, you know, hurt, sick, you know, on on, you know, on on their deathbed, right? Like you get to play football and you know, you have an opportunity to ⁓ you know, write your own story. ⁓ and that's just kind of how I look at it, right? Like, you know, adversity brings opportunity, and you know, this is a great ⁓ great opportunity for me to, you know, play for a ⁓ for a bigger cause. It's a really mature perspective. how I guess what does what is your relationship on a day to day basis with with Jesus mean to you? I guess in light of and knowing all that he's done for you, not just in in giving you the abilities that he's given you, but just the gospel itself, knowing that he's he's died for your sins. Yeah. ⁓ you know, I I say my ⁓ favorite verse is Micah five five, ⁓ just because of all the anxiety and everything that, you know, you kinda go through on a day to day basis at a, you know, a high ⁓ intensity, you know, thing like like we have here, ⁓ just because of all the the competitiveness, the distractions, the stress, right? Like, you know, I I every morning I get up, you know, I read my devotional, then I pray before I go in ⁓ to the building and and then I pray before I ⁓ go to sleep at night. Just because one, right, like, you know, he can instantly take this away. ⁓ but he's giving me this platform to you know, glorify him. But but too, right, like, you know, when you care about something so much and you're very passionate about it, like when you talk about something and, you know, you have that kind of ⁓ you know, good feeling that it just kind of, you know, gets the anxiety and the relief off of you. So whenever I get to, you know, in a big time situation, right? ⁓ whether it's, you know, playing in Athens or fourth down, you know, against Missouri, right, like, you know, kinda anxiety free knowing that I can just say a little a little prayer and like you've you know that he's with me no matter what. You're the leader of the football team. ⁓ at least the offense. ⁓ when you think about other guys and the things that they go through, since you you're you're going through the same things, anxieties, ⁓ are you also a spiritual leader, at least to some other guys on the team? Yeah, absolutely. Right. Like, you know, I I try to give my perspective on everything of, you know, whether guys are going through, you know, some type of adversity that I've been through before. ⁓ or stuff that, you know, I don't, you know, know about or I have, you know, no, you know, relationship about ⁓ or correlation with. ⁓ you know, I I I either tell ⁓ like, Hey, you know, this is what I did, or, you know, I d even a simple like, Hey, I'm praying for you, man. ⁓ you know, I just feel like that goes a long way. And then, you know, somebody's like, Man, that you know, that means a lot, especially coming from a ⁓ the starting quarterback. You seem like a guy who well, like we talk about, just keeps your head down. and goes on to the next thing one day at a time. And that's a great way to live the Christian life. I mean it's a great way to go from high school to a big time program ⁓ like Alabama. ⁓ five years from now, I know that you hope that you're doing God's will, whatever that is. what would it mean for you to be ⁓ a a high pick in the NFL and be ⁓ excelling at a high level in the league? Yeah, I mean it would be great, right? One, you know, the story ⁓ that, you know, he's kind of written for me. ⁓ but two, right? Like nothing changes on my end. You know, I'm still gonna be doing what ⁓ you know, I I think is right and I think that I'm here for. ⁓ and that's to, you know, play football, ⁓ and and ⁓ give all the glory to him. ⁓ you know, we talk about, you know, a lot here, especially at at University of Alabama, about, you know, being ⁓ being bigger than yourself, ⁓ and and doing stuff to s you know, glorify and and send a message to ⁓ to others for him. ⁓ and what a you know, what better example than to do it, you know, at a professional level. What a great young man. You know, Ty was reportedly offered six and a half million dollars to come back to college and transfer to Miami, and he'll actually make just a little less than six million dollars guaranteed in his first season with the Rams. But the guy's a competitor, and what a great spot Sean McVay's Rams offense is for Ty. We will be praying for him, we'll be cheering for him, hope you do too. This has been CBN Sports One-on-One. Please like and subscribe. And while you're there, leave us a review. Our goal is to reach the world with the gospel. And what better way than the platform of sports? God bless you.