Sims attended Gainesville High School in Gainesville, Georgia, where he played football and ran track. He played quarterback for head coachBruce Miller, leading Gainesville to a 14–1 record and a state runner-up finish. He threw for 2,785 yards as a junior in 2008 while rushing for 822 yards and 15 scores. As a senior, he threw for 2,288 yards with 28 touchdowns, and rushed for 863 yards and 13 touchdowns. He twice earned AAA All-State honors by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and the Associated Press in 2009. In track & field, Sims was one of the state's top sprinters. At the 2009 Gainesville Tri Meet vs Buford/Clarke Central, he won the long jump event, recording a jump of 6.58 meters. At the '2009 "Flowery Branch, West Hall, Johnson, Gainesville, Chestatee Meet", he earned first-place finishes in both the 100 meters and 200 meters. He won the 100 meters at the 2010 Battle at The Branch Invitational, at 10.84. He had a personal-best time of 10.69 seconds in the 100 meters. Regarded as a four-star recruit by Rivals.com, Sims was ranked as the No. 33 athlete in the nation. He was also rated eighth in the AJC's 2010 Top 50 prospects in Georgia, No. 43 player by SuperPrep. He chose Alabama over scholarship offers from Tennessee, Georgia, FSU and Michigan.
College career
After spending 2010 to 2013 as a running back and backup quarterback, Sims started his first career game during the opener of his senior season in 2014 after beating Jake Coker for the job. On September 20, 2014, he threw for 445 yards against Florida, which was the second most in school history behind Scott Hunter's 484 in 1969. On December 6, 2014 Sims broke the Alabama single season passing yards record which was held by AJ McCarron. In 14 starts, he passed for 3,487 yards, 28 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. He lost in the semifinals to Ohio State, which later won the championship. ;Passing statistics:
Season
GP–GS
Comp–Att
Pct.
Yards
TD
INT
Long
Avg/G
2012
10–0
5–10
50.0
77
0
0
35
9.6
2013
13–0
18–29
62.1
167
2
0
26
20.9
2014
14–14
252–391
64.4
3,487
28
10
87
249.1
;Rushing statistics:
Season
GP–GS
Att
Yds
Avg
TD
Long
Avg/G
2011
5–0
22
107
4.9
0
45
21.40
2012
10–0
30
187
6.2
2
36
18.70
2013
13–0
15
61
4.1
0
11
7.63
2014
14–14
78
350
4.5
7
43
25.0
Professional career
Sims was not drafted in the 2015 NFL Draft, thus becoming a free agent. He was offered an opportunity to try out with the Green Bay Packers and the Washington Redskins as a running back. He was not offered a contract by either team.
Sims was signed by the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League on July 29, 2015. He was cut September 15, 2015. He was on the active roster for one game due to injuries. Roughriders traded quarterback Kevin Glenn to the Montreal AlouettesOctober 14, 2015. Sims was resigned to replace Glenn on October 22, 2015. Saskatchewan Roughriders added Sims their roster as #3 quarterback. Sims was on Riders roster, but never got to play for Saskatchewan. He was released by the Saskatchewan Roughriders on December 15, 2015.
On September 13, 2016, Sims was signed to the Falcons' practice squad. He was released on September 23.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
On December 28, 2016, Sims was signed to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' practice squad. He signed a reserve/future contract with the Buccaneers on January 2, 2017. He was waived on August 28, 2017.
After his release by the Buccaneers, Sims was assigned to the Birmingham Iron of the Alliance of American Football. In the league's quarterback draft on November 27, he was retained by the Iron with their second-round selection. He was placed on injured reserve on February 27, 2019, and waived from injured reserve on April 1, 2019.
