TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — The way Nick Saban tells the story it was after the A-Day Game, the final scrimmage of spring played before 73,506 fans at Bryant-Denny Stadium, when one in particular said something that stuck with the coach.
It came out of the mouth of a 10-year-old boy, who probably asked what his father wouldn’t have dared but was being thought by a lot of people that April afternoon.
“Do we have a quarterback other than Blake Sims?”
It hadn’t been a particularly good showing for the fifth-year player who had spent the previous two seasons backing up AJ McCarron. He got off to a rocky start by completing just one of his first five passes, which included a couple of drops and one attempt that should have been intercepted.
The passing game finally started to look a little better in the fourth quarter, but until wide receiver Chris Black notched a last-minute 55-yard touchdown the only scoring play Sims had been involved with was when defensive lineman D.J. Pettway returned an interception 29 yards for a touchdown early in the third quarter.
His final numbers were anything but impressive: 13 of 30 attempts (43.3 percent) for 178 yards, with two interceptions.
Nevertheless, this week someone from Ohio State is playing the part of Sims during practices for the upcoming national playoff semifinal at the Sugar Bowl (Jan. 1, 8:30 p.m. ET, ESPN), trying to mimic the dual-threat passer who had spent years on Alabama’s scout team.
It’s something that definitely isn’t lost on him.
“I’m just blessed to be in the situation that I am, blessed to be around the guys I’m playing with that made me better every day,” Sims said.
There are all sorts of great stories on the Crimson Tide football team this season, from Austin Shepherd’s foundation to Cyrus Jones shaking off last year’s struggles to become Alabama’s most solid cornerback.
But none can compare to Sims, the player who didn’t really have a position his first couple of years at the Capstone and ascended in a way that very few thought possible.
“Blake is an inspirational guy, just his personality, the way he plays, the way he competes,” Saban said. “I think a lot of players have a lot of respect for him for the perseverance that he showed here.
“He played mostly on scout team for three years, got moved to running back, got moved back to quarterback when another quarterback transferred, became a second-team quarterback. Really worked hard and won the job, and then when you look at what he accomplished based on all the perseverance that he had, where a lot of people would have transferred, gone someplace else, done something else.”
At Alabama’s recent team awards banquet Sims shared the Offensive Player of the Year distinction with wide receiver Amari Cooper, was named the Most Inspiring Player by his teammates, and then topped that with arguably the night’s highest honor, co-team captain.
For those who don’t know, Alabama considers its captains so highly that their names, footprints and handprints are cast in concrete at Denny Chimes, the heart of the Capstone campus. More than that, though, the players often don’t just vote for the most successful teammates, or the ones who led them through the spring, summer and season, but the peers who they themselves want to be like.
“I was just sitting there, nervous, my name was the last one to get called, like awwww man,” said fullback Jalston Fowler, who was named along with Sims, Cooper and safety Landon Collins.
“I was hoping to win that award. It’s something very dear to me to be voted by your teammates as the team captain.”
Sims said he didn’t expect it. There were other players who had started a lot more games and paid a lot of dues, only none quite like he did.
“It mean a lot, it lets me know that my team really believes in the words that I say, they trust me 100 percent,” the humble Sims said. “I’m just glad I can be a leader for this team and lead these guys the right way.”
Obviously it didn’t just happen overnight, even after finally winning the starting job this fall. Sims still had to overcome the doubters, the loss at Ole Miss and even the three interceptions against Auburn.
He set records, including Alabama’s single-season passing mark, was named second-team All-SEC, and should have received more consideration for national awards including the Heisman Trophy.
Along the way Sims taught both his teammates and the fans more than they’ll ever know, just by the way he went about things.
“He has a tremendous impact on everybody around him,” Saban said.
As for the 10-year-old boy, he hasn’t been back to see Saban since A-Day and is hopefully enjoying a nice Christmas somewhere. Perhaps the fan part of him will have an ever better New Year’s Day if the guy he didn’t want at quarterback can lead the Crimson Tide to another win and into the national championship game.
“He probably jumped on the bandwagon like all the rest of you did,” Saban said with a smile.
Christopher Walsh has covered Alabama football since 2004 and is the author of 19 books. In his free time, he writes about college football.
