Jeff Sims Embracing the 85% with Sun Devils

When ASU football coaches pulled up transfer Jeff Sims’ tape, they saw the play of a high-level college quarterback on 85% of the plays.

“Then these 15% of the plays, it looks like you lose your freaking mind,” Head coach Kenny Dillingham recalled saying to Sims in his recruitment. “You come here, we’ll calm those 15% of plays. We’re going to try to give you peace of mind in those moments.”

The honesty struck Sims and he committed to the Sun Devils in May. This time last year, He was one of the top quarterback transfer targets on the market after three years at Georgia Tech. He opted to go to Nebraska, and his season resulted in one passing touchdown and six interceptions. 

He heard the critics, and he focused on improving. He found two coaches that were willing to look deeper at his game than what the box score said in Dillingham and offensive coordinator Marcus Arroyo. He’s embraced competition, coming into Tempe without a spring ball, a time where Sam Leavitt thrived in picking up the new offense, not to mention Trenton Bourguet has returned for his sixth year with the Sun Devils. 

And Sims has played well early in camp. He delivered a throw during the team session of practice that Dillingham said was one of the best throws he’s ever seen live, and he’s worked to pick up the offense quickly. 

Now, it’s all about embracing the 85% and calming the remaining 15.