With football IQ and talent to match, Lincoln’s Simon keys Abes’ first state semifinal appearance
Lincoln High School volunteer assistant coach James Mitchell, who helps coach defensive backs for the Abes, thought back to Lincoln’s matchup last season against Camas, when Julien Simon intercepted quarterback Jake Blair’s pass in the end zone on a 2-point conversion try that would have tied the game late in the fourth quarter at Lincoln Bowl.
Simon told Mitchell after the game that he knew the play was coming based off film study the Abes had done earlier in the week. With Simon, that’s the way he’s always been since he stepped on campus as a freshman.
“He’s always in the right place,” Mitchell said. “He studies. He’s a true student of the game. His football IQ is unlike anything I’ve seen. Yes, he has physical gifts, but when you put those physical gifts with his work ethic and football IQ, it’s off the charts.”
Simon is the youngest of three to come through the Abes program; his older brothers, Dionte and Jayden, were also star football and basketball players at Lincoln.
“He comes from a good family,” said Lincoln head coach Masaki Matsumoto. “A two-parent home and the parents are phenomenal. They’re very involved, very on top of things. They push them hard. They’re very supportive.”
On the field, Matsumoto echoed the sentiments of Mitchell, when it comes to Simon.
“He’s just got a nose for the football,” Matsumoto said. “He’s one of the smartest football players I’ve ever coached. You combine all of that with his ability and you understand why he’s so highly recruited.”
Simon, a 6-foot-2, 221-pound receiver and defensive back (and sometimes even a running back), is considered a 4-star prospect by 247sports.com and holds offers from Washington, USC, Oregon, Stanford and others and is considered the No. 33 recruit in the country in the 2021 class by 247.
“He’s the total package,” Matsumoto said. “He’s quick, he makes people miss, he has the breakaway speed. When he does get out into the open, he’s big. He’s very strong. He’s a hard worker in the weight room. Those physical attributes combined with his football IQ, he’s a great player.”
On the season, Simon leads the team with 974 yards and 12 touchdowns on 75 receptions. As a runner, primarily out of the Wildcat formation, Simon has 178 yards and seven touchdowns on 37 carries and defensively, has three interceptions for the Abes.
And Simon has been playing his best football of the year in the postseason. In last week’s win over Marysville-Pilchuck, Simon racked up 164 receiving yards and three touchdowns on just five catches.
“Every time he touches the ball, I think he’s going to score,” said quarterback Caden Filer. “Just his determination — I’ve never seen him get stopped for negative yards. Even if you think it’s a bad play, he always finds a way. That’s what makes him different. He always finds a way to make a play.”
Lincoln center Caleb Puapuaga learned early on to continue blocking for Simon at the second level, even when it seems like he’s about to go down.
“You give him the ball and there’s three guys around him, you can never expect him to go down,” Puapuaga said. “His size and strength, just shrugging off people. Then his speed with it is just crazy.”
And now Simon has the Abes in the state tournament semifinal round for the first time in school history, with Lincoln traveling to Sammamish to face second-seeded Eastside Catholic on Saturday afternoon.
“It’s a great feeling,” Simon said. “But we still have work that needs to be done. It’s a good feeling to make history, but we’re still going. We’re still on this big run so we have to focus on next week, now.”
