Ramsey, Simon named Preseason All-Americans by Lindy’s; Lions ranked 7th nationally.

COMMERCE – Lindy’s Sports college football preview magazine has named Texas A&M University-Commerce’s Dominique Ramsey and Amon Simon First Team Preseason All-Americans. The Lions are ranked No. 7 in that magazine’s preseason poll. 

Ramsey earned his preseason All-American honors as an all-purpose player, while Simon is honored as an offensive lineman. Ramsey and Simon were honored as First Team Preseason All-Americans in Lindy’s Sports before the anticipated 2020 season as well before that season was ultimately canceled during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In 2019, the Lions went 11-3 in their first season under head coach David Bailiff and advanced three rounds deep in the NCAA Division II Playoffs, making a Super Regional Final appearance. A&M-Commerce has qualified for the NCAA Division II Football Championship for five consecutive seasons, the third-longest active streak in the division. 

Ramsey – a redshirt senior from Converse (Judson) – earned three All-American honors in 2019 and has four postseason All-American awards in his career. He was named First-Team All-American as an all-purpose player by the Associated Press and Second Team All-American as both a return specialist and safety by the Division II Conference Commissioners’ Association (D2CCA). Ramsey is a Cliff Harris Award nominee and named Dave Campbell’s Texas Football All-Texas small college team. He earned First Team All-Super Region Four honors from the Division II Conference Commissioners Association as safety and return specialist. 

He earned Lone Star Conference Special Teams Player of the Week honors twice in 2019, ranking second in the nation in kickoff return average at 37.5 yards per return, second in the LSC, and ninth in the nation in punt return average at 14.7 yards per return. His return prowess has seen teams kick away from him, insomuch as he did not return a kickoff in the last three games of the regular season. He also had 39 tackles, three interceptions, two pass breakups, and two tackles for loss on defense. 

Simon – a redshirt senior from Humble (Atascocita) – earned Second Team All-American honors from both the Associated Press and D2CCA in 2019. He was on Dave Campbell’s Texas Football All-Texas small college team and earned First Team All-Super Region Four honors from the Division II Conference Commissioners Association. In 2019, Simon earned Lone Star Conference Offensive Lineman of the Year and First Team All-LSC honors at offensive tackle. He blocked for an offense that averaged 407.9 yards and 36.1 points per game during the regular season. 

Two opponents on the Lions’ 2021 schedule are rated in the top 25 by Lindy’s Sports. The Lions open the season at Colorado State-Pueblo, ranked No. 12 in the nation, and open the home schedule against defending 2019 national champion and preseason No. 1 West Florida. The entire All-American teams are available with the purchase of Lindy’s Sports Magazine.

Lion Football opens the season Thursday, September 2, at CSU-Pueblo, then plays at Globe Life Field in Arlington against Midwestern State on Saturday, September 11. the West Florida game is on Saturday, September 18, the first of six home games. Season tickets are available at WeAreLionsTix.com or by calling 903-468-8756.