Updated: April 1, 2009
It's a Tidewater thingSims the latest QB -- and possibly one of the best -- to come from area
By JC Shurburtt
Scouts Inc.
The Tidewater tradition continues with Phillip Sims.
The Under Armour All-American quarterback for Oscar Smith High in Chesapeake, Va., is just the latest talented signal caller to come out of the coastal area of the commonwealth, following in the footsteps of players like Michael Vick, Ronald Curry, Aaron Brooks, Bryan Randall and more recently Tyrod Taylor and E.J. Manuel.
"There is something about this area," Sims said. "We know how to play the quarterback position. I think it's a tribute to the coaches around here in that they know how to coach the position."
Sims won't be the first Tidewater quarterback to play in the game as Manuel, who is now at Florida State, played in the inaugural one.
"It's a good situation for me," he said. "Great quarterbacks from this area may not always be highly-ranked, but they will come out and play hard on a national stage against top competition."
The coach who has guided Sims to 7,776 yards passing, 84 touchdowns and a Group AAA, Division 6 state championships in nearly three complete seasons of football is Richard Morgan, who also serves as his team's offensive coordinator. Morgan employs an extremely diverse and multiple offensive scheme and handed the keys to Sims four games into the 2006 season, when the 6-foot-1, 209-pounder was a freshman.
"The first play I called was a 40-yard pass," Morgan said. "I wanted to make sure that the other team didn't catch on that I was putting a freshman in there. Of course, the pass was incomplete, but I wanted to make a statement that he was there to play."
Sims went on to finish the season with 1,529 passing yards and 16 touchdowns and followed that with a sophomore campaign in which he threw for more than 3,041 yards and 30 touchdowns. Last season, Sims threw for 3,195 yards and 38 touchdowns, placing him 1,388 yards away from becoming the all-time leader in the state of Virginia for passing yardage. He's also 29 touchdown passes away from being the record holder in that department as well.
"He's the best quarterback that I've seen since I've been here," Morgan said. "I am not one of these coaches that tries to pump up his own kids. I am just being honest. I wasn't around to see Michael Vick, Ronald Curry or Aaron Brooks, but (Sims) is the best I've seen since I have been here."
