Kenneth Sims obit

 

Longhorn legend Kenneth Sims passes away

A member of the College Football Hall of Fame, Sims was the 1981 Lombardi Award winner and No. 1 overall pick in 1982 NFL Draft.

He was not on the list.

Kenneth Sims, a Longhorn Legend who starred at defensive tackle for Texas from 1978-81 and was inducted into the National Football Foundation College Football Hall of Fame in the class of 2021, passed away peacefully in his home on Friday. The 1981 Lombardi Award winner, No. 1 pick in the 1982 NFL Draft and member of the Texas Athletics Hall of Honor (Class of 1997) was 65.

A Groesbeck, Texas native, Sims arrived on the Forty Acres as a freshman in 1978 and was an impact performer at the heart of the Longhorns' defensive line for four seasons. In that time, the 6-6, 265-pound tackle recorded 322 tackles, 29 sacks, 50 tackles for loss, 15 forced fumbles, seven fumble recoveries and three blocked kicks. After playing behind now-fellow College Football Hall of Famer Steve McMichael during his first two seasons, Sims shined as a starter in the 1980 and 1981 campaigns, posting 241 tackles, 21 sacks, 40 tackles for loss, 11 forced fumbles and six fumble recoveries in that time. Sims' 15 career forced fumbles still stand as the most by a player in a school history, while his 29 sacks (fourth) and seven fumble recoveries (fifth) both rank among the top five among Longhorns all-time. His 50 career tackles for loss are ninth-best in school history.

Sims earned consensus All-America and first-team All-Southwest Conference honors in each of his final two seasons at Texas, including unanimous first-team recognition among the five recognized All-America teams as a senior. During the 1981 season, Sims' senior campaign, he was so dominant in an injury-shortened season that he became Texas' first Lombardi Trophy winner, which was awarded annually to the nation's top lineman at the time, and was also voted the UPI Lineman of the Year. UT's team captain, Sims finished eighth in the Heisman Trophy voting and received three first-place votes in 1981. In addition, he joined Rowdy Gaines, Oliver Luck, Lynette Woodward and Par J Arvidsson in receiving the prestigious all sports NCAA Today's Top V Award in 1982. That honor, now the NCAA Today's Top 10 Award, recognizes the nation's premier student-athletes for their efforts on the field, in the community and in the classroom. Sims was also named the Team MVP in his final two collegiate seasons, making him the first Longhorn since Chris Gilbert (1966-68) to earn that honor in consecutive seasons. Today, he is still one of only six Longhorns to earn Team MVP honors in consecutive seasons.

In his four seasons at Texas, the Longhorns posted a 35-12-1 (22-9-1, SWC) record, played in four bowl games and registered two Top 10 finishes (three Top 12 finishes). Texas started the year 4-0 during his senior season and was 7-1-1 through nine games before he sustained a season-ending leg injury. In those nine games, Sims led UT to wins over No. 14 Miami (14-7), No. 10 Oklahoma (34-14) and No. 8 SMU (9-7). The Longhorns went on to post a 10-1-1 record, knocked off No. 3 Alabama (14-12) in the Cotton Bowl and finished the 1981 season ranked No. 2 nationally by The Associated Press (No. 4 UPI Coaches Poll). He also helped the Horns to a 9-3 record and No. 9 final ranking (both Polls) as a true freshman in 1978. In 1979, the Longhorns were 9-3 and finished the year ranked No. 12 (AP) and No. 13 (UPI Coaches Poll).

Sims was selected by the New England Patriots with the first overall pick in the 1982 NFL Draft, becoming only the third Longhorn to be selected No. 1 overall (Earl Campbell, 1978; Tommy Nobis; 1966). He played eight seasons with the Patriots (1982-89), including the 1985 AFC Championship season when New England advanced to Super Bowl XX. Sims logged 65 tackles, 5.5 sacks and two fumble recoveries during that Super Bowl season. He registered a career-best 96 tackles and 3.5 sacks in 1984, and three sacks as a rookie in 1982. Sims finished his professional career with 17 sacks in 74 games. Following his career with the Patriots, Sims was enshrined in the Texas Athletics Hall of Honor as part of the Class of 1997.

