Georgia Tech B-back David Sims heads into his third and final season as a starter, and there is ample reason to believe the season will be his best. Last preseason, Sims was recovering from surgery to repair a stress fracture in his shin, an injury that nagged him much of the first half of the season. As the season closed, though, he was at his best, gaining 331 yards in the final four games of the season.
Healthy and coming off a strenuous summer of workouts, Sims is eager to continue the pace of his strong finish. Sims, who earned his management degree in December, was named to the watch list for the Doak Walker Award, given to the top running back in the country.
Q: What’s your favorite football movie?
A: My favorite football movie? I'm actually not a big football guy, as far as movies. But it'd probably be "Friday Night Lights."
Q: Why?
A: Because of Boobie Miles (a star running back in the movie, based on a true story). Boobie Miles is the funniest person I've probably ever witnessed as far as being portrayed in a movie.
Q: Did you read the book?
A: I did. I liked the book. It was different, but the movie, for everything that people were saying about Boobie, I think he did a pretty good job.
Q: I know you’re thinking about becoming a coach. What’s a job you aspire to?
A: Offensive coordinator somewhere. I'd get to call the plays. Then become a head coach, run a successful program, win some national championships.
Q: You’d prefer college football?
A: More than likely, yeah. The recruiting, the fans, the passion that you get – it's different from college to NFL. It's passionate in the NFL, but I think college is way more passionate.
Q: Would you run the Georgia Tech offense?
A: I'd probably run some different things. I'd use some of the stuff from this offense, though.
Q: Whose offense would it look like?
A: It'd probably be a lot what (Ohio State coach) Urban Meyer uses.
Q: What’s an invention you wish existed.
A: A transporter where you could transfer from one spot to another. I tell you, it'd save on gas, it'd save time, you don't have to fly anywhere. It would be a lifesaver.
Q: What’s going to make or break this team?
A: I'd say discipline. We have to stay disciplined. We have the new rules with helmet-to-helmet (hits calling for ejection) and stuff like that. I think we need to be able to play within the rules, stay disciplined on defense, knowing our assignments on offense. If we do that, we'll be able to be pretty good this year.
Q: Who’s the strongest player, pound for pound, on the team?
A: (Whistles.) Strongest player, pound for pound. As of right now, I would say (offensive tackle Ray) Beno, but also (A-back) Austin McClellan is up there.
Q: What was the moment you knew you were going to come to Tech?
A: The moment I decided to come here was the Thursday night game against Miami (in 2008, a 41-23 win for the Jackets). It was a pretty good game. That's actually when I decommitted from Kentucky to come here. We had just lost in the playoffs the week before, and I still had that quarterback itch, and they were offering me to play quarterback, and I was like, I could come here and I'd have the ball every play, making plays. That's kind of what happened.
Q: What’s a book you’d recommend?
A: What's the name of that book? I cannot remember the name of this book, but, just to say something, I'll say, "Catcher in the Rye."
Q: What’s a “What if?” question you have?
A: What if I would have just tucked the ball and run the ball that playoff game we lost? (Note: Sims attended Calhoun County High in South Carolina, where his teammates included former South Carolina star wide receiver Alshon Jeffery and his brother, Shamier, now at South Carolina.)
Q: What happened?
A: It was the round before the semifinals, and we were down. It was fourth-and-15, fourth-and-20, I stepped up and hit Shamier Jeffery on a post route, and I was clearly behind the line (of scrimmage). The line judge was looking down at the line, but the referee came from behind and said I was past the line, and he overruled the line judge. We lost the game, end of my senior year. Even the players from the other school, they were like, "that's wrong."
Q: What’s it like getting the handoff and running into the line?
A: It's different. But I've been saying it for the last couple years, you have to trust it. You trust that they're going to get movement, trust that they're going to run their gap and give you some holes.
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