Simmons Is Playing the Odds : College football: Titan lineman, who suffered a spinal injury in 1988, says joys of the sport outweigh the risk of paralysis.

His physique might resemble Disneyland’s Matterhorn, but Mike Simmons, Cal State Fullerton’s 6-foot-7, 320-pound lineman, would not compare his life to a roller-coaster ride.

“It’s been more like a jump across a canyon,” says Simmons, who transferred from Arizona State to Fullerton two weeks before the season and is now the Titans’ starting offensive tackle. “When I’m going straight, everything feels good. But when I go down, I go down hard.”

Simmons fell hard and deep in the spring of 1988 when he suffered what appeared to be a career-ending spinal cord injury. Doctors advised Simmons, who was used frequently as a reserve at Arizona State as a redshirt freshman in 1987, not to play again.

Simmons sat out the next two football seasons, pleading with doctors to give him medical clearance and trying to adjust to having so much free time; he got into trouble and even was arrested once. Never again did he wear a Sun Devil uniform.

Fed up with the battle, Simmons picked up a college directory last August and started dialing football coaches around the West and Southwest. The phone rang in Cal State Fullerton’s office.

“It was like fate,” said Simmons, who had only one season of eligibility remaining when he transferred. “They were in a meeting talking about how they needed offensive linemen when I called. They said, ‘When can you get here?’ ”

Simmons, whose nickname is “Big City,” arrived in mid-August and was tested by Fullerton trainers, an orthopedic surgeon and a neurosurgeon. Simmons didn’t receive final medical clearance until after the season opener, but he has played in three of the past four Titan games. He missed one because of an ankle injury.

For Simmons, an All-American at Tulsa (Okla.) McLain High School in 1985, the joys of playing football outweigh the dangers of playing.

“If something (serious) were to happen to me, as long as I didn’t die, I think my life would be just as meaningful,” Simmons said. “I’m a child development major and you can do just as much for children from a wheelchair.”

But is it worth that risk?

“If nothing happens and I make the pros, it was definitely worth it,” Simmons said. “And if I don’t make the pros, at least I still came back and did something I felt I could do.”

Simmons wasn’t sure what he’d be able to do after his injury. At the time, moving a limb or two took precedent over making the pros.

During a contact blocking drill, Simmons found himself amid a pile of players. He isn’t sure if it was a knee or a helmet, but something hit Simmons hard in the back and his body went numb.

Everyone else got up from the pile. Simmons remained on the ground, face down, motionless.

During a three-day hospital stay, part of it in an intensive care unit, doctors diagnosed the injury as spinal shock. Simmons’ spinal cord had been jarred, leaving him temporarily paralyzed.

X-rays didn’t indicate any dislocations or fractures in his back or neck, and Simmons regained full movement within three days.

Although extensive testing did not reveal neurological damage, Phoenix neurosurgeon Hal Pittman and ASU team physicians Norman Fee and Richard Lee concluded in August, 1988, that the risk of permanent paralysis was too great to allow Simmons to return.

“I don’t think anybody in their right mind would let him play,” ASU Coach Larry Marmie told the Phoenix Gazette at the time.

But when Simmons arrived at Fullerton, Titan trainer Jerry Lloyd felt the bigger question was why would they not let him play? Fullerton team physician Joseph Cummings gave Simmons medical clearance after consulting with neurologist Don DeFeo.

“They felt he had a slight chance of injury, but only a little more than any other player,” Lloyd said. “They thought it was within safe enough limits for Mike to return to competition.”

All players must sign a statement saying they understand the risks of participating in football, and that playing can result in serious injury or death, but Lloyd made Simmons sign an additional statement saying he also risked paralysis.

No problem, Simmons said.

“At ASU I was ready to sign a waiver relieving them and the doctors of all liability--I even talked to a lawyer--but they wouldn’t take it,” Simmons said. “That wasn’t good enough for them.”

Simmons says his back has caused him only minor discomfort. A bigger problem has been getting into playing shape, re-learning the techniques that made him one of the nation’s top high school linemen in 1985 and learning a new offensive system.

“I found I had forgotten a lot of things, so coming back was like teaching a baby to walk,” Simmons said. “I’m still behind. I’m nowhere near where I’d like to be, but I’m getting better each game.”

Better but not bigger. Simmons reported to camp at 330 pounds but has trimmed to 320.

“He might be the biggest human being we’ve had here, but he’s too big,” Titan Coach Gene Murphy said. “He could be more effective if he was a little smaller, but it was a wham-bam-get-ready-to-play situation. He didn’t have time to get into great shape.”

Simmons believes there’s still time to improve and impress some professional scouts this season. But even if he isn’t drafted or doesn’t receive any NFL tryout invitations, he’ll still consider this year worthwhile.

Playing football has at least kept him occupied. That wasn’t the case at Arizona State, where he began frequenting nightclubs and seemed to attract trouble.

Simmons hit a low in March, 1989, when he was arrested by ASU police and charged with felony theft. Police alleged that Simmons stole a 10mm handgun from the room of a student in a school residence hall.

Simmons declined to discuss the incident, but said he pleaded guilty to the charge and received two years’ probation.

“I did something and I had to pay for it,” Simmons said. “I’m not ashamed of it. Like I said, when I go down, I really go down.”

Now, he appears on his way up.

“Some of our people talked to people at Arizona State, and they said he was a bad act,” Murphy said. “But he’s been anything but that here.”