planomateo
Member
Good read, Dave calls out some good stats too (I bolded below).
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http://m.stltoday.com/sports/colleg...cle_79c4db06-1533-5c29-8c85-01616a394353.html
COLUMBIA, Mo. The top-rated high school quarterbacks in 2010 should be called the Frequent Flyer Club. Over time, they all departed their original team. Some are on their third school in five years. The top five pro-style quarterbacks that year, as rated by Rivals.com, have played for a combined 12 colleges. For quarterbacks these days, the turf is often greener somewhere else.
Jake Heaps was the No. 1 quarterback recruit that year. He started at Brigham Young, resettled at Kansas and now plays for Miami.
Phillip Sims was the No. 2 rated QB. He left Alabama for Virginia, got dismissed and resurfaced at Division II Winston Salem State.
Other can’t-miss QBs from 2010 who transferred include Connor Wood (Texas to Colorado), Brett Nottingham (Stanford to Columbia) and Jesse Scroggins (USC to Arizona). Locally from 2010, Parkway West’s Tyler Gabbert began at Missouri, left for Louisville and ended his career at Central Florida.
Blake Sims doesn’t belong in the Frequent Flyer Club. The Alabama senior from Gainesville, Ga., is the exception to the trend in college football. He didn’t start right away for the Crimson Tide. Instead, he stayed. Rated the No. 33 athlete in the 2010 recruiting class, Sims began his ’Bama career as a backup running back.
A month from now, he could punctuate his unconventional path and become the first quarterback in his class to lead his team to a national championship. Sims, the rare fifth-year senior who doubles as a first-year starter, has won by doing what few college quarterbacks are willing to do.
“He waited his time, and he’s finally shining,” said Alabama safety Nick Perry, as No. 1 Alabama (11-1) prepped for Saturday’s SEC championship game against No. 14 Missouri (10-2). “I’m proud of him, and you still haven’t seen his best yet. So be prepared.”
Missouri defensive coordinator Dave Steckel has seen enough from Sims to know the Tigers are in for a challenge Saturday at the Georgia Dome. Sims has thrived in first-year coordinator Lane Kiffin’s system, far more than most expected for a new starter who earned the job by edging Florida State transfer Jake Coker.
With only 39 career college passes before this season, Sims has played as well as any quarterback in the SEC. He leads SEC passers in quarterback rating (159.5) and yards per attempt (9.1), shares the league lead with 24 touchdown passes and ranks second in completion percentage (63.1). Even more impressive, on third-down passes, he’s more accurate (71.6 percent) and efficient (161.1 rating). His numbers compare favorably — and in some cases eclipse — those by former Tide quarterback A.J. McCarron, who finished second in the Heisman Trophy voting last year. Unlike McCarron, Sims is a running threat on designed quarterback keepers and scrambles, with 302 yards rushing in 12 games. McCarron finished his Alabama career with negative yards rushing.
“I think he throws a really accurate football, which is the No. 1 trait for a quarterback,” Steckel said. “The thing that’s a little worrisome about him is that he’s really athletic. I don’t know if people notice that about him, but I do studying the video. He takes that zone read, keeps it and runs — he ran one against Tennessee — and you’re like, ‘Wow.’”
“We know he’s fast,” Missouri defensive end Markus Golden said, “but we’re fast enough to run him down.”
It helps that Sims’ top target, junior receiver Amari Cooper, is fully healthy this year. The Heisman candidate accounts for nearly half of Alabama’s receiving production, with 103 catches for 1,573 yards and 14 touchdowns.
But without Sims’ poise, the Tide might not have rallied in Saturday’s Iron Bowl victory over Auburn. Sims threw three early interceptions — his first multi-pick game this season — but recovered to throw for 312 yards and three TDs in the 55-44 win.
“That certainly says an awful lot about him,” Missouri coach Gary Pinkel said.
“The confidence that he possesses when he’s off the field in the locker room, just a great guy to be around, great teammate,” Alabama center Ryan Kelly said. “And I think as well as he’s playing on the field, he’s also carrying it off the field, and it brings everyone else around you up.”
Once McCarron won his first of two national championships in 2011 and established himself as ‘Bama’s franchise quarterback, Sims could have left Tuscaloosa for a friendlier depth chart. No one would have thought less of him.
Instead, he stuck around and could guide Alabama to more postseason glory.
Why stay? Sims had too much to leave behind.
“That’s pretty much the family that we have, the bonding that we have, and even with our coaches, we have a tight communication with them,” he said. “I didn’t want to go nowhere and start that all over. I have brothers here at Alabama, and we’re so close that I was very confident.”
