The offense that he operates has changed, but at least one constant has remained with Jeff Sims.
“He’s always in there early, meeting with (quarterbacks coach Chris Weinke),” Georgia Tech wide receivers coach Kerry Dixon said.
Sims’ consistency in meeting with former offensive coordinator Dave Patenaude was a favorite talking point of coach Geoff Collins when discussing his quarterback the past two seasons. While Patenaude no longer is Sims’ tutor, dismissed at the end of last season, Sims’ desire to absorb the nuances of the Yellow Jackets offense evidently has not changed.
“After meetings, I’ll go home or go to class and in class, sometimes I’ll look through (the playbook), but at home, I’m definitely looking through the playbook, just making sure I know everything,” Sims said. “And then, just getting time in with the coach outside of meetings just to get more comfortable with it.”
Tech will wrap up the bulk of its spring practice Thursday night with its annual spring game at Bobby Dodd Stadium. Plenty of eyes will be on Sims, going into his third season as Collins’ starting quarterback. The biggest change that Collins made after his third consecutive three-win season was replacing Patenaude with new offensive coordinator Chip Long and Weinke. Sims is the most obvious barometer of those changes.
Those around him to watch his progress this spring spoke with promise, including Dixon.
“One of the things that I’ve always liked about quarterback play is how your footwork aligns with the concepts,” Dixon said. “Just that little deal with his footwork has helped his accuracy. And then just having knowledge of the game, understanding where to go with the ball, has been something that’s been phenomenal to see.”
Said running back Dontae Smith, “Every time I watch film, I have to just express out loud how much better Jeff has gotten.”
It may have been overlooked, but Sims made progress as a sophomore with Patenaude. His completion percentage (from 54.9% as a freshman to 60.1%), yards-per-attempt average (7.3 to 7.8), touchdown/interception ratio (13/13 to 12/7) and passing efficiency rating (122.9 to 139.3) all improved.
He finished the season sidelined with an injury and missed the final three games of the season.
Now in the care of Long and Weinke, he’s learning a complex new offensive scheme with new terminology.
“It’s still new, but every day I’m working getting in there, trying to learn everything I can, and I feel like I’m getting more comfortable with it day by day,” Sims said.
Having a separate position coach apart from the coordinator is new, too. Patenaude was Sims’ quarterbacks coach and the offensive coordinator. Sims particularly likes the playing experience that Weinke, who won the Heisman Trophy and a national championship at Florida State before a seven-year NFL career, brings to the position.
In Weinke, “you have a guy that played the position, experienced a lot of things that you have and just a guy that can speak to you from a quarterback standpoint,” Sims said. “And then you have the offensive coordinator who knows the offense like the back of his hand. So just those two minds getting together and you’re working with them, it’s a lot of help.”
Sims’ dynamic ability has continued to be clear. He has shown discernment in finding check-down targets rather than insisting on throwing downfield. In the team’s scrimmage March 5, Sims completed more than 80% of his passes and “spread it around,” Collins said.
At other times, he has appeared indecisive in knowing where to go with the ball, choosing to tuck the ball and run in seven-on-seven drills. But Long is OK with Sims, who last year averaged 5.3 yards per carry, testing defenses on scrambles.
“Obviously, (I) want him to go through his progressions, but if (options) one and two aren’t there, you have a great weapon in those legs, and they’ve got to account for it,” Long said. “I’ll never be mad for him tucking it. I’ll always coach him up: ‘Hey, if you can sit in there, you had good protection’ and coach him up there. But we never talk him out of what comes natural to him.”
Weinke wasn’t shy about Sims’ fitness for Long’s scheme.
“I think it’s a match made in heaven,” he said.
Sims’ arm strength will enable him to make all the throws that the offense asks for.
“And also in our offense, there’ll be times where he’s asked to run the football,” Weinke said. “The advantage you have there with a guy (like Sims) is, Hey, if the shot’s available, we’re going to take it and his arm strength will allow us to do that. If it’s not available, the ability to be able to move and scramble and make plays with his legs is also very evident.”
Sims said he and his teammates are excited about the new scheme, trying to gain comfort and understanding of the new offense. To Weinke, the eagerness Sims has demonstrated is evidence of his embrace of the next phase of his career. Weinke described him as hungry to learn.
“He wanted to learn, he wanted to be coached, he wanted to be coached hard,” Weinke said. “He is up here in the building all the time asking for more.”
On Thursday night, Tech fans can see for themselves how much that drive has paid off so far.
