Nebraksa avoids disaster on trick play, scores first touchdown of season

Jeff Sims made more magic for the first touchdown of his Nebraska career, launching a 34-yard pass to wideout Alex Bullock on a pass-back trick play.

The play almost didn’t happen, however. Running back Gabe Ervin was given the pitch and tasked with throwing it back to Sims. The only problem was the throw was off — but Sims used a perfect bounce to his advantage and found Bullock wide-open in the end zone.

The play erased a 3-0 deficit to Minnesota and the Huskers took the lead for the first time on the night. Check out the incredible play below:

NEBRASKA TRICK-PLAY TD😅🔥pic.twitter.com/xevFgkMf3o

— On3 (@On3sports) September 1, 2023

Sims almost had a touchdown at the end of the first half, but made the wrong read and threw an easy interception with seconds left on the clock. That capped what was a touchdown-less first half for both sides. The game had been so even to that point, it’s no surprise that trickery played a hand in finding the end zone for the first time.

That touchdown is the first of what is expected to be many scores for Sims under Matt Rhule in Lincoln. After all, he scored a ton at his previous school.

In three years at Georgia Tech, he proved himself to be a versatile threat having rushed for 1,166 yards and 11 touchdowns on 4.3 yards per carry. His game isn’t one-dimensional, either. In three years for the Yellow Jackets, Sims threw for 4,464 yards and 30 touchdowns. He didn’t throw the football as often as a normal ACC quarterback but still managed to amass 1,000 yards through the air in each of the three seasons he played for Tech. 

Earlier this offseason, Rhule called Sims a passer who runs a 4.40 40-yard dash. Not a runner who can throw, purely a passer with a gifted ability to run the ball. 

Whether Sims can pan out the way Rhule expects him to be remains to be seen, but the potential is there. How the rest of the game ends up could be very telling of how the rest of Sims’ season might be, but getting the first touchdown out of the way is something he gets to check off the list early on.

After Nebraska finishes up with Minnesota, they’ll have a chance to get their wings under them as they travel to Colorado — a team with a lot of hype with low expectations — for their Week 2 matchup.