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http://m.stltoday.com/sports/colleg...cle_79c4db06-1533-5c29-8c85-01616a394353.html
COLUMBIA, Mo. The top-rated high school quarterbacks in 2010 should be called the Frequent Flyer Club. Over time, they all departed their original team. Some are on their third school in five years. The top five pro-style quarterbacks that year, as rated by Rivals.com, have played for a combined 12 colleges. For quarterbacks these days, the turf is often greener somewhere else.
Jake Heaps was the No. 1 quarterback recruit that year. He started at Brigham Young, resettled at Kansas and now plays for Miami.
Phillip Sims was the No. 2 rated QB. He left Alabama for Virginia, got dismissed and resurfaced at Division II Winston Salem State.
Other can’t-miss QBs from 2010 who transferred include Connor Wood (Texas to Colorado), Brett Nottingham (Stanford to Columbia) and Jesse Scroggins (USC to Arizona). Locally from 2010, Parkway West’s Tyler Gabbert began at Missouri, left for Louisville and ended his career at Central Florida.
Blake Sims doesn’t belong in the Frequent Flyer Club. The Alabama senior from Gainesville, Ga., is the exception to the trend in college football. He didn’t start right away for the Crimson Tide. Instead, he stayed. Rated the No. 33 athlete in the 2010 recruiting class, Sims began his ’Bama career as a backup running back.
A month from now, he could punctuate his unconventional path and become the first quarterback in his class to lead his team to a national championship. Sims, the rare fifth-year senior who doubles as a first-year starter, has won by doing what few college quarterbacks are willing to do.
“He waited his time, and he’s finally shining,” said Alabama safety Nick Perry, as No. 1 Alabama (11-1) prepped for Saturday’s SEC championship game against No. 14 Missouri (10-2). “I’m proud of him, and you still haven’t seen his best yet. So be prepared.”
Missouri defensive coordinator Dave Steckel has seen enough from Sims to know the Tigers are in for a challenge Saturday at the Georgia Dome. Sims has thrived in first-year coordinator Lane Kiffin’s system, far more than most expected for a new starter who earned the job by edging Florida State transfer Jake Coker.
With only 39 career college passes before this season, Sims has played as well as any quarterback in the SEC. He leads SEC passers in quarterback rating (159.5) and yards per attempt (9.1), shares the league lead with 24 touchdown passes and ranks second in completion percentage (63.1). Even more impressive, on third-down passes, he’s more accurate (71.6 percent) and efficient (161.1 rating). His numbers compare favorably — and in some cases eclipse — those by former Tide quarterback A.J. McCarron, who finished second in the Heisman Trophy voting last year. Unlike McCarron, Sims is a running threat on designed quarterback keepers and scrambles, with 302 yards rushing in 12 games. McCarron finished his Alabama career with negative yards rushing.
“I think he throws a really accurate football, which is the No. 1 trait for a quarterback,” Steckel said. “The thing that’s a little worrisome about him is that he’s really athletic. I don’t know if people notice that about him, but I do studying the video. He takes that zone read, keeps it and runs — he ran one against Tennessee — and you’re like, ‘Wow.’”
“We know he’s fast,” Missouri defensive end Markus Golden said, “but we’re fast enough to run him down.”
It helps that Sims’ top target, junior receiver Amari Cooper, is fully healthy this year. The Heisman candidate accounts for nearly half of Alabama’s receiving production, with 103 catches for 1,573 yards and 14 touchdowns.
But without Sims’ poise, the Tide might not have rallied in Saturday’s Iron Bowl victory over Auburn. Sims threw three early interceptions — his first multi-pick game this season — but recovered to throw for 312 yards and three TDs in the 55-44 win.
“That certainly says an awful lot about him,” Missouri coach Gary Pinkel said.
“The confidence that he possesses when he’s off the field in the locker room, just a great guy to be around, great teammate,” Alabama center Ryan Kelly said. “And I think as well as he’s playing on the field, he’s also carrying it off the field, and it brings everyone else around you up.”
Once McCarron won his first of two national championships in 2011 and established himself as ‘Bama’s franchise quarterback, Sims could have left Tuscaloosa for a friendlier depth chart. No one would have thought less of him.
Instead, he stuck around and could guide Alabama to more postseason glory.
Why stay? Sims had too much to leave behind.
“That’s pretty much the family that we have, the bonding that we have, and even with our coaches, we have a tight communication with them,” he said. “I didn’t want to go nowhere and start that all over. I have brothers here at Alabama, and we’re so close that I was very confident.”
