March 13, 2008

BELLINGHAM, Wash. - Former Western Washington University middle linebacker Shane Simmons improved his professional football stock during a Pro Day workout Thursday afternoon at the Vikings' practice field on the WWU campus.

Scouts representing two National Football League teams, Seattle and New England, were on hand to evaluate Simmons, who completed his collegiate eligibility last fall and is graduating this spring with a degree in recreation.

Simmons, who participated in a Pro Day at Eastern Washington University last Wednesday, ran a personal-best 4.58 in the 40-yard dash and was measured at 33-1/2 in the vertical jump and 9-10 in the broad jump. At EWU, he was clocked in 4.59 and had respective marks of 34-0 and 9-10 in the vertical and broad jumps.

The 6-foot-1, 236-pound Simmons also completed the short shuttle, L-test and the linebacker position workout.

A Kentlake High School graduate, Simmons will participate in a workout at the Seattle Seahawks' training facility on Apr. 9-10. He also may have private workouts with other NFL teams.

Simmons is looking to become just the second Western player drafted by the NFL at the 2008 draft on Apr. 26-27. He would be the first since the seven-round format was adopted in 1994. The only Viking draftee was defensive end Dave Weedman in 1968, a 12th round pick by the Washington Redskins.

Only two Western players have competed for an NFL team during the regular season. They are Michael Koenen, who just completed his third year as a punter and placekicker for the Atlanta Falcons, and safety Erik Totten, who played in two games for the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2002.

Simmons led the North Central Conference (12.5 avg.) and ranked fourth nationally among NCAA Division II schools in total tackles, and was ninth nationally in solo tackles (6.3 avg.). He had double-figure stops in nine of 10 games. That included a career-high 18 versus Minnesota Duluth when he was named co-NCC Defensive Player of the Week.

In Western's 18-15 win over St. Cloud State, Simmons forced a fumble in the final seconds after the Huskies drove inside the WWU 25-yard line. He also had 11 tackles and a fumble recovery in the Vikings' 28-21 upset of NCAA Division I-FCS UC Davis in their season opener.

A preseason D2Football.com second-team All-American, Simmons also was listed as one of the website's 15 Pro Hopefuls.

As a junior, Simmons was the national leader in solo tackles (9.8 avg. per game) and topped the NCC in total tackles (11.2 avg.) through the first five games before suffering a season-ending injury. He earned NCC POW honors that season for his performance in Western's 16-13 upset of No.15 Washburn, being credited with 11 tackles and forcing a fumble that led to the winning field goal with 2.7 seconds left.

Simmons was a first-team Great Northwest Athletic Conference all-star as a sophomore for the Vikings after seeing action as a true freshman at Division I-BCS University of Idaho.