Simple equation for Lincoln success: The more Simons the better

Lincoln High School football coach Masaki Matsumoto could hear the three brothers playfully bickering from his office.

Matsumoto, now in his fourth season with the Abes, has coached each of the Simon brothers — Dionte, Jayden and Julien — for at least one year since he arrived in Tacoma.

Earlier this month, he overheard the trio in the weight room. Dionte, a former standout for the Abes who graduated in 2016, has returned to the school to help coach Lincoln basketball.

Dionte opened the weight room for some basketball players, and his younger brothers Jayden, a senior lineman for the Abes, and Julien, a sophomore who is already a national recruit, joined him.

“Those three, when they’re in the weight room together, it’s hilarious,” Matsumoto said. “They’re just constantly back and forth.”

All subjects are open to debate. Which brother is the biggest and strongest? Who has the edge in video games? Who is the best football player?

“We just mess with each other a lot,” Jayden said. “We have that connection where we can just mess with each other.”

But which of the three is the best football player? That’s certainly up for discusson. Each has played a pivotal role for a Lincoln program that has churned out plenty of stars over the years.

Dionte was an Associated Press all-state pick at running back his senior year — rushing for 1,349 yards and 17 touchdowns, and adding 207 receiving yards and two scores — before redshirting for a season at Utah State and then playing a year at Simon Fraser.

Jayden, Julien and the rest of the Simon family would watch Dionte on Friday nights at Lincoln Bowl. And the two younger brothers dreamed of the days they would play for the Abes.

“Every time he scored, our family would go crazy,” Julien remembered.

Dionte and Jayden were in the program for one season together, when Jayden was a freshman.

Last season, Jayden and Julien played for the Abes together for the first time, and both posted impressive seasons.

Jayden (6-foot-4, 290 pounds) was a first-team Class 3A Pierce County League pick on defense, and is an anchor on both sides of the ball for the Abes, alongside reigning 3A PCL lineman of the year, senior Giovonni White.

“He’s made huge strides the last couple of years,” Matsumoto said of Jayden, who has offers from Montana State, Portland State and Sacramento State.

As a powerful two-way lineman, Jayden recorded 25 tackles (five for losses and two sacks), batted down five balls, and blocked for an offense that averaged nearly 46 points per game.

“(Giovonni) and Jayden, we’re blessed to have both of them in the trenches,” Matsumoto said. “It’s hard to find one guy in one year, but we have two, and we’ve had them for a couple years now.

“I believe they’re going to determine how far we go — those two guys.”

And the youngest Simon brother, Julien (6-2, 215), is expected to act as a spark on both sides of the ball for the Abes again, after leading Lincoln in receiving (29 catches, 559 yards, seven touchdowns) and rotating in on defense as a nickel back.

“He had a big freshman year,” Matsumoto said. “He’s physically gifted, naturally strong and big. He can really go get the football. He has great hands and a high football IQ.”

Julien was a preseason MaxPreps sophomore All-American pick, and has already picked up six FBS offers from Colorado, Florida, Oregon, Tennessee, USC and Utah.

“He did amazing,” Jayden said of his brother’s freshman season. “We didn’t know if he was going to start or not, but once he got the position, he took it by the heart and just excelled in everything he did.”

Julien is projected to play receiver again for the Abes, but will also be included in some running back packages, and will still line up as Lincoln’s fifth defensive back.

“He’s great with the ball,” Matsumoto said. “He’ll be busy on offense and defense.”

Both Jayden and Julien were busy this summer, too, preparing for the season. Both competed at the Nike Football The Opening Regional in Los Angeles.

Julien said attending that competition, especially with his brother, was a “special moment.”

“You get to play against the top players,” Jayden said. “You always watch them on YouTube, you always want to be there, so that was pretty much a dream come true for me.”

Jayden also attended the USC Rising Stars Camp and was named the top lineman there. He said he plans to commit to a college program after the season, and could see his recruitment pick up throughout 2018.

“Look at him, he’s a beast,” Julien said of his brother. “He carries that (mentality) on and off the field. Every time we train, he works hard. Every time we’re in the weight room, he’s always pushing me. I feel like that’s what (colleges) see in him most.”

Meanwhile, Julien played on Under Armour Association basketball circuit for Washington Supreme and unofficially visited national powerhouse Alabama, where a video of him walking through the locker room in uniform produced more than 500,000 views on Twitter.

“It was amazing,” Julien said. “The whole time I was there, I just took everything in. Their facilities, the coaches, everything is just top notch.”

He said he watched everything Alabama’s players would do at practice, and tries to emulate that on the football field every day.

“He’s always putting in the work, he’s always training, and I always try to push him to his best ability,” Jayden said. “I know, at the end of the day, he could be the best in the nation.”

The Simon household gets plenty of mail from Division I football programs, but Jayden and Julien put more focus into not getting complacent, continuing to progress on the football field, enjoying the high school experience and family time together.

“Because we’re so focused on football when we’re outside of the house, when we’re inside of it, we just try to have fun and just be normal kids,” Julien said.

“We don’t get much of that outside of our house. I think just being at home and enjoying each others company is what we do.”

And on the football field, between the work and the reps, the brothers still find time to have fun together.

During the first week of practice, Jayden posted a video to his Twitter account, depicting him and Julien competing in a one-on-one drill at Lincoln Bowl.

Julien runs straight at his older brother, and Jayden drives him onto the turf.

“I had to show him who’s the bigger brother and put him in his place,” Jayden joked.

Does the older brother always win?

“He does not always win,” Julien assured. “That was one time.”

“Yes I do,” Jayden replied, smiling.

Jayden remembered what the three Simon brothers used to growing up in Tacoma — playing basketball at the park, football in the yard and video games. They did everything together, he said.

“We still do,” Julien said.

This story was originally published August 30, 2018 at 8:16 AM.