Posted: Thursday, May 24, 2007 12:00 am
Former Oregon State running back signs with Calgary
By Brooks Hatch
Gazette-Times reporter
Former Oregon State star running back Ken Simonton and his agent, Bardia Ghahremani, were driving from the Portland International Airport to Monmouth for a meeting with Western Oregon tight end Kevin Boss last month when Simonton had a major revelation.
"Ken said, 'This real-world stuff kind of sucks,' " Ghahremani said earlier this week, recalling their conversation. "I told him, he shouldn't have given it up," by retiring in 2005 after a minicamp with the Detroit Lions.
"Ken said, 'What would you say if I wanted to play again?' As soon as he said that, I dialed the Calgary Stampeders. (General manager) Jim Barker got on, and I handed the phone to Ken."
What followed jump-started a stalled career. Barker quickly put the record-setting, 5-foot-7, 190-pounder on his negotiation list. After attending a minicamp, Simonton signed for a healthy bonus and will play again for the first time in two years on June 3 when one of the Canadian Football League's marquee franchises opens training camp in Alberta's largest city.
"The average CFL contract is $45,000 or $50,000 and Ken is over double that," said Ghahremani, an agent for the Lake Forest, Calif.,-based International Sports Agency. "I'm very confident he'll make the team
"Ken's being paid very well to be up there. I don't see Ken not making that team."
Simonton, who stopped in Corvallis briefly this past Friday while in Oregon on other business, said he's returning to football with a changed outlook from his earlier days with the NFL's San Francisco 49ers, Buffalo Bills and Lions.
He's older; he turns 28 on June 7. He's married, and he and his wife, Kolette, are expecting their first child in December.
"I have a total different perspective," he said Friday, speaking during the OSU-Arizona State baseball game at Goss Stadium. "For me now, it's just going out and having fun.
"I don't have to be the man, I don't need to be in the limelight. It's an 18-game season, and I'll get my chance to compete."
Simonton now lives in Oakley, Calif., a city of about 25,000 near his hometown of Pittsburg. He works for a non-profit, counseling kids to prepare them for middle school, sells life insurance part-time, and consults for Ghahremani, who, according to the ISA website, "has produced more than 100 player contracts in excess of $150 million in salaries and incentives."
He's been working out whenever possible, but isn't in game-shape yet.
"It's hard with a full-time job," he said. "But I still have my quickness."
Barker has been a Simonton fan for quite some time.
"(He is) a highly-productive college back that offers us even more versatility in our backfield, as he has the ability to contribute as both a runner and receiver out of the backfield," Barker said in a statement announcing Simonton's signing.
"He's a young veteran that has both NFL and NFL Europe experience and should battle for a roster spot during training camp."
Simonton was a four-year starter at OSU (1998-2001) and ranks first all-time at OSU and second all-time in the Pacific-10 Conference with 5,044 rushing yards. He also scored a school-record 59 touchdowns and 366 points.
He was not drafted but signed with the 49ers in 2002. He was cut but then signed with Buffalo and was the 2003 NFL Europe Offensive MVP in 2003 with the Scottish Claymores. He played with Buffalo in 2003, with the 49ers again in 2004 and then signed with the Lions in 2005. He retired after a spring minicamp.
Calgary's running backs are three-year starter Joffrey Reynolds, an ex-University of Houston star who was the CFL's second-leading rusher in 2006 (259-1541); backup Wes Cates of Division II California of Pennsylvania (25-181), and rookie Jon Cornish of Kansas.
Calgary's first exhibition game is June 15 against provincial arch-rival Edmonton. It opens the regular season at home against Hamilton on June 30.
He'll see plenty of familiar faces at training camp. The Stampeders have also signed ex-OSU cornerback Brandon Browner; ex-OSU defensive tackle James Lee was there trying out, and former Oregon stars Keenan Howry and Akili Smith are on the roster.
"It was almost a Northwest reunion up there" at the minicamp, Simonton said.
Ghahremani said Simonton will show some rust and need some time to get into top playing shape.
"But the way he's worked out so far, he looks good compared to what he could look like for not playing for two years," he said. "He has what you can't teach, and his body is going to catch up.
"The way I look at it is, he's going to be very well-rested. If he chooses to stay up there and make it a career, he could be one of the top backs.
"He's proven he can play. He just needs to go and play because he needs to play."