Unselfish Sims Hangs up the Cleats
September 29, 2022 – Indoor Football League (IFL) – Frisco Fighters News Release
FRISCO – In what turned out to be his final go-round, Blake Sims did whatever was needed to contribute to the Fighters’ effort. Just don’t ask him to grill a steak.
“We were a better team if Blake was the all-purpose utility guy,” Frisco coach Billy Back said. “It allowed us to dress 21 active players without dressing two quarterbacks and one just holding a clipboard.”
He competed with TJ Edwards for the starting signal-caller job in the preseason. But, there was more that Back felt Sims could do to help the Fighters succeed.
“He asked me certain questions and I said, ‘Coach, man, I just need a ring,'” Sims said. “He felt like that was the best way to do it, so that’s what we ran with.”
Throughout the course of last season, Sims rushed for 289 yards, passed for another 359, and had his hand in 16 touchdowns. It took longer than he would have liked, but Sims got his credit where it was due.
The acclaim should have come after a prolific senior season at the University of Alabama, in which he went for 3,487 yards through the air and bested AJ McCarron’s record for single-season passing yards.
Then came along the likes of Jalen Hurts, Tua Tagovailoa, Mac Jones, and Bryce Young – all of which either won the Heisman Trophy or came close to doing so. Sims became more of an afterthought than a phenomenon.
“They really talk about Tua and Mac,” Sims said. “Sometimes, when you do something good, you want your flowers, too.”
Instead, teams in the National Football League urged him to make a position change. Even with his willingness to line up as a tailback, he never appeared in an NFL box score. He headed north to the Canadian Football League, then almost headed to Australia to sling the football. He tried his hand at spring football, but didn’t make it the entire season.
It was with the Fighters last season that Sims finally got his admiration.
“I liked the respect that my teammates gave me,” Sims said. “I was one of the older guys. I don’t know if everybody knew, but half of the teams we played, I was playing against kids that were in middle school when I was in college.
“Everybody didn’t know that this was going to be my last year. After every game, there were at least three players on each team that were coming to me telling me how much they respect me and how they enjoyed watching me.”
He got his introduction to the indoor game with the Spokane Shock, where he played under Back in 2021.
As an Ohio State fan, Back remembered Sims from his days behind center for the Crimson Tide. The coach already had a starting quarterback – and a good one at that – but heard good things about Sims’ personality after his agent reached out.
He stepped in and won each of his three starts when Charles McCollum – who finished that go-round as the IFL’s all-time leading passer – was hurt early on in the schedule. Other duties included running down on kickoffs.
“Blake just wanted to get out there and play,” Back said. “Once he saw Charles, the veteran he was, he knew the backup role was there, running back was there, receiver was there, kick returner.
“As soon as I took the Frisco job, he was the first person I called.”
Now that his playing career is through, there’s one calling that Sims can rule out – barbecuing.
The Fighters got a butcher deal last summer, with the members of the team splitting up two heads of steer.
“Blake brings this big steak to the grill,” Back said. “It’s a sirloin steak. It’s actually supposed to be cut up into four different steaks.”
Sims dropped it on the grates and got to talking to Back. Not long after, they smelled something burning.
“I’m like, ‘Blake, man, your steak is beef jerky!'” Back said. “He pulled that thing off the grill and it was charred. He put it down on the plate and just starts eating it. He’s like, ‘Well, I cooked it, I better eat it.'”
Good thing coordinating an offense doesn’t involve grilling cuts of meat. Sims is now serving in that role with Mt. Bethel Christian Academy’s middle school football squad. The school, which is in Marietta, Ga., has a relatively new program and will begin at the high school level next year.
“There’s different ways of going about to motivate kids,” Back said. “He understands personalities. Some kids need patted on the back, some need to be yelled at … He’s pretty good at finding those things when it comes to a player.”
His players will definitely learn a thing or two about putting the crew first.
“Indoor (football) was fun,” Sims said. “I was just happy to be on the team and was just willing to do whatever to help my team win.”
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