YSU adds Sims as assistant head coach

STAFF REPORT

YOUNGSTOWN — Youngstown State football coach Eric Wolford added another assistant coach to his staff on Thursday.

Tom Sims, who played in the NFL from 1990-96, was named assistant head coach and defensive line coach by Wolford.

Sims, who coached at Kansas in 2009, was on the Illinois staff with Wolford from 2007-08.

“After spending two seasons at Illinois, I felt he was the best defensive line coach I’ve ever been around,” Wolford said. “His relationships and rapport with his players is something that I want all our coaches to have.

“He was an overachiever out of high school who made it to the NFL. Our players here at YSU will have a guy on this staff who knows what it takes to make it to the next level.”

Sims has coached 13 years at the college level, and eight of the last nine seasons in the Big Ten. He was at Illinois from 2005-08 and Minnesota from 2001-04.

Last year the Kansas defense ranked 12th nationally with 31 quarterback sacks, an average of 2.58 per game.

Defensive end Max Onyegbule had six sacks and scored two defensive touchdowns, and Jake Laptad, another end, led the Jayhawks with 6.5 sacks. Those two combined for 23 tackles for loss and each had nine quarterback hurries.

At Illinois, Sims’ defense had a Big Ten-best 32 sacks in 2008 and 40 in 2007, including 28.5 by defensive linemen.

He coached four All-Big Ten selections.

During Sims’ coaching tenure at Minnesota, the Golden Gophers won 20 games, including 10 in 2003. Minnesota played in two Music City Bowls and a Sun Bowl. In 2003 and 2004, the Minnesota defense held opponents to less than 130 yards rushing per game. In 2002, the Gophers registered 31 sacks while in 2003, the program had 26 and 24 in 2004.

Sims, a Detroit native, played seven seasons as a defensive tackle in the NFL, including four with Kansas City (1990-92, 1996) and two with Indianapolis (1993-94). He was in camp with Minnesota (1995). Sims played 47 games in the NFL, finishing with 60 career tackles and four sacks. He had a career-best 30 stops while playing for Indianapolis in 1993.