University of Michigan Hall of Honor
- Induction:
- 2019
Simpkins was a team captain and consensus All-American for the Wolverines in 1979, and he finished his playing career with the program-record 516 career tackles across 34 career starts. Simpkins was a tackling machine, with a single-season program-record 174 tackles in 1977, and he holds the tied-third (168 tackles, 1978) and 10th (150 tackles, 1979) highest marks on that list. He also registered the most double-digit tackle games in a single season (10, 1977) and career (25) in Michigan history. Simpkins was part of three Big Ten title-winning teams in 1976, '77 and '78, and he played in three Rose Bowls (1977, '78, '79) and one Gator Bowl (1979). Simpkins was drafted with the 167th pick overall in the seventh round of the 1980 NFL Draft by the Cincinnati Bengals, and he played seven seasons with the Bengals and Green Bay Packers (1980, '82-86, '88), appearing in 91 games.
