Former Texas A&M All-American and Hall of Fame linebacker Ed Simonini passed away at age 65 after a battle with cancer, A&M announced Tuesday.
Simonini played for the Aggies from 1972-75, and he had an illustrious collegiate career.
As a freshman in 1972, Simonini earned a starting role and still holds the freshman tackles record with 98. In his sophomore season, he was the Southwest Conference’s Defensive Player of the Year and also earned second-team All-American honors from the Associated Press.
Beginning in his sophomore year and continuing through his final season with the Aggies in 1975, Simonini led A&M in tackles and was named to the All-Southwest Conference Team each season.
In his final year at A&M, Simonini was a consensus All-American and Lombardi award finalist, helping the Aggies to lead the NCAA in rushing defense and total defense when they allowed an average of 9.5 points per game.
Simonini ended his collegiate career as the Aggies’ all-time leader in tackles with 425, and was named to the SWC’s All-Decade Team of the 1970s.
After college, Simonini was drafted by the Baltimore Colts in 1976 and played seven seasons in the NFL. When his football career was over, Simonini worked as a field engineer for the Hilti Company in Dallas, then became the sales manager and led operations in Latin America.