Who is Ty Simpson's dad? Meet UT Martin coach Jason Simpson
Ty Simpson has been preparing for his NFL Draft moment for as long as his dad has been coaching.
If you think Ty Simpson processes the field like a coach, it's because he was raised by one. The Alabama product and likely first-round NFL Draft pick is the son of Jason Simpson, the longtime football coach at UT Martin, an FCS program in Northwest Tennessee. Jason Simpson has coached the Skyhawks since Ty was 3 years old.
He owns the program record for coaching wins (130) and is second to W. E. Derryberry, who coached three seasons in the 1930s, in win percentage (0.
570). Prior to coaching, Jason was a quarterback and outfielder at Mississippi State in the early 1990s before settling on baseball at Southern Miss. The decision was a wise one, as Jason wound up earning two All-Conference selections and a captaincy honor for the Golden Eagles baseball squad.
Jason is more than a father and coach to Ty, however. Ty has publicly described his dad as his "best friend," a person who "means the world" to him. Ty will encounter plenty of challenges as he adapts to NFL football: increasingly complex defenses, tighter coverage, better athletes chasing after him.