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OL Rob Sims (official thread)

ScarletInMyVeins

Tanned Fat Looks Better
NBC4's Mindy Drayer talks with senior Rob Sims about when he first started playing football, his fathers influence on him, his favorite buckeye moments, and he sings Carmen Ohio.

You can see the video HERE
 
Last edited by a moderator:
ozone

12/30/05


Football
Sims Hopes to Add to Buckeye Legacy in Last Fiesta Appearance
By John Porentas
The city of Phoenix and the Fiesta Bowl have played a huge role in the life of OSU offensive lineman Rob Sims over a four year span.

Sims' first trip to the Valley of the Sun came in 2002, when as a snot-nosed 18 year old freshman, Sims was called upon to start in the biggest game in Ohio State football in the previous 30-some years.

Sims started and played in the national championship game against Miami of Florida, a game hailed as one of the greatest college football games ever played, and when the Buckeyes won the game, Sims was marked for life as a special person in Buckeye lore.

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"I was a freshman, so I was extremely nervous, but it was an exciting game," said Sims.

"The way that game worked out, it was so crazy. It was over in the snap of the fingers even though there were three overtimes. It was a great game. It was indescribable really," said Sims.

Sims performed remarkably well in the game, but a mistake late in the contest still haunts him despite the Buckeye win.






"I gave up a sack in double overtime," said Sims when asked to name the single most memorable moment for him of that game in January 2003.

"I can't remember his name, but I know it was number 55.

"Every time I go to sleep I see it.

"It's crazy. I've given up sacks my entire career, but I can't let that one go," said Sims.

The Miami player was Jamaal Green, and when Green sacked Craig Krenzel, Sims saw his young life flash before him. Sims said that still happens to this day.

"At that moment, I was so young I felt like I had lost the game.

"You look back on it now, and you wonder what if that thing didn't turn around, what if that (the final outcome of the game) had gone the other way, I wouldn't be sitting here saying I started in that first one, Rob Sims that started the national championship game. I'd be Rob Sims the freshman that started the national championship game who ruined it," said Sims of his worst nightmare.

Fortunately for Sims, the Buckeyes did turn that game around, and instead of the goat, Sims will forever be remembered as a key contributor on a magical night in the desert in Buckeye history.

"It's a great feeling to know that you were part of something so special.

That game is one of the fond memories that I have of being a Buckeye. I see it on instant classic, and I can't even believe it's me out there. It's indescribable It's great to still have those memories," said Sims.

Sims is able to look back now and see the significance of the accomplishment that night, but as it was happening, he had no idea of the magnitude of the moment.

"We were so drained and tired. We were excited for a little bit, but I was exhausted.

"We kind of didn't realize what had happened. It didn't really hit us until we got home and everybody was acting the way they were back home, everybody was real excited.

"Here, it was kind of like any other game. It was over, we celebrated a little bit, had some hats that were cool, then took a shower, got on the bus and headed back to the Princess (Hotel). The seniors were all running around happy, but I was 18-years old. It was time to go to bed for me," said Sims of his actual recollection of that night in 2003.

Sims returned to the desert and the Fiesta Bowl in 2004, and will make his last appearance in the classic this January. For most people it would be hard to imagine that any game could top the first one, but according to Sims, this one has the potential to be just as special for him as that game in 2002.

Sims and the rest of the senior class have the opportunity to tie the OSU record for wins in a four-year career with a win over the Irish in the Fiesta Bow. Sims said that for him, that accomplishment would be the equal of his first accomplishment in the Fiesta Bowl four years ago.

"I think they both rank up there, because that game was going to make us legendary, and this game could make us legendary," said Sims.

"If we get this one, look at the people who I can call part of the Buckeye nation, Archie Griffin, Orlando Pace, John Hicks, Dick Schafrath, I know all these guys, I've met them all, they're all part of the Ohio State family, I could say that I'm part of the elite of them as far as classes go.

"It's really crazy for me to think about something like that.

"It's very big for me. I think my guys deserve it, we all deserve it. We've worked hard and kept this thing together through the ups and downs of whatever. We played through it and focused on winning games, and that's what we did."

For Sims, wins over the course of an entire career is the ultimate measure of football success.

"This is excellence," said Sims.

