"Big Bad Ron" Named To Hall Of Fame

Long time FSU fans remember well Ron Simmons. He was credited with jump-starting the Bobby Bowden Era at Florida State. It was announced that he will be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.

He was Bobby Bowden's first great recruit. And he made an immediate impact as a highly touted freshman out of Warner Robins, Ga. The defensive lineman who could bench press 525 pounds and run the 40-yard dash in 4.56 seconds was a game-changer who put Bowden's reconstruction of a declining program ahead of schedule. He blocked a punt in his first game and made 19 tackles in two games that season.

He was an All-American football player at Florida State University from 1977-80 spending four years as a defensive nose guard. The Seminoles were 39-8 during Simmons' years at the school, finishing in the Associated Press Top 20 three times ('77,'79 and '80), earning back-to-back Orange Bowl trips after Simmons' junior and senior seasons.

He was so popular that a song was written about him — "Big Bad Ron."