Steven Sipple: Jeff Sims and Marcus Satterfield “clicked instantly,” and Husker fans now hope the chemistry shows on autumn Saturdays
You’ve perhaps noticed Nebraska football players and coaches referring to their 2023 opener as “Eight-31,” as in August 31st. Yeah, the season’s almost upon us. As the tussle with Minnesota nears, Jeff Sims is increasingly in my thoughts.
Sims and Nebraska feel like a good fit.
That’s my read, anyway.
We’ll see soon enough. But he seems comfortable with the intense spotlight on Nebraska’s program and, well, on himself. He seems to have the temperament to handle the heat. Again, time will tell.
Dating to the spring practice season, he expressed confidence in his grasp of Marcus Satterfield’s offense.
Sims’ size (6-foot-4 and 225 pounds) and athleticism obviously aren’t in question.
What’s more, one could draw confidence in Sims from listening to him discuss his initial encounter this past winter with Satterfield, the Huskers’ offensive coordinator.
“My first time meeting coach ‘Sat,’ we talked about his offense, and it just clicked instantly,” Sims said recently. “We were speaking the same language. Some of the concepts he was showing me, and some of the terminology that he had, I was kind of familiar with.
“Even things that he introduced that I was unfamiliar with, I picked up on quickly. So, I think once he saw that, he realized we’d have a good connection.”
Jeff Sims understands there’s room for improvement
Of course, this conversation occurs in the context of Nebraska’s offense struggling Saturday in the team’s first major scrimmage of preseason camp. The defense dominated, Husker head coach Matt Rhule told reporters afterward. Rhule noted a lot of the offense’s problems were procedural in nature — too many pre-snap issues such as trouble getting in and out of the huddle. You know, the sort of unforced errors that drive coaches bonkers.
Because media isn’t allowed to watch scrimmages, it’s difficult to say exactly how much Sims was at fault. But Sims said the offense’s energy level was unsatisfactory. He definitely can impact that part in a positive way.
Satterfield described Sims’ play in the scrimmage as “steady.” The offense improved its execution as the day progressed, Satterfield said. That speaks to Sims’ poise and mental toughness. He possesses a willingness to keep fighting.
The coaches like Sims’ calm demeanor on the field. It’s absolutely a crucial trait for a quarterback, especially one who leads a team that’s going to be in a lot of close games.
During the offseason, Sims said, he focused on getting his body fully prepared for the season. He’s absolutely one of the team’s most impressive physical specimens.
He also focused on his leadership. He’s improved in that area compared to his days playing for Georgia Tech, he said.
Satterfield seeks improvement in two key areas
A native of Jacksonville, Florida, Sims started 23 games in three seasons for Yellow Jackets. All told, he completed 57.5% of his passes and gunned 30 touchdown throws with 23 interceptions.
Before this past spring season, Satterfield asked Sims to improve his completion percentage and reduce turnovers.
“Over the course of spring, that happened very quickly,” Sims said of the improvements. “I think it’s just a different level of focus and processing that helped with that. My completion percentage this spring was really good. My interception-to-touchdown ratio was really good.”
The key, he said, was to cut loose. If you think too hard about mistake avoidance, he said, that’s when the mistakes occur with greater regularity.
Sims noted Nebraska’s offense is more versatile than the one he ran for Georgia Tech. If you’re a Husker fan, you hope Satterfield’s offense caters more to his skill set. Again, we’ll see soon enough.
“It puts me in more situations to show off my arm and my ability to pass the ball,” he said of Nebraska’s system.
Questions about Nebraska’s offense persist
Thing is, Rhule sounds determined to get Nebraska’s ground game rolling, which obviously could alleviate pressure on Sims and open up the passing game. Of course, a coach saying he wants his team to run the ball is one thing. Doing so effectively in the rugged Big Ten is quite another.
Let’s say Nebraska tries to hammer away on the ground and is stymied consistently. Then, the Huskers would have to turn more often to a passing game that would involve a receiver group that, according to Rhule, has the most question marks on the team.
In other words, the pressure on Sims could be significant.
I know this: If I were calling plays, I would have to fight back temptation to involve him heavily in the run game. As BTN analyst Gerry DiNardo recently noted, Sims looks like a big tailback when he gets loose.
“I’m willing to run whenever I need to,” Sims said. “There’s really no exact number of how much I’m expecting to run. I know whenever I have to, or whenever I need to, I’m going to do it, and I’m going to do it at a high level.”
Satterfield, though, wants the world to know Sims is a pass-first quarterback, and Sims definitely wants to be known that way.
Why’s that important to him?
“Because I am,” said Sims, who has matter-of-fact way about him. “You know, a lot of times I’ve seen and heard stuff saying I’m a better runner than a passer. That’s just not true. I think people haven’t seen that side of me, yet. That’s something I’m ready to show.”
Sims and Rhule also clicked immediately
Is Sims really a good fit for Nebraska? Can we say that before a game is played?
Well, we can say the marriage got off to a pleasantly warm start during the cold of winter.
“When I was talking with coach Rhule on my visit (to Lincoln), I was just listening to how he sees his future at Nebraska, his vision, his goals,” Sims said. “It aligned with what I wanted.
“Just seeing how smart he was, and the connections he had and experience he had in the NFL, I knew he was a guy who was going to take my mental game to another level — because coach Rhule is a very smart guy and I want to soak everything I can from him.
“So, that was a big part of how he sold me to come to Nebraska.”
So far, Nebraska has been everything he’s wanted in a program, Sims said.
Of course, it’ll greatly help matters if the offensive line is everything he wants.
If that Nebraska receivers corps comes around, well, that also would make QB1’s life a bit easier.
No matter what, Sims will stay strong and make plays consistently. He’ll make good decisions. I’m guessing he’ll reduce turnovers. Satterfield emphasizes it. Harps on it. Bottom line, Sims seemingly fits the system well and has a maturity that suggests he can handle the autumn heat.
That’s my read, anyway.
The post Steven Sipple: Jeff Sims and Marcus Satterfield “clicked instantly,” and Husker fans now hope the chemistry shows on autumn Saturdays appeared first on On3.
