The Nebraska Cornhuskers have been openly shopping around the transfer portal for a new quarterback this offseason, and as a result first-year transfer from Georgia Tech Jeff Sims has entered the portal. Sims only got serious playing time in three Nebraska games this year due to injuries combined with a high rate of turnovers. Sims only attempted 47 passes this season, yet he still managed to throw six interceptions resulting in a 12.7% interception rate.
Sims also had trouble holding on to the football this year as well as out of the 28 drives led by Sims, 39% resulted in a turnover in which he played a part. In one of the most highly anticipated games for the Cornhuskers this year against Deion Sanders‘ Colorado Buffaloes, Sims’ four turnovers stymied a stellar first-half performance from the Husker defense.
As head coach Matt Rhule’s first transfer portal recruit, Sims was highly touted by the Nebraska staff in the preseason. Sims’ single-digit jersey number reflects this as Rhule and the team hold a vote to select the “toughest” guys on the team they think are deserving of those jersey numbers. Despite his turnover-prone play, only good things came out from Nebraska Cornhuskers players regarding his attitude and locker room presence. In a mid-season article from The Athletic, running back Gabe Ervin praised his mentality in the midst of a disastrous season for the former Yellowjacket.
“I feel like Jeff is really good mentally,” Ervin said. “When things are going bad, it’s so easy to fold and have a sad face and everything. But that dude right there, he’s going to keep on coming. He’s going to act like nothing happened, because that’s what you need to do.”
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Although Sims only threw for one touchdown with the Huskers on a play where he recovered his own fumble, his play in his first three years with Georgia Tech is why he got the attention from Rhule and company in the first place. Sims threw for 30 touchdowns with 23 interceptions in his time with Georgia Tech. He also rushed for over 1,000 yards and had 11 rushing touchdowns during that time.
The former four-star recruit has never played a full season in his college career as he only managed to play in 29 games in his four seasons. His most active season was his freshman year, where he played in 10 games and threw a career-high 13 touchdowns. Sims earned a lot of praise in his freshman year as he beat Florida State in Mike Norvell’s debut, as well as a ranked Pitt team early on.
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Upon Sims injuries and inconsistent play, Nebraska tried to replace the Georgia Tech-transfer with backup quarterbacks Heinrich Haarberg and Chubba Purdy. Haarberg led the team with 967 yards passing, but he completed just 49% of his passes, and was plagued by turnover issues as well. Purdy was the clear replacement, but he only started two games and still managed to throw three interceptions.
Nebraska has openly scoured the transfer portal for new quarterbacks as they have visited Baylor’s Blake Shapen, Kansas State’s Will Howard, Washington State’s Cam Ward and most notably Ohio State’s Kyle McCord. McCord was scrutinized by Buckeye fans after throwing multiple interceptions against the Michigan Wolverines, but his 24 passing touchdowns this season would be an all-time record for the Huskers
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