"I wasn't All-American here, I made first team All-Big Ten after four years of struggling, but I wanted to be like that, to come back here, for me, Bobby (Carpenter) and A. J. (Hawk) and all the guys I came in with, for us to come back have a reunion and people say that that was the class, those guys shut Columbus down for four years, came to play hard and got it done. That's how I want it to be," Sims said.

"It's very big for me. I think my guys deserve it, we all deserve it. We've worked hard and kept this thing together through the ups and downs of whatever. We played through it and focused on winning games, and that's what we did."

On Monday Sims will suit up one last time as a Buckeye and he will take the field in a stadium where he has already earned his one spot in Buckeye history. He would like nothing better than to add to that legacy, to become known as not only a player who won a big game, but as a player who won as consistently over a career as any other Buckeye ever.

 
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I'm not sure where to post this but my sister just got a signed autograph of Rob Sims addressed to her. One of my sisters friends was flying somewhere and saw a big guy wearing a Fiesta Bowl shirt. Sure enough, it was Rob Sims.

Anyway, best of luck to him in the draft and in the NFL.
 
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Dispatch

3/10/06

OSU FOOTBALL | NOTEBOOK

Sims aggravates injury to right leg

Friday, March 10, 2006

Ken Gordon
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH




Rob Sims limped to a chair, his right thigh wrapped tight in clear plastic. He sat down, and the emotions of the day spilled out of him.

The Ohio State guard aggravated a pulled hamstring while running the 40-yard dash at Ohio State’s pro day yesterday.

Even though he thought he did well in the earlier drills, Sims was shaken up. He hurt himself just before the combine and didn’t run there, so he thought he had something to prove yesterday.

"Things happen," Sims said, voice quivering. "I’m sad, man. I think I did OK, but I know I had the opportunity to do real good, and I could’ve done great.

"But that’s the way it goes sometimes. Hopefully, I was able to show those guys that even on a bad day for me, I’m still pretty good."
Sims is viewed as a midround pick.
 
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Dispatch

4/27/06

Father schools Sims on line play

The lesson: Odds of playing better if you’re on offense

Thursday, April 27, 2006

Tim May
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

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As Mickey Sims was working his way into the school of hard knocks known as the NFL in the late 1970s, he developed what he calls "football math." When his son Rob was old enough, he gave him a crash course.

"Rob was debating whether he was going to play on the offensive line or the defensive line, and I sat him down and said, ‘Let’s just do the math,’ " Mickey Sims said.

"You look at football these days, and you might see four defensive linemen on the field one play, three or two the next.

"But the rules are, you have to have at least five offensive linemen on the field every play. Do the math. That’s where you have the most opportunity to make a team."

It made sense to Rob, who went on to star as an offensive lineman at Nordonia High School outside Cleveland. Then he moved to Ohio State, where he started at left tackle as a freshman in the national-championship game and became a fixture on the left side the past three seasons.

The next step figures to come this weekend with the NFL draft. Sims hopes to get a call as early as the second round, but he said that will just be the start.

"If you’re good enough and you do your job, you can play on the offensive line forever," he said. "That’s what I plan to do."

He wants to follow in his father’s footsteps — sort of.

Mickey Sims was a defensive tackle at South Carolina State when the Cleveland Browns made him a fourth-round pick in 1977. He played three seasons in the NFL until, "I have to be honest with you, I just lost the desire to train," he said.

Sims went on to a career as a law enforcement ranger for Cleveland Metro Parks. But when Rob developed into a bigger, stronger version of his father, Mickey made sure he understood the math.

"I always tell him he has the talent I wished I had when I was playing," Mickey Sims said. "He’s a hard worker; that can take you a long way in that position. And he’s smart."

Rob also has a head start on the mental side of what he’s about to face.

"The best advice he’s given me is to enjoy it, because it goes fast," Rob Sims said. "Some guys get so worked up about the money and things that come along with being a pro football player, and they don’t take the time to enjoy the experience, to realize they’re in an elite group."

Regarding the money, though, it doesn’t take a beautiful mind to realize things have changed in 29 years. Mickey Sims said his signing bonus as a rookie in 1977 was $20,000; his season salary as a fourth-round pick was $40,000.

"Yeah, we talk about the difference in the money all the time," Rob Sims said. "The minimum salary now I think is $230,000. It’s amazing how much the game has grown in that regard, but once I get there, he will get some of that."

