“We did that together:” From college dreams to hometown reunions, Corey Bullock and Torricelli Simpkins have brought their brotherhood to the Panthers

A month ago, they were playing NBA 2K with a few other college friends, connected by headsets and the desire to beat each other, when Simpkins, who the Saints had just waived in final roster cuts, got a phone call. He paused his action in the game for a few minutes, took the call, then returned and said nothing…until a few minutes later, Bullock, waived by the Ravens the day before, also got a call, returned, and had to share his good news.

“I said, ‘What you’re doing?,” relayed Simpkins. “(Corey’s) like, ‘I’m going to Carolina.’ I said, ‘What? Me too.’ It was crazy. So it was definitely big for both of us, and coming into a group, a new room, it’s nice to see some familiar faces.”

Added Bullock, “Honestly, it’s like a dream come true because when you’re at like the level we were at, we always dream about being at the next level. So it’s cool to see us working hard and being on the same team.

“We never talked about it being together, but we said to ourselves back in the season when we won the (HBCU) national championship (in 2022), if we want to take it seriously, get to the next level, these are the things we have to do. We kind of did that together.”