Story Links Kenneth Sims, a Longhorn Legend who starred at defensive tackle for Texas from 1978-81 and was inducted into the National Football Foundation College Football Hall of Fame in the class of 2021, passed away peacefully in his home on Friday. The 1981 Lombardi Award winner, No. 1 pick in the 1982 NFL Draft […]
Kenneth Sims, a Longhorn Legend who starred at defensive tackle for Texas from 1978-81 and was inducted into the National Football Foundation College Football Hall of Fame in the class of 2021, passed away peacefully in his home on Friday. The 1981 Lombardi Award winner, No. 1 pick in the 1982 NFL Draft and member of the Texas Athletics Hall of Honor (Class of 1997) was 65.
Sims was selected by the New England Patriots with the first overall pick in the 1982 NFL Draft, becoming only the third Longhorn to be selected No. 1 overall (Earl Campbell, 1978; Tommy Nobis; 1966). He played eight seasons with the Patriots (1982-89), including the 1985 AFC Championship season when New England advanced to Super Bowl XX. Sims logged 65 tackles, 5.5 sacks and two fumble recoveries during that Super Bowl season. He registered a career-best 96 tackles and 3.5 sacks in 1984, and three sacks as a rookie in 1982. Sims finished his professional career with 17 sacks in 74 games. Following his career with the Patriots, Sims was enshrined in the Texas Athletics Hall of Honor as part of the Class of 1997.
In his four seasons at Texas, the Longhorns posted a 35-12-1 (22-9-1, SWC) record, played in four bowl games and registered two Top 10 finishes (three Top 12 finishes). Texas started the year 4-0 during his senior season and was 7-1-1 through nine games before he sustained a season-ending leg injury. In those nine games, Sims led UT to wins over No. 14 Miami (14-7), No. 10 Oklahoma (34-14) and No. 8 SMU (9-7). The Longhorns went on to post a 10-1-1 record, knocked off No. 3 Alabama (14-12) in the Cotton Bowl and finished the 1981 season ranked No. 2 nationally by The Associated Press (No. 4 UPI Coaches Poll). He also helped the Horns to a 9-3 record and No. 9 final ranking (both Polls) as a true freshman in 1978. In 1979, the Longhorns were 9-3 and finished the year ranked No. 12 (AP) and No. 13 (UPI Coaches Poll).
A Groesbeck, Texas native, Sims arrived on the Forty Acres as a freshman in 1978 and was an impact performer at the heart of the Longhorns’ defensive line for four seasons. In that time, the 6-6, 265-pound tackle recorded 322 tackles, 29 sacks, 50 tackles for loss, 15 forced fumbles, seven fumble recoveries and three blocked kicks. After playing behind now-fellow College Football Hall of Famer Steve McMichael during his first two seasons, Sims shined as a starter in the 1980 and 1981 campaigns, posting 241 tackles, 21 sacks, 40 tackles for loss, 11 forced fumbles and six fumble recoveries in that time. Sims’ 15 career forced fumbles still stand as the most by a player in a school history, while his 29 sacks (fourth) and seven fumble recoveries (fifth) both rank among the top five among Longhorns all-time. His 50 career tackles for loss are ninth-best in school history.
Sims earned consensus All-America and first-team All-Southwest Conference honors in each of his final two seasons at Texas, including unanimous first-team recognition among the five recognized All-America teams as a senior. During the 1981 season, Sims’ senior campaign, he was so dominant in an injury-shortened season that he became Texas’ first Lombardi Trophy winner, which was awarded annually to the nation’s top lineman at the time, and was also voted the UPI Lineman of the Year. UT’s team captain, Sims finished eighth in the Heisman Trophy voting and received three first-place votes in 1981. In addition, he joined Rowdy Gaines, Oliver Luck, Lynette Woodward and Par J Arvidsson in receiving the prestigious all sports NCAA Today’s Top V Award in 1982. That honor, now the NCAA Today’s Top 10 Award, recognizes the nation’s premier student-athletes for their efforts on the field, in the community and in the classroom. Sims was also named the Team MVP in his final two collegiate seasons, making him the first Longhorn since Chris Gilbert (1966-68) to earn that honor in consecutive seasons. Today, he is still one of only six Longhorns to earn Team MVP honors in consecutive seasons.