[email protected]
 
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I was pleasantly surprised with where Rob got picked! I was expecting him much later in the 2nd day, say the 6th round. I believe he was the 6th overall OG taken in the draft and he's going to a team that should be a super bowl contender again. Best of luck, Rob!
 
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ABJ

5/1

Ohio State

Call is divine for Sims

Seahawks contact OSU, Nordonia lineman in church. Salley a Panther

By Marla Ridenour

Beacon Journal sportswriter

BEREA - After waiting for naught all day Saturday for his son Rob to be drafted, former Browns defensive tackle Mickey Sims gave his family an ultimatum. Instead of sitting around the house in Macedonia all day Sunday, they were going to church.
So they headed to Cornerstone Missionary Baptist Church in Cleveland. Rob, the former Nordonia High and Ohio State guard, put his cell phone on vibrate and listened to a sermon he thought was appropriate, ``Catching A Dream.''
When he jumped up out of his pew and headed for the vestibule, a deacon pointed out to the congregation what had happened. On the other end of the phone was Seattle Seahawks coach Mike Holmgren.
``Rob got called during the invitation, when they open the doors for anybody to give their life over to Christ, a very sacred moment,'' Mickey Sims said. ``It was just awesome.''
Rob Sims was selected in the fourth round, 128th overall, by the Seahawks. It was just minutes after Buckeyes free safety Nate Salley was picked 121st by the Carolina Panthers, joining former teammate Chris Gamble, their starting cornerback.
``It's perfect for me. A team that's a contender for the Super Bowl every year, and I'm reunited with my boy,'' Salley said of Gamble. ``It's a blessing.''
Sims and Salley were the only two Ohio State players drafted Sunday, bringing the two-day total to nine. Southern California led the way with 11 picks in seven rounds. Miami (Fla.) also had nine and Florida State eight.
Buckeyes players passed over included kicker Josh Huston and defensive end Mike Kudla of Highland. Kudla's injury history and a build that appeared too big for his 6-foot-1 ½ frame could have been factors, but he'll likely be signed as a free agent this week.
Neither Salley nor Sims slept well Saturday night. Salley, a confessed night owl, dozed off about 4 a.m. Sims, who was hoping to be a first-day pick, said he was ``too excited to go lay down.'' He'd played golf with his high school coach in the morning, then ``got sucked into watching the draft.''
``Yesterday was extremely disappointing,'' Sims said. ``I got a little emotional because I thought I deserved to go. I thought I had worked hard enough. But I played guard, a not very sought-after position.''
Sunday's turn of events that landed him with the defending NFC champions lifted his spirits.
``I feel so much better,'' he said. ``I think the Seahawks needed a guard and I was kind of hoping to go to that kind of team. It's kind of my luck I would go the farthest away from home, but they've got planes that go to Seattle.''
Now a sergeant for the Cleveland MetroParks, Mickey Sims said, ``Miles don't make any difference. He's got an opportunity to play in the league. We'll try to make it shorter, come and watch when he gets closer.''
Salley was extremely surprised that he ended up with the Panthers, perennial NFC contenders.
``That was one of the teams I spoke to the least,'' he said. ``I talked to one of their scouts at the East-West Shrine Game, but I don't think I spoke to anyone at the combine or since then. It's kinda weird.''
He also thought it was strange that he was picked No. 121 when he wore No. 21 with the Buckeyes.
Besides playing with Gamble, Salley has family in South Carolina, a cousin attending North Carolina and a sister and her children in Atlanta, so he should have a small cheering section at home games.
The Browns had 10 picks and selected no Buckeyes. General Manager Phil Savage said the closest they came was with junior cornerback Ashton Youboty, a one-time first-round projection who slipped to the Buffalo Bills at No. 70 in the third round.
``There is a player who probably would have been better served going back (to school),'' Savage said.
Savage said he called the Green Bay Packers for three consecutive days last week trying to make a deal to move up from No. 12 to fifth to take Lombardi Award-winning Buckeyes linebacker A.J. Hawk, but the Packers weren't interested and ended up picking Hawk. Savage said he also talked to the San Francisco 49ers, who held No. 6, in case the Packers tabbed tight end Vernon Davis.
 
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