New Nebraska QB Jeff Sims has 'got some Hendon Hooker to him'

Within the last couple years, there was an ACC quarterback in Hendon Hooker who had an up-and-down run with that ACC team before ultimately leaving and having a ton of success at his new school.

An ACC team official sees some similarities there with Jeff Sims — not only the skill set but also the potential for a very positive outcome with his new team.

Sims, who’s set to be Matt Rhule’s first starting quarterback at Nebraska, transferred to the Cornhuskers earlier this offseason after spending three seasons in the ACC at Georgia Tech.

“I think he’s got some Hendon Hooker to him,” that ACC team official told On3. “When Hooker was at Virginia Tech, he ran a little bit more and was obviously a different system (than at Tennessee), but I think Jeff has got some of that in him. He’s got the size. He’s obviously athletic. He’s got a cannon for an arm. He’s a great kid. He’s just got to put it all together. He was extremely raw coming out of high school and then just with the coaching changes and all that kind of stuff, I think that kind of set him back a little bit. But I think the kid’s tough and I think in that system that they’re going to run up there (at Nebraska) he’ll have a lot of success.”

A Class of 2020 four-star recruit, the 6-foot-4, 220-pound Sims accumulated totals of 4,464 passing yards, 1,166 rushing yards and 41 total touchdowns (30 passing, 11 rushing) with 23 interceptions in his three years at Georgia Tech.

In seven games last season, Sims had 1,115 passing yards, 302 rushing yards, five passing touchdowns, one additional rushing score and three interceptions.

The Yellow Jackets finished the year 5-7 and fired head coach Geoff Collins.

In comparison, Hooker posted 1,339 passing yards, 620 rushing yards, nine passing touchdowns, nine rushing scores and five interceptions in his final season at Virginia Tech in 2020 prior to transferring to Tennessee, where he accounted for 68 total touchdowns with just five interceptions the last two years.

“He had no help this past year,” an NFL scouting source said of Sims. “He definitely has talent, has traits. Good athlete. He’s tall. If you asked me during the first half of the Clemson game last year to start the year, I would have said, ‘This guy’s got a chance. Maybe Georgia Tech will be good with this guy.’ But the team kind of crumbled around him.”

Within his first few months at Nebraska, Sims has already solidified himself as the Cornhuskers’ starting quarterback after beating out others such as 2022 Nebraska starting QB Casey Thompson, who ended up entering the NCAA transfer portal and transferring to FAU.

While his spring game numbers weren’t anything outrageous — 9 of 13 passing for 139 yards with a 7-yard rushing touchdown — Sims flashed throughout the spring some of that high-end talent that led to the ACC team official throwing out the comparison to Hooker.

“When you look at the Big Ten, you go back to last year’s game against Iowa, I think the ability for us as an offense to run the football, to be physical, be relentless with it, be a body blows team … but at the same time having the ability to be explosive in the passing game (is the goal),” Rhule said during a recent interview with the Huskers Radio Network. “In that game, some big passing plays led to a lead. I think we see that with Jeff. He can operate the offense. He can extend plays with his feet. But he can push the ball down the field. That showed up in the first scrimmage and then the second scrimmage and then the (spring) game, so I feel really good saying that’s who he is.”