Blinksportsnews247De’Rail Sims, a former Cincinnati running backs coach, was hired by Tennessee to replace Jerry Mack, who just resigned to take a similar position with the Jacksonville Jaguars, according to Austin Price of On3’s Volquest.
Sims, a native of South Carolina, spent his first two seasons with the Bearcats at Louisville, where he played under current Cincinnati coach Scott Satterfield. He has previously worked as an RB coach at Carson Newman, James Madison, East Carolina, and Western Carolina.
Sims has managed his teams’ rushing attacks to finish in the top 25 of the NCAA for the last three years, with Louisville placing second in the ACC the last two years. In 2021 and 2022, the Cardinals surpassed 200 yards per game on the ground and scored 25 and 29 touchdowns, respectively. During his still-relatively-early coaching tenure, Sims has led effective ground attacks at each of his stops. With the Cardinals, he guided conference rookie of the year Rahjai Harris to more over 600 yards and four touchdowns in eight games. His previous three seasons at James Madison were marked by a 28-2 record, an FCS championship in 2016 and a second-place finish in 2017.
During Sims’ tenure, the team’s rushing attack, which ranked fourth in the nation in touchdowns with 108, sixth in yards with over 9,400, and 13th in yards per game at about 220, was the driving force behind the offense.
Madison had an especially prosperous 2016:
“The Dukes set a CAA record in 2016 with 4,125 yards of running, and they were ranked second in FCS in terms of scoring (46.7 points per game), fourth in terms of third-down conversions (50.0 percent), fifth in terms of rushing average (275.0 yards per game), and sixth in terms of the fewest fumbles lost (4). 18 different players scored 100 yards or more while running for the team, led by Khalid Abdullah, the Sports Network FCS National Player of the Year and All-America pick, who concluded the season with 22 touchdowns and 1,809 yards—both school single-season records.
Sims transitioned from FCS to FBS after three years at James Madison, where he served as ECU’s running backs coach for three seasons.
About Sims’ abilities as a recruiter and coach, Cincinnati’s 247 website stated the following:
Sims assisted in coaching East Carolina AAC Rookie of the Year Rahjai Harris, Cincinnati’s Corey Kiner, who finished the season with over 1,000 yards rushing, and legendary Louisville running back Jawhar Jordan.
The class of 2024 ball carrier Jakorion Caffey from Avon High School in Ohio and the class of 2025 speedster Zion Johnson from Georgia were both recruited by Sims, who is well-known for being an excellent one. The Bearcats running back coach is a crucial and somewhat special job because Sims has offered them stability and demonstrated success in light of Cincinnati’s zone run system.
Three-star recruits Caffey and Johnson are from Ohio and Georgia, respectively, and their respective 100-meter speeds are 10.88, 11.00, and 11.06. All told, Sims is credited with seven commitments where he served as either the lead or secondary recruiter. All seven of these prospects are considered three-star athletes.
According to rumors, Sims’s first call as an employee was to Justin Baker, a 3-star running back from Georgia who is projected to graduate in 2025 and whose primary recruiters were Jerry Mack and Brian Jean-Mary.
Blinksportsnews247
