Jason Lawrence Simmons is an American football

American football

American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...

 strong safety who is currently a free agent

Free agent

In professional sports, a free agent is a player whose contract with a team has expired and who is thus eligible to sign with another club or franchise....

. He was originally drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers

Pittsburgh Steelers

The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The team currently belongs to the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Founded in , the Steelers are the oldest franchise in the AFC...

 in the fifth round of the 1998 NFL Draft

1998 NFL Draft

The 1998 NFL Draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 18-19, 1998...

. He played college football

College football

College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...

 at Arizona State

Arizona State Sun Devils football

The Arizona State Sun Devils' football program represents Arizona State University in college football, and competes in NCAA Division I FBS as a member of the Pacific-12 Conference....

.

College career

He was a 4-year letterman for Arizona State University

Arizona State University

Arizona State University is a public research university located in the Phoenix Metropolitan Area of the State of Arizona...

, earning second-team All-Pacific 10 honors as a senior.

Charity work

In 2007, the Texans signed Green Bay Packers

Green Bay Packers

The Green Bay Packers are an American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Packers are the current NFL champions...

 running back

Running back

A running back is a gridiron football position, who is typically lined up in the offensive backfield. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback for a rushing play, to catch passes from out of the backfield, and to block.There are usually one or two running...

 Ahman Green

Ahman Green

Ahman Rashad Green is a retired American football running back. He is the all-time leading rusher for the Green Bay Packers. He was drafted by the Seattle Seahawks in the 3rd round of the 1998 NFL Draft...

 to a four-year contract. Green had worn the uniform number 30 throughout his career, but on the Texans, that number had been assigned to Simmons since 2002. Green offered to purchase the right to use the number from Simmons, but Simmons instead devised a plan where he would give Green the number in exchange for his help in purchasing a home for a needy family. Green contributed $25,000 to the cause, Simmons added $5,000 of his own, and Texans owner Bob McNair chipped in a further $25,000. After soliciting applications, the players selected Regina Foster, a 37-year-old single mother whose seven-year-old son Reggie was afflicted with autism

Autism

Autism is a disorder of neural development characterized by impaired social interaction and communication, and by restricted and repetitive behavior. These signs all begin before a child is three years old. Autism affects information processing in the brain by altering how nerve cells and their...

. With their help, Foster purchased a $100,000 home near Reggie's school, and area businesses made additional contributions, such as groceries, furniture, electricity, and phone and internet service.