Tennessee already has a quarterback committed to them in their 2020 class, and he’s highly-rated as well. Harrison Bailey is a top-100 overall prospect and a four-star, pro-style quarterback in the 2020 cycle. He committed to the Vols back when they still didn’t have an offensive coordinator on staff, but he and new UT offensive coordinator Jim Chaney have met and have gotten along.
But just because the Vols have a QB committed doesn’t mean they aren’t going to do their due diligence at the position. Plus, they may want to add two quarterbacks in their 2020 class.
On Tuesday, Tennessee sent out an offer to Jeff Sims, a dual-threat quarterback out of Jacksonville, Florida. He tweeted about the offer on Tuesday morning.
I am so Blessed and Thankful to receive an offer from The University of Tennessee #GBO? pic.twitter.com/FUXKt2aJY3
— Jeff Sims (@JeffSims_10) January 29, 2019
Sims isn’t currently rated by 247Sports, but he’s a name that’s starting to blow up on the recruiting trail. He’s added offers from Florida State, Virginia Tech, Penn State, and Georgia all within the last month.
The 6-foot-3, 195-pound quarterback plays for Sandalwood High School in Jacksonville, and he’s teammates with three-star cornerback Jahquez Robinson. Just like with Sims, Robinson’s recruitment has started to take off recently, as he’s picked up offers from Florida, Georgia, Penn State, Kentucky, and Ole Miss over the last month.
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Sims has exceptional play-making ability as Sandalwood’s quarterback, and he’s a very good athlete. He’ll need to improve his mechanics as a passer, but he has a very strong arm and can already make a variety of throws. He can throw accurately on the run, and he does a really good job of placing the ball where his receivers can go make a play on it. Sims isn’t always throwing to a bunch of wide open receivers on his film, either; he makes accurate throws and helps lead his receivers at times. As a runner, he has good enough speed to evade defenders and pick up big chunks of yards on the ground. He has some good pocket awareness as well.
This past season, Sims threw for nearly 2,000 yards and 20 touchdowns. He also ran for over 400 yards and added four rushing touchdowns.
Sims isn’t the only quarterback to add offers from the Vols in the 2020 class recently. Tennessee also put out offers to two Texas quarterbacks in the 2020 cycle. Four-star pro-style QB Deuce Hogan and three-star dual-threat QB Haynes King added offers from the Vols this month, too.
Tennessee sending out these offers to other quarterbacks doesn’t mean Chaney is unhappy with Harrison Bailey or vice versa; it’s likely UT is just making sure they stay on top of any other potential play-makers at quarterback in this cycle and are doing their due diligence. Plus, it wouldn’t be a bad idea for the Vols to add two QBs in their 2020 class if possible.
Sims’ recruitment could skyrocket even further once he starts attending camps in the spring and summer, so keep an eye on his name in the next few months.