Below is an excerpt on Kenneth Sims from the book "What it Means to Be a Longhorn", written by Hall of Fame Texas sports information director Bill Little (copywrite 2007) and Jenna McEachern:

Kenneth Sims, Defensive Tackle (1978-81):

I grew up in Baylor Country and Aggie Country. I was almost an Aggie, but they fired my buddy, Emory Bellard. I was very fond of him. He was like a father — he's still like a father to me. A very nice guy.

I grew up in Kosse, Texas, and I rode the bus to Groesbeck to school for 12 years. I hurt my neck my junior year and didn't get to play that much, so I didn't make a lot of folks' blue-chip lists. I was only getting recruited by small-time schools until word go out. Groesbeck had a great defense, and supposedly Ken Dabbs was riding to the airport with a coach from Rice, Ray Alborn. Coach Alborn was bragging to him about, "Man, have you seen that kid at Groesbeck? He can really run." Dabbs, being a poker player, said, "Yeah, I've seen him. He's really something else." Dabbs go to the Dallas airport — this was before cell phones — and he called The University and said "Mike Parker, do you know where Groesbeck is? No? Well, you'd better find it because there's a player over there."

My high school football coach was always fond of UT. He said, "Son, I think you need to go down there and look around." This was during the time when Earl Campbell, Randy McEachern, and that '77 bunch were undefeated. I'd never been to Austin, but that was the time to come. When I came down, the city was much like it was when Vince Young and the team were winning. It was wild! So, I came down here to visit. I spent the whole day at the mall with Steve and Tim Campbell, and I've been in Austin ever since. Every time I see Emory Bellard, he always laughs and asks me, "What happened, podnah?"

I'd made up my mind I was coming to Texas. It was cold that weekend, bitter cold, and I didn't own a coat back then. I asked Coach Akers if I could get No. 77, and he said, "I think we can arrange that. You're easy."

Everybody asked me, "Man, you didn't get anything?" I always say I got an opportunity, and I got my number. When I came in, I was sixth on the depth chart. I remember looking up at the wall, and I was number six.

When you're a high school kid, you pick a school primarily because of the coach. I came here because of Parker. My mother thinks he's the salt of the earth, which he is. I'm friends with his family today. He's a Marine, Purple Heart. He's a real tough guy, and that's why we were all tough.

My whole career at UT, we were trying to get to the Cotton Bowl. We were No. 1 at one point, and when that happens, some people tend to relax. Now that I look back on it, when they put that "No. 1" on your back, you've got to kick it up a notch. Everybody's gunning for you, and when you get labeled No. 1, you have a tendency to relax mentally, and that's not the time to relax. You start "acting like" instead of "being like," and we got knocked off by Arkansas.

I tried to be shortsighted. I didn't really want to know who we were playing next week. It didn't matter. It's who were playing this week.

If we'd had the offense these guys have today, we'd have won a couple national championships, but we had a very conservative approach to things. Of course, had we been allowed to run with the fumble back then like they are today, who knows? 

Coach Campbell said we would have been 10-1 my senior year had we just punted the ball back to the other team and put our defense back on the field. Everybody chuckled, but he was serious. You know Coach Campbell; that's probably the finest compliment I've received, that and Bear Bryant's saying that, had I played in the Cotton Bowl, Alabama probably wouldn't have scored. I'll always remember that and discussing the game with Bear afterward. That was the highest compliment, next to Coach Campbell saying that about our defense.

