HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Jeff Sims (born January 1, 2002) is an
American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wit ...
player. He plays college football for the
Nebraska Cornhuskers The Nebraska Cornhuskers (often abbreviated to Huskers) are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. The university is a member of the Big Ten Conference, and the Cornhuskers compete in NCAA Divisi ...
. He formerly played for the
Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets is the name used for all of the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech), located in Atlanta, Georgia. The teams have also been nicknamed the Ramblin' Wreck ...
.


Early years

Sims played
high school football High school football (french: football au lycée) is gridiron football played by high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both countries, but its popularity is declining, partl ...
for Sandalwood High School in
Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the List of United States cities by area, largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the co ...
from 2016 to 2020. He served as the team's starting
quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...
starting in his sophomore year. While initially hoping to play college football for the
Miami Hurricanes The Miami Hurricanes (known informally as The U, UM, or The 'Canes) are the intercollegiate sports teams that represent the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida. The Hurricanes compete in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic A ...
, the team showed no interest in him, and he instead was drawn towards the
Florida State Seminoles The Florida State Seminoles are the athletic teams representing Florida State University located in Tallahassee, Florida. They compete as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level ( Football Bowl Subdiv ...
under then-
head coach A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other Coach (sport), coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manage ...
Willie Taggart. In February 2019, he committed to Florida State, with the prospect of being a backup quarterback to
James Blackman James Blackman (born November 14, 1998) is an American football quarterback who is a free agent. He played college football at Florida State and Arkansas State. He was signed by the Miami Dolphins as an undrafted free agent following the 2023 NF ...
. Later that year, he competed in the Elite 11 quarterback competition. On December 11, following Florida State's firing of Taggart and hiring of Mike Norvell as new head coach, he rescinded his commitment to Florida State, and on December 18, he signed to the
Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets is the name used for all of the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech), located in Atlanta, Georgia. The teams have also been nicknamed the Ramblin' Wreck ...
. Ultimately, Sims had received over a dozen offers from schools in the
NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision The NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), formerly known as Division I-A, is the highest level of college football in the United States. The FBS consists of the largest schools in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). A ...
, including Florida State, Georgia Tech, and the
Maryland Terrapins The Maryland Terrapins, commonly referred to as the Terps, consist of 19 men's and women's varsity intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Maryland, College Park in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Divis ...
.
247Sports.com 247Sports is an American network of websites that focus mainly on athletic recruitment in college football and basketball. It is owned and operated by Paramount. The website hosts a large network of team-specific subsites, with each subsite be ...
ranked him the No. 10 dual-threat quarterback in the country and the No. 223 recruit overall. In January 2020, he played in the
Under Armour All-America Game The Under Armour High School All-America Game is a high school football all-star game typically held in early January in the U.S. state of Florida created to spotlight the nation’s top high school seniors. The game was first played on January 5 ...
, a high school football
all-star game An all-star game is an exhibition game that purports to showcase the best players (the "stars") of a sports league. The exhibition is between two teams organized solely for the event, usually representing the league's teams based on region or d ...
, where he was part of the winning team. Sims's uncle, Mike Sims-Walker, is a former football player who played in the
National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ma ...
for the
Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division. The team pla ...
.


College career


Georgia Tech


Freshman season

Following the team's 2019 season, quarterback
Tobias Oliver Tobias Oliver (born June 22, 1999) is an American football cornerback. He played college football at Georgia Tech. Early years Oliver attended Northside High School. He was a three year starter and team captain. He played football and bask ...
was moved to
cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such offensive running plays as sweeps and reverses. They create turnove ...
, leaving that position empty, with Sims, Tucker Gleason, James Graham, and Jordan Yates vying for the position during the offseason. Graham and Sims were considered the strongest candidates for the position, though the team refused to comment prior to the start of the season. On September 11, ''
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution ''The Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' is the only major daily newspaper in the metropolitan area of Atlanta, Georgia. It is the flagship publication of Cox Enterprises. The ''Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' is the result of the merger between ...
'' announced that Sims would be the team's starting quarterback. He made his collegiate start on September 12, leading the Yellow Jackets to a 16–13 upset victory against the
Florida State Seminoles The Florida State Seminoles are the athletic teams representing Florida State University located in Tallahassee, Florida. They compete as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level ( Football Bowl Subdiv ...
at
Doak Campbell Stadium Doak S. Campbell Stadium (in full Bobby Bowden Field at Doak S. Campbell Stadium), popularly known as "Doak", is a football stadium on the campus of Florida State University in Tallahassee, Florida. It is the home field of the Florida State Semi ...
. Sims completed 24 of 35 passes for 277 passing yards and accumulated 64 rushing yards. With the game, Sims became the first true freshman quarterback to play in a season opener for the Yellow Jackets since
Reggie Ball Reginald Lewis Ball (born October 6, 1984) is a former American football quarterback. He was originally signed by the Detroit Lions as an undrafted free agent in 2007. He played college football at Georgia Tech. Early years Ball played his high ...
in 2003 and the first to win a season opener. For his performance, Sims was named Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) rookie of the week and 247Sports.com's true freshman of the week, and was recognized in weekly lists put out by the
Davey O'Brien Award The Davey O'Brien Award, officially the Davey O'Brien National Quarterback Award, named after Davey O'Brien, is presented annually to the collegiate American football player judged by the Davey O'Brien Foundation to be the best of all National C ...
and the
Manning Award The Manning Award has been presented annually since the 2004 football season to the collegiate American football quarterback as judged by the Sugar Bowl Committee to be the best in the United States. It is the only quarterback award that incl ...
. Following this debut, the Yellow Jackets suffered two defeats, losing 49–21 to the UCF Knights and 37–20 to the
Syracuse Orange The Syracuse Orange are the athletic teams that represent Syracuse University. The school is a member of NCAA Division I and the Atlantic Coast Conference. Until 2013, Syracuse was a member of the Big East Conference. The school's mascot is O ...
. In the latter game, Sims threw four interceptions.


Sophomore season

Sims showed some improvement in his sophomore campaign, throwing for 1,468 yards, 12 touchdowns, and 7 interceptions - along with 372 rushing yards and 4 touchdowns in 5 starts. However, he shared the role of starting quarterback with freshman Jordan Yates, as the Yellow Jackets finished with a 3-9 record and once again missed out on bowl eligibility. On November 27, 2022, Sims announced his decision to enter the transfer portal.


Nebraska

On December 18, 2022, Sims announced his commitment to
Nebraska Cornhuskers The Nebraska Cornhuskers (often abbreviated to Huskers) are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. The university is a member of the Big Ten Conference, and the Cornhuskers compete in NCAA Divisi ...
.


See also

* List of Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets starting quarterbacks


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sims, Jeff American football quarterbacks Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football players Living people Players of American football from Jacksonville, Florida 2002 births