Johnny Sims (born October 14, 1967) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

lineman who played one season with the New Orleans Night of the

Arena Football League The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 Arena Football League season, 1987 season, making it the third longest-runnin ...

(AFL). He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

Mississippi Valley State University Mississippi Valley State University (MVSU, The Valley or Valley) is a Public university, public Historically black colleges and universities, historically black university in Mississippi Valley State, Mississippi, adjacent to Itta Bena, Mississ ...

Early life and college

Johnny Sims was born on October 14, 1967. He played

high school football High school football, also known as prep football, is gridiron football played by High school (North America), high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular high school sports, interscholastic sports in both c ...

at East Marion High School in

Columbia, Mississippi Columbia is a city in and the county seat of Marion County, Mississippi, United States. Formed six years before Mississippi was admitted to statehood, Columbia was named for Columbia, South Carolina, from which many of the early settlers had mig ...

. Sims played

for the Mississippi Valley State Delta Devils of

from 1986 to 1990 as a

defensive tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that typically lines up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the Guard (American football), offensive guards; however, he may also line up opposite one of the offensive Tackle (gridir ...

. He recorded 88 tackles and 16 sacks in 1989, earning second-team All- SWAC honors. He announced that he was returning to Mississippi Valley State for his fifth season, much to the surprise of the media who thought he had NFL prospects. After four losing seasons, Sims said he wanted help Mississippi Valley State and new head coach

Larry Dorsey Larry Darnnell Dorsey (born August 15, 1953) is an American former American football, football player and coach. He played professionally as a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL). Dorsey played college football for the Tennessee ...

have a winning season. Sims stated "I wouldn't miss this season for all the money in the NFL." The 1990 Mississippi Valley State Delta Devils went 6–5.

Professional career

In May 1991, it was reported that Sims and fellow Mississippi Valley State alum, quarterback

Willie Totten Willie "Satellite" Totten (born July 4, 1962) is an American football coach and former college quarterback who played with Jerry Rice in Mississippi. He is the quarterbacks coach at Southern University. Totten played college football for the Mi ...

, had signed with the New Orleans Night of the

(AFL). Sims played in eight games for the Night during the team's inaugural 1991 season, recording 13 solo tackles, three assisted tackles, three sacks, and one blocked kick. He was an

offensive lineman In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line (OL), while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line ( ...

defensive lineman In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line (OL), while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line (D ...

during his time in the AFL as the league played under

ironman rules The one-platoon system, also known as "iron man football", is a platoon system, rule-driven substitution pattern in American football whereby the same players were expected to stay on the field for the entire game, playing both offense and defense ...

. Sims earned second-team

All-Arena An All-Arena Team, an all-star team consisting of the best players of their position was selected every season in the Arena Football League (AFL). Teams * 1987 All-Arena Team, 1987 * 1988 All-Arena Team, 1988 * 1989 All-Arena Team, 1989 * 1990 Al ...

honors for his performance during the 1991 season. The Night finished the year with a 4–6 record. Sims stood 6'3" and weighed 285 pounds during his AFL career. Sims signed with the

Los Angeles Rams The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL) on May 8, 1992, as a defensive tackle. He was

waived/injured The following terms are used in American football, both conventional and indoor. Some of these terms are also in use in Canadian football; for a list of terms unique to that code, see '' Glossary of Canadian football''. 0–9 ...

on July 25 and then reverted to injured reserve. He was waived by the Rams on November 17, 1992, and released the next day. Sims later signed with the

Albany Firebirds The Indiana Firebirds were a team in the Arena Football League. The team was based in Indianapolis, Indiana. Home games were played at the Conseco Fieldhouse, also the home of the Indiana Pacers of the National Basketball Association and Indiana ...

of the AFL for the 1995 season. He was waived on February 2, 1995.

References

External links

Stats Crew profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sims, Johnny Living people 1967 births Players of American football from Mississippi American football offensive linemen American football defensive tackles Mississippi Valley State Delta Devils football players New Orleans Night players Los Angeles Rams players Albany Firebirds players Sportspeople from Columbia, Mississippi 20th-century African-American sportsmen