D.C. Reeves
TideSports.com Managing Editor
If you can remember back, weeks before he led a huge drive at Tennessee in the second half, before he stormed Alabama out of the white-knuckled grasp of defeat with 50 seconds left at LSU and before Saturday, when he clinched a win over No. 1 Mississippi State in the fourth quarter, Blake Sims wasn't supposed to win this quarterback job.
Blake Sims has become Alabama's fuel in crunch time.
When he finally did, he of course was supposed to just manage things, stay out of the way and limit all those inevitable mistakes.
Well Sims didn't listen very well. He's gone and made himself the most important piece of the Crimson Tide's red-hot national championship hopes.
Sims, a senior once considered such a non-factor at QB to be moved to running back, has captained two must-have drives in Alabama's past two games.
On Saturday, when Alabama needed a spark, Sims did it again.
With the offense reeling and Mississippi State cutting Alabama's 19-0 lead to 19-13 early in the fourth quarter, Sims fueled the Crimson Tide's 15-play, 76-yard game-clinching drive with his arm, patience, smart decisions and, once again, his feet.
Facing a third-and-5 and a possible three-and-out, Sims dropped back, didn't panic, ran through progressions and dumped it down to T.J. Yeldon for a first down. Next, on third-and-8, he made an athletic play with his feet, avoiding two tackles and getting 10 yards. Next third down, a third-and-10, same thing. He got to the edge on the right side and tiptoed the sideline to convert. Four plays later, Alabama scored to stretch its lead to 12 with 8:09 left.
How big? His four-time national championship-winning head coach called it "One of the greatest drives in Alabama history."
"I trust Blake to make good decisions and he has a great instinct and a great feel for, as most scrambling quarterbacks do, when to run," UA coach Nick Saban said. "He made two fantastic third-down conversions (Saturday) running the ball. We trust Blake. We trust him, especially when he's playing a good game."
All told, taking the Tennessee drive, the game-tying and overtime possessions against LSU and Saturday's clincher, Sims is 11-of-19 passing for 109 yards. He has four rushes for 35 yards with all four on third down and five or longer that picked up first downs.
Sims has not taken a sack or thrown an interception. Most important, his team scored on all four drives when it needed points the most.
"We're all impressed with Blake," defensive lineman Jonathan Allen said. "He's been doing a good job and he's getting more and more confidence. We have 100 percent faith in him. I never had a doubt that he was going to make a play for us."
Sims got it done again, three straight now, washing away memories of doubt about whether he can lead Alabama to a title.
So when it's crunch time, what does the guy with no shot at the job and the lone member of the fraternity of top college quarterback that used to be running backs say to his team before marching them down the field when it matters most?
"Pretty much I just say 'Let's be champions,'" he said.
Go figure. Thanks in large part to Sims, that's looking more and more likely.
- See more at: https://alabama.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1704855#sthash.LcpQK7X5.dpuf
TideSports.com Managing Editor
If you can remember back, weeks before he led a huge drive at Tennessee in the second half, before he stormed Alabama out of the white-knuckled grasp of defeat with 50 seconds left at LSU and before Saturday, when he clinched a win over No. 1 Mississippi State in the fourth quarter, Blake Sims wasn't supposed to win this quarterback job.
Blake Sims has become Alabama's fuel in crunch time.
When he finally did, he of course was supposed to just manage things, stay out of the way and limit all those inevitable mistakes.
Well Sims didn't listen very well. He's gone and made himself the most important piece of the Crimson Tide's red-hot national championship hopes.
Sims, a senior once considered such a non-factor at QB to be moved to running back, has captained two must-have drives in Alabama's past two games.
On Saturday, when Alabama needed a spark, Sims did it again.
With the offense reeling and Mississippi State cutting Alabama's 19-0 lead to 19-13 early in the fourth quarter, Sims fueled the Crimson Tide's 15-play, 76-yard game-clinching drive with his arm, patience, smart decisions and, once again, his feet.
Facing a third-and-5 and a possible three-and-out, Sims dropped back, didn't panic, ran through progressions and dumped it down to T.J. Yeldon for a first down. Next, on third-and-8, he made an athletic play with his feet, avoiding two tackles and getting 10 yards. Next third down, a third-and-10, same thing. He got to the edge on the right side and tiptoed the sideline to convert. Four plays later, Alabama scored to stretch its lead to 12 with 8:09 left.
How big? His four-time national championship-winning head coach called it "One of the greatest drives in Alabama history."
"I trust Blake to make good decisions and he has a great instinct and a great feel for, as most scrambling quarterbacks do, when to run," UA coach Nick Saban said. "He made two fantastic third-down conversions (Saturday) running the ball. We trust Blake. We trust him, especially when he's playing a good game."
All told, taking the Tennessee drive, the game-tying and overtime possessions against LSU and Saturday's clincher, Sims is 11-of-19 passing for 109 yards. He has four rushes for 35 yards with all four on third down and five or longer that picked up first downs.
Sims has not taken a sack or thrown an interception. Most important, his team scored on all four drives when it needed points the most.
"We're all impressed with Blake," defensive lineman Jonathan Allen said. "He's been doing a good job and he's getting more and more confidence. We have 100 percent faith in him. I never had a doubt that he was going to make a play for us."
Sims got it done again, three straight now, washing away memories of doubt about whether he can lead Alabama to a title.
So when it's crunch time, what does the guy with no shot at the job and the lone member of the fraternity of top college quarterback that used to be running backs say to his team before marching them down the field when it matters most?
"Pretty much I just say 'Let's be champions,'" he said.
Go figure. Thanks in large part to Sims, that's looking more and more likely.
- See more at: https://alabama.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1704855#sthash.LcpQK7X5.dpuf
