Linebacker Andrew Simpson comes to UNC as one of the program’s top commitments out of the transfer portal. The former Boise State standout earned third team All-America honors in 2023, then helped lead the Broncos to the College Football Playoff in 2024. Now, in his final year of collegiate eligibility, Simpson is looking to bring his tough brand of football to Chapel Hill.
“I want to make every play on the field, if it comes my way or not,” Simpson told reporters Wednesday afternoon, in his first public comments as a Tar Heel. “I want to be there for my team with relentless pursuit, any way I can… I just want to do everything for my team.”
Simpson’s numbers at Boise State are proof of his mindset. In his third team All-America sophomore campaign, Simpson recorded 66 total tackles, 16 tackles for loss, 6.5 sacks, two fumble recoveries and two interceptions. The next year, Simpson finished with 46 tackles, three forced fumbles and another interception. He was all over the field in a 37-34 loss at No. 7 Oregon – Boise State’s only regular-season defeat – last September, recording five tackles, two tackles for loss and a sack.
“Those are the games you live for,” Simpson said. “Playing against the very best competition. That’s something I always strive for.”
After entering the transfer portal in March, Simpson drew interest from across the country. Inside Carolina reported schools vying for his services included Colorado, Florida, Miami, Purdue, Syracuse, Texas A&M, UCLA and USC. But when UNC head coach Bill Belichick came calling, Simpson saw an opportunity. Few coaches have a record of linebacker success like Belichick’s; from blue-chip prospects like Lawrence Taylor and Willie McGinest to unheralded underdogs like Rob Ninkovich and Elandon Roberts, Belichick has turned many different kinds of players into longtime pros.
There’s also the surprisingly strong run of quality linebackers at Carolina in recent seasons to consider: Chazz Surratt, Jeremiah Gemmel, Cedric Gray and Power Echols have all played or are currently playing in the NFL.
Simpson brought up words like “championship pedigree,” “draft stock” and “winning culture” when detailing his reasons for making the cross-country trip from the high deserts of Idaho to the North Carolina piedmont. The implication was clear: just as Simpson believes Belichick can help him achieve his professional goals, Simpson also believes he can help Belichick turn the Tar Heels into a national contender.
Boise State’s Andrew Simpson (#10) was a standout performer for the Broncos in both 2023 and 2024. (Image via Boise State Athletics/Kenna Harbison)
“I had a good feeling that I wanted to be a part of this,” Simpson said. “Talking to Belichick was the cherry on top. He made everything seem smooth. The first time I talked to him in person, it was a great conversation. We talked for a long time… he was a lot more genuine a lot more authentic than people give him credit for. He was very easy to talk to. He made it simple: the reasons why we’re here, what we want to do, what they want to do with me. It just made everything smooth.”
Likely easing the transition for Simpson were a few familiar faces. Though he is the only Boise State Bronco in Chapel Hill, Simpson is far from the only native Californian. Growing up in the Los Angeles suburb of Norwalk, Simpson was close friends – and high school rivals – with defensive back Thad Dixon, who transferred to UNC from Washington this offseason.
“Me and him go way back. We lived about five minutes away from each other,” Simpson said. “I trust him. He trusts me. He made a very good pitch to me when I was in the transfer portal about why I should come here… that’s my best friend.”
While walking to practice in an adjoining hallway inside the Kenan Football Center, Dixon couldn’t help but notice Simpson was speaking at the podium. He leaned on the window and flashed a big smile, dead set on making his childhood friend crack up. (It didn’t work)
Earlier in the offseason, Dixon called reuniting with Simpson a “full-circle moment” and a “blessing.”
“There’s nothing you can throw at him that he’s not gonna be ready for,” Dixon said of his friend.
Simpson is also reuniting with a former high school teammate: linebacker Khmori House, who also transferred to UNC from Washington during the offseason. House was a freshman at St. John Bosco High School in Los Angeles when Simpson was a senior. Now, the pair will team up as Carolina’s likely starting linebacker duo when the Tar Heels take the field against TCU on September 1.
“Great football player, great teammate, great leader,” House said of Simpson earlier in August.
Unlike Simpson, House transferred to UNC in time to participate in the team’s spring practices in March and April. Now, with Simpson coming over during the later transfer window, the two find themselves in an ironic position: the younger House is helping to acclimate the older Simpson to his new school. This would’ve been hard to believe back at St. John Bosco.
“He’s helping me out a lot,” Simpson said of House. “He’s been guiding me the way I would expect a vet to do.”
There is simply no way a defense – or a football team as a whole – can succeed without a strong presence at linebacker. There’s a reason many refer to the position as the “quarterback of the defense.” And just as UNC’s actual starting quarterback will almost certainly come from the transfer portal, so will the leaders on the other side of the line of scrimmage.
Andrew Simpson has already been part of one college football Cinderella story. If he is to be taken at his word, he has all the tools at his disposal to lay the groundwork for another.
Featured image via Boise State Athletics/John Kelly
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