Josh Simmons is Ohio State's starting left tackle, having held off a push from Tegra Tshabola to earn the job.

Both the role and the team are new for Simmons. Last season, he started all 13 games for San Diego State. He transferred during the offseason after the Buckeyes lost three offensive linemen (Paris Johnson, Dawand Jones and Luke Wypler) to the NFL.

Read on to learn more about the 6-foot-5, 310-pound offensive lineman.

Get to know Ohio State football offensive lineman Josh Simmons

What is the kindest thing you've ever done for someone else?

So I had this Valentine, and I got her this basket. It was my crush at the time when I was in kindergarten. And I just made it as nice as I could – flowers, Hershey's, all her favorite candies. That's probably the nicest thing I did for somebody.

So this was your crush in kindergarten?

Yeah, a long time ago.

This was really sweet of you. Are you a little bit of a romantic, then?

Now probably not as much. It's all about football.

You grew out of it, huh?

Yeah. It's more of a phase, I feel like.

What's the best prank you've pulled on somebody?

Oh, I got a lot of those. Best prank? Unfortunately, it was on my grandmother. There was thing, a fake finger, right? I just bought one. And it was around Thanksgiving, so we were cooking and cutting stuff. And she cut it. Well, she didn't cut it, but I was like, 'Can you help me cut this? It's not going.' And my finger was next to it, so I just kind of slid it over, and she didn't see it, but last minute, I was like, 'AAAAAAAH!' She started screaming, 'Oh, my gosh!' That was probably the worst prank, probably just because it was my grandmother. I probably should have did it on my cousin or someone who would have had a safer reaction to it, I guess.

Besides screaming, what was her reaction? Did she call 9-1-1?

She did something to me where I should have called 9-1-1, because she got at me, for sure. She usually doesn't do that.

So one of your most memorable moments was Valentine's, another was Thanksgiving. What is your favorite holiday?

Christmas. Christmas, for sure. I feel like I speak for a lot of people when I say that when Christmastime comes around, it's really warm. Something about it, you just get really warm. You get inside, watch movies, stuff like that. It's a real good time.

Do you have a favorite movie? In general, not just Christmas.

I'd probably say "Home Alone," honestly. "Home Alone 2," to be exact.

Oh, the second one?

The second one.

They say sequels aren't ever as good as the original.

They lie. Because that movie is amazing, especially around Christmastime.

So why did they call you Jimmy when you first got here? I mean, I know why, they said there were too many guys named Josh, but how did they settle on Jimmy?

Collab of my first name and last. So, like, J. Simmons.

Oooooh.

'So we'll just squash it together, just call you Jimmy.'

But you pushed back.

Yeah, I don't want people stamping that like that's my government name.

So what do they call you now?

Josh Simmons.

They call you that, first and last name, every time they address you?

Yup. Because there's Josh Fryar, Josh Padilla, Josh Proctor. So, yeah.

Do you have any hobbies?

Hobbies? Not too many. Since I've been out here, not too many.

You had one before that you had to drop?

There were some. Playing basketball, I (guess you) can do that anywhere. There's a basketball court right there, right? But during the season coach Mick kinda makes that off-limits. He doesn't want nobody getting hurt, stuff like that. So, yeah, probably just basketball, but during the season that's off-limits.

What's a subject you wish more people asked you about?

There are some parts football, if you get too in-depth, it's like 'Woah.' But talking about certain offensive linemen in the NFL and college right now.

So you'd like to talk more about offensive line play?

Exactly. That's kinda of what offensive line is. We're in the shadows. We accept that, but I love talking about offensive line. Anything at the line of scrimmage honestly, too.

(Quarterback Kyle McCord walks by and suggests asking: 'Outside of football, what's the biggest difference between Columbus and Cali?')

I don't see any difference. They're so similar.

I forget I'm even in Columbus. It feels like San Diego.

Thanks, Kyle!

Thanks, man.

So what is the biggest difference?

Definitely weather. Definitely weather. If it ever gets this cold in San Diego, you see people out with bubble coats and all these clothes on. Here, you have people with their shirts off in practice.

What do you want to do once your football career is over?

I don't know, to be honest.

What's your major?

Right now? Psych. Can't really get seven-figure salaries with that right out of college. But I probably feel like, I don't know, I'm big, strong, maybe something like construction. I hear construction pays pretty good.

Are you pretty handy around the house now?

A little bit. My uncle works at a moving company that pays real good, so if it ever gets to it, just go over there real quick, until I get back on my feet and figure out what I need to do.

I'm sure you've been busy playing football, but have you ever had what people would consider a "real" job?

I can't even say yeah, because it was only for three days, but I ... wanted this game when I was younger, but my mom said, 'You're going to have to work for it.' So I went over (to one of my mom's church friends) and raked some leaves for, like, a week. That was about it. That's all it took.

Besides obviously valuing hard work, what has your mom taught you?

Humility. That's probably one of the biggest things. Humility and kindness. Yeah, that's, if you see her, that's what she's oozing with is kindness and humility.

What's an example of something she's done that shows kindness?

She would wake up every Wednesday and Saturday morning and feed the homeless for hours, like hours, like 3-4 hours, just going into different areas of San Diego.

Did she ever bring you along on those trips?

Yeah, I was there for almost all of them, until I got into college, obviously. But she was still going, though, while I was in college.

I imagine helping the homeless has become a cause that's important to you, having seen it up close.

Yeah, Definitely. Not much here. The stipends here aren't going to feed the homeless here. But if the NFL comes knocking, one of the first things I want to do is give back to my community in San Diego.

I'm sorry to go back to this, but your best prank was so good, I have to wonder what was second place.

Second place? Second place was – I got the same reaction from my mom – it was just the old put a tub of water over the door. She opened it and got wet. She got mad. She got mad. I was hoping she wouldn't be as mad because it was after a youth football game, and we won by a lot. So I was thinking she was just going to laugh it off, but I got a very different reaction, to say the least.

Where did you get this love of pranks from?

A lot of my cousins do it. Like having fun and joking around I feel like is the best medicine. So if you have a bad day, just joke around, it will literally wipe it away.

So your cousins are pranksters, too?

Oh, that's all they do.

In that case, what's been the best prank pulled on you?

When we were younger, they said nobody was home. They left. Or I guess they "left." Then they started playing with the lights. ... I was on my phone and I just seen it turn off, and it turned back on. I looked up, and it turned off, and there was some shadow to the right, and it was one of my cousins in a black costume. Shook me up for sure.

How is your favorite holiday not April 1st?

You gotta stay away April 1st. You gotta go away. Try not to be around anybody because it gets crazy sometimes.

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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Get to know Ohio State football offensive lineman Josh Simmons