Our quarterback was Rick McIvor, who had that strong arm, but he got hurt against Houston. It was a blessed day for us when they sent Robert (Brewer) in, in his place. Robert was the quintessential quarterback when it came to running and throwing, all of it. He was just a heady guy. I remember when he walked out on the field. We're still friends today. He was just a winner. So, when they sent him in there — it didn't hurt that he was wearing No. 16 — it started coming together. We ended up tying Houston that game, and I think that game kept us in the running for a shot at a national championship. Of course, we had to go up to Dallas and beat an SMU team that was favored to beat us. I didn't know they were picked to beat us — they said they were supposed to whip our butts. We went up to Texas Stadium and put the Pony Express — Mr. Eric Dickerson and Mr. Craig James — out of business that day.

The game at Texas Stadium against SMU was a sellout. The guys from SMU had been talking lots of trash that week. Their receiver, Perry Hartnett — I'll never forget his name — had my picture pinned up in his locker. At one point in the game, Mark Weber decided he wanted to switch sides with me — "Let me get some of him." Out of the sheer tenacity, he wanted to get a little piece of that guy. That next play, after Weber had switched over, SMU ran a reverse back to my side that would have beat us, because we only won the game 9-7. They ran it into the right side, where Weber should have been. Sometimes the Good Lord puts you in the right spot. I stuffed him. I was the last guy.

I don't know if I would have been able to make that play if Weber hadn't wanted to switch. They ran the reverse, and a half-step into chasing it, I figured out it was a reverse. I think that five yards made a difference, because if I'd been five yards father away, I don't think I'd have been catching any wide receivers. But they say it's a game of inches, and that day it was.

We beat them 9-7 and kept our season on track. Then we had to beat Baylor here and go to College Station and beat A&M to clinch the Cotton Bowl. But it all fell into place. My senior year both Mark Weber and I got hurt. I broke my leg, and he tore up his knee, so we had two real pups in John Haines and Ralph Darnell player defensive tackle. They did a yeoman's job because our defense really played well.

I played scared all the time. I did not want to go back to Groesbeck as a failure. My brothers went to college and are proud graduates. I said, "I need to go handle this." Along the way I found out I was really blessed. The Good Lord just blessed me immensely. I could do things other guys couldn't do, and I was fortunate enough to come to a place that perpetuated greatness. I played with some great guys and learned a lot from one of the best defensive tackles to ever play the game, Steve McMichael. He should be in the NFL Hall of Fame. Between Steve and Coach Parker, the Pup learned how to play. "Bam-Bam" (McMichael) nicknamed me "the Pup."

The game hasn't changed that much. I've been telling those guys ever since Tony Brackens was here, the first chance you have of winning is to really get off on the ball. If you come off and play the game on the offensive side of the ball, your team's going to be better off. We call it "the money step." If you can get off the ball and play on the other side, it's going to cause problems for the other team. Back when I played, everyone was running the veer and the option, doing a lot of ball handling in the backfield. I think I still have the all-time record for career fumbles caused at UT. I really focused on causing fumbles.

When I broke my leg, my mother came down. Adam Schreiber's family was in town, and they all came by the dorm to see me. My mother told me, "Son, you couldn't have made a better decision than to come here. These folks love you." It couldn't have worked out any better for me because, ultimately, being here propelled me to No. 1 in the draft, even with a broken leg my senior year.

The ride was great. I'm very proud to be associated with such a great school. Every April in the NFL Draft, they mention my name, "Kenneth Sims, from The University of Texas," and it will always be on the board. I feel blessed that I got to play here. I'm a Longhorn for life.

Career history

New England Patriots (1982–1989)

Buffalo Bills (1992)*

 * Offseason and/or practice squad member only

Career highlights and awards

PFWA All-Rookie Team (1982)

Lombardi Award (1981)

UPI Lineman of the Year (1981)

Unanimous All-American (1981)

Consensus All-American (1980)

2× All-SWC First Team (1980, 1981)

2× Longhorn Football Team MVP (1980, 1981)

Longhorn Hall of Honor inductee (1997)