An Unlikely Hero: Blake Sims Leads Alabama Into the College Football Playoff

Despite being a four-star recruit out of Georgia and the 33rd ranked athlete in 2009, Sims, a dual-threat blue chip who spurned schools like Tennessee, Georgia and Florida State to play for the Crimson Tide, spent four long years in the program with virtually zero playing time to show for it.

Instead, Sims kept his mouth shut, redshirted as a freshman and served as a 4th-string running back the following year before running the scout team in weeks Alabama faced a read/zone quarterback while doubling as the backup quarterback for the next two seasons. Snaps were sparse as Sims attempted just 39 passes over the course of those two years with nearly half coming in one game when he completed 14 of 18 passes for 130 yards and a touchdown in a typical SEC non-conference showdown against Georgia State as a redshirt junior. 

But then, as a 5th-year senior who some experts projected to finish second in a fall camp quarterback competition with Florida State transfer Jake Coker after a subpar performance in the spring game, Sims won the right to start game one, seized the job in game four and hasn't looked back since. 

Guiding the team to a 3-0 start on the strength of six total touchdowns against just one interception, Sims blew up in a 42-21 win over Florida throwing for a school record 445 yards with four touchdowns and a pick including an 87-yard strike to Kenyan Drake on the first play of the game. 

Despite the confidence gained from a record-setting day, Sims couldn't keep momentum the following game at Ole Miss as he completed a pedestrian 5/10 passes in the 4th quarter and was intercepted in the end zone with less than a minute to play in a 23-17 loss to the Rebels. 

A week later, at Arkansas, Sims struggled with accuracy (11/21, 52%) but threw two touchdowns in a sluggish 14-13 win over the Razorbacks prompting his head coach to vent about the high expectations of his team. Almost on command, the Tide responded with a 59-0 spanking of Texas A&M and a 34-20 win over Tennessee in which Sims accounted for seven touchdowns with zero interceptions to set up a clash with then 16th-ranked LSU in Death Valley. 

Sims stunk it up for much of the day as he completed just 44% of his throws but led the Tide to an overtime-forcing field goal drive converting two huge 3rd downs before winning the game in the extra session with a six yard touchdown toss to DeAndrew White. 

Taking on then top-ranked Mississippi State the following Saturday, the redshirt senior was sharp though not spectacular completing 19/31 (61%) with a touchdown in a 25-20 victory vaulting the Tide to the top of the CFP poll after ranking 5th the previous week. 

With Alabama holding down the top spot entering the Iron Bowl, Sims had a huge yet enigmatic day against Auburn completing 74% of his throws (20/27) for 312 yards and four touchdowns offset by three interceptions in a 55-44 victory. 

Early in the 3rd quarter, Sims tossed his third interception of the afternoon which Auburn turned into a field goal and a 33-21 lead giving the Tigers 17 points off the signal-caller's turnovers to that point. With Coker warming up on the sidelines, Sims responded by completing 10 of his final 12 passes for 183 yards and three touchdowns including a pair to Amari Cooper (39, 75 yards) and ran for another score as the Crimson Tide scored 34 points in the 2nd half. 

Rounding out SEC play, Alabama smoked Missouri, 42-13, in the league championship as Sims completed 85% of his throws (23/27) for 262 yards and two touchdowns with over half of his completions finding Cooper. 

When the dust settled on Alabama's 12-1 season to date, Sims emerged with 3,250 passing yards to set the school's single-season record while completing 65% of his throws for 26 touchdowns against seven interceptions.

Having Cooper at his disposal was crucial as the best receiver in the land caught 115 balls for 1,656 yards and 14 touchdowns. In fact, Alabama's top three pass catchers are receivers with tight end O.J. Howard ranking 4th with 15 grabs for 246 yards. In Lane Kiffin's offense, Sims doesn't target the running backs much at all with T.J. Yeldon catching only 15 balls for 180 yards and his bruising counterpart, Derrick Henry, recording just three receptions on the season. 

With his feet, though he was recruited as a dual-threat guy and even played running back during his redshirt freshman season, Sims hasn't been called upon to do a whole lot. Much of that is because of Yeldon and Henry are so dominant (1,860 combined rush yards) with Sims ranking as the team's distant 3rd-leading rusher tallying 73 carries for 321 yards and six scores. In fact, his best rushing game came in the 59-0 romp over the Aggies when he had 54 yards (43 of those came on one play) and he hasn't hit double digit carries once this year. I suppose throwing for over 3,200 yards is also a solid reason to limit his designed carries. 

Whether or not Sims can lead Alabama past Ohio State next Thursday night remains to be seen but after a record breaking season from a 5th-year senior and 1st year starter – and after Buckeye fans experienced a similar euphoria upon watching J.T. Barrett blossom before Cardale Jones exploded onto the scene – it's easy to relate to the surprising production from a guy, and a story, that's easy to like... except for the fact he wears crimson and white.