James Sims picked up by Green Bay

By Matt Tait     May 10, 2014

Nick Krug
Kansas running back James Sims salutes a pack of KU fans after his touchdown against Texas Tech during the first quarter on Saturday, Nov. 10, 2012 at Jones AT&T Stadium in Lubbock, Texas.

Former Kansas University running back James Sims waited for 256 names to be called during this weekend’s NFL Draft, but never heard his own.

However, about an hour after the seven-round draft ended Saturday evening, Sims finalized a free-agent deal with the Green Bay Packers and will begin pursuit of his NFL career as a teammate of Aaron Rodgers, the all-pro quarterback who visited Allen Fieldhouse this past season.

Sims, a 6-foot, 200-pound back from Irving, Texas, was regarded by most as a long shot to get drafted and seemed upbeat after deciding to join the Packers.

“Draft is over and ya boy is gonna be a Green Bay Packer,” Sims wrote on