New Vols RBs coach De'Rail Sims references some old school Tennessee playmakers during first media session at UT
New Tennessee Vols running backs coach De'Rail Sims met with reporters on Monday for the first time since getting hired to replace Jerry Mack (who left earlier this offseason to become the Jacksonville Jaguars' new running backs coach). Sims, who is from Union, SC, was asked on Monday how he viewed Tennessee football when he […]
New Tennessee Vols running backs coach De'Rail Sims met with reporters on Monday for the first time since getting hired to replace Jerry Mack (who left earlier this offseason to become the Jacksonville Jaguars' new running backs coach).
Sims, who is from Union, SC, was asked on Monday how he viewed Tennessee football when he was growing up.
The new Vols assistant coach referenced some of the great Tennessee running backs that have played on Rocky Top while answering the question.
“When I was growing up, being able to watch them on Saturdays and in my opinion it was RBU," said Sims. "I mean, you turn around and you watched Jamal Lewis when I was growing up, Travis Henry when I was growing up, Travis Stephens when I was growing up. Seeing them run through that Power T to come in here. And they were beating up on everybody. And it was one of those deals that you had admiration for the program. It was one of those deals, I wanted to be able to come here and play, but I wasn’t good enough to play here. I had a teammate in high school that played here, so I always had very, very fond memories of watching Tennessee on television.”
Sims' high school teammate that he referenced that played at Tennessee is former Vols offensive tackle Eric Young, who played at UT from 2003 to 2007.
Young, who spent four seasons in the NFL, was a second-team All-SEC selection in 2007.
Sims told reporters that he had a feeling in 2015, when he visited Neyland Stadium as an assistant coach for Western Carolina, that he would end up at Tennessee one day.
"The number one thing I remember is we got our tail ran out stadium," said Sims of Western Carolina's 45 point loss to the Vols in 2015. "So that’s what I remember. And honestly, it’s kind of been this way my whole entire career. God has always given me a preview of places that I’ll end up. And I kind of had a little feeling when we were here that night — not knowing at what point in time that would happen — but I kind of had a feeling at some point in time it would. All I had to do was work hard and it ended up coming true."
Losing Mack to the NFL was a tough loss for Josh Heupel and the Vols. But it sounds like the program found a perfect replacement in Sims.
