Jay Sims spent some time at Omaha Central High School before his family moved to Arkansas. Sims was a bit of an oddity in that he delayed his college enrollment. He graduated from high school in 1989, worked for a few years and enrolled at NU in 1993. This meant his first college carry in 1995 came a few months before his 24th birthday.
Sims was a talented back with excellent speed. He owned the highest score - ever - on Nebraska's performance index, which measured a player's athleticism. Many teammates and reporters who saw him in practice believed Sims could have started for the majority of the schools in the Big Eight.
But at Nebraska, he spent the most of his career no higher than third string. That's a testament to the talent on Nebraska's roster, and not a knock on his abilities. When you play on the same teams as Lawrence Phillips, Ahman Green, Clinton Childs, Damon Benning, Correll Buckhalter, DeAngelo Evans and others, there simply are not enough carries to go around.
That said, how many fifth string I-backs can say they scored an 80-yard touchdown against a Nick Saban defense? In the 1995 Michigan State game, Sims took his first touch 80 yards to the house. It was his fifth career carry.
At the end of Nebraska's blowout win over Florida in the 1996 Fiesta Bowl, Sims was in the backfield (along with quarterback Matt Turman) for the final series. Sims got loose for an impressive 32-yard run. He was tackled at the 2-yard-line. While I wanted Sims to score, the run put Nebraska over 600 yards of total offense for the game.
Turman – another beloved backup - took a knee to end the game.
Jay Sims after the Huskers' win over Tennessee in the 1998 Orange Bowl. / Nebraska Greats Foundation
