Jeff Sims' First Collegiate Game

[D-man44]

Good publicity on college football final. Jessie Palmer said Sims is a guy kids will want to play with also got a helmet sticker!

 

[The Doddfather]

Finally. After 40 minutes and a piece on the sun belt and a piece on old Big10 highlights from this week 20 years ago. I was starting to wonder if they would even bother to show highlights of actual games played

 

[grandpa jacket]

Omg. This guy has elite level skill. Holy crap and a free year. Way better than thought. Soon. Wil start hearing about him nationally

Potential to be best QB at GT in many,many seasons.

 

[Jacket05]

After seeing what the last FSU QB decommit did UNC, we shouldn’t be surprised.

Exceeded all my expectations, mostly because of his mental makeup. I’m not use to seeing a 18yo with that type of poise and savvy. Loved the toughness of him seeing drop his shoulder on LBs to get a first down as well.

This is so understated in these conversations! Not just the toughness to lower his shoulder but the awareness of where the first down marker was and what he needed to do to get there. There was another run where he was getting tackled just at the first down line and made sure to extend the ball just enough to get the first down but not too far where he could lose control. He also hit a receiver who was just at the sticks on a third down play.

 

[Boomergump]

I'm not going to repeat a lot of what I have already read, which I agree with completely, but here are a couple of thoughts:

When a true frosh plays the entire first game of the year at QB against a defense like FSU and has 60+ yards rushing without ever putting the ball on the ground, that is pretty special. Ball security always seems to be one of those things QBs in transition between HS and NCAAF learn last. They are just not used to being caught up with in a foot race, nor getting their arms whacked with authority. He never even looked close to letting the pigskin get away from him.

How many times last night did Sims get that last tough yard to move the sticks? I don't know the answer to that question (it feels like half a dozen), but one of the things that stood out to me was how physical he is. He is tall, he is nifty, he is pretty fast, BUT he also finishes his runs moving the tacklers forward. When a QB has that trait, combined with the others, longer drives will result and it is so frustrating for the defense. Sometimes the needed yards come easily in a bunch, but more often they are only gained through brute force at the end. Sims can make you miss. He can run past you. Perhaps just as importantly, he can also drag you with him.

These are two of my biggest takeaways from last night.

 

[AlabamaBuzz]

I'm not going to repeat a lot of what I have already read, which I agree with completely, but here are a couple of thoughts:

When a true frosh plays the entire first game of the year at QB against a defense like FSU and has 60+ yards rushing without ever putting the ball on the ground, that is pretty special. Ball security always seems to be one of those things QBs in transition between HS and NCAAF learn last. They are just not used to being caught up with in a foot race, nor getting their arms whacked with authority. He never even looked close to letting the pigskin get away from him.

How many times last night did Sims get that last tough yard to move the sticks? I don't know the answer to that question (it feels like half a dozen), but one of the things that stood out to me was how physical he is. He is tall, he is nifty, he is pretty fast, BUT he also finishes his runs moving the tacklers forward. When a QB has that trait, combined with the others, longer drives will result and it is so frustrating for the defense. Sometimes the needed yards come easily in a bunch, but more often they are only gained through brute force at the end. Sims can make you miss. He can run past you. Perhaps just as importantly, he can also drag you with him.

These are two of my biggest takeaways from last night.

Can't really disagree with any of that, but hopefully he will learn that when he has gotten the necessary yards to slide and protect himself. That is another thing that frosh QB's forget - just how much damage these defenders can do when you go in head first. I am glad he is willing to at times, but hopefully, he will learn to slide when necessary. I believe him staying healthy is going to be of utmost importance. I think he is ahead of the others considerably, or he would not have started as a true frosh.

 

[ball4life66]

 

[TechCubed]

Loved the way CDP put him in a lot of situations where he could excel, didn't seem to be many checks at the line.

 

[alagold]

From the first I thought I was in a dream world.Did he hit 4 straight passes to start? Did we do that at ALL last yr?
The guy was amazing even with the ints.

 

[SOWEGA Jacket]

I’m not one to over hype anyone. And 1 game is 1 game. But, my goodness, he was a combination of Vince Young with the wheels and Charlie Ward with the field presence. What made Ward great is that when the play went to crap he kept his head down field and either made the play with his arm or legs. What Sims showed yesterday was that same quality of never panicking. Like the Ezzard play who was his last progression, there was another play where he kept his eyes downfield and right before he got hit he dumped a pass to either Griffin/Mason who was the safety valve In the flats. Went from a 4 yard loss to a 4 yard gain. That’s when I yelled to my son that we have what we’ve all been waiting for since Joe Ham. His field presence along with his God given athletic ability reminds me of Charlie Ward. And those FSU years with Ward, Dunn, and the stable of WR’s was one of the most exciting offenses I’ve ever seen as they could beat you in any situation. Sims, Gibbs, and our WR’s are about to feast.

 

[LibertyTurns]

@Boomergump Agree with all you said but I think the staff needs to warn him we weren’t facing a dirty team like the mutt, VT, Dook or da U last night. One of those would have just taken cheaps shots at him until they could get him sidelinesd like we saw with JT, Nesbitt, etc.

 

[BainbridgeJacket]

The GT fan in me is saying: remember when Taquon looked great vs Tennessee? What about Taylor Bennett vs WVU?

In reality, this guy looks like the best and most natural QB in a long time at GT. I barely remember Godsey and Hamilton so, from my frame of reference, he's probably got the tools to be the best I've seen. He's a guy recruits are going to want to play with.

 

[stech81]

Anyone remember the last time we had 10 receivers with a catch? Anyone remember when we had 10 receivers in a YEAR with a catch?

 

[MidtownJacket]

I mean we are all saying the same thing. Dude showed what he had last night and it was a thing of beauty. He even recovered from a couple low bad snaps that were outside the strike zone.

He just did not ever look rattled and that’s amazing given the two crushing picks.

This was a great opener. Let’s get after it this week and show up Saturday!

 

[Chas_Jacket]

My favorite pass only went 10 yards - it was perfectly thrown gently over a defensive end and dropped in the receiver’s (RB?) hands. Something we seem to have been unable to do for years.

 

[Jacketman99]

What impressed me was that he seemed to play very well when in pressure situations. 4th quarter: 4-4 passing for 49 yds, TD 3rd down: 5-6 passing for 48 yds and 3 rushing 1st downs Against the blitz: 6-8 passing for 67 yds, 1 TD. Some guys fold under pressure while others thrive. At least for one game Sims rose to the occasion.

 

[CuseJacket]

 

[awbuzz]

Heisman 2023!!







... Okay maybe not...
But, I was pleasantly surprised last night. Except for the two interceptions a good game for sure.

 

[CuseJacket]

 

[JacketOff]

You can tell it’s been a while since Tech has been featured prominently on ESPN. What in the world is that helmet? It looks like it’s supposed to be the old honeycomb dome with the center stripe and GT decal, but it’s got a white facemask and no honeycombs. They probably haven’t used a GT prop since the 2015 FSU game, and that’s all they had to throw up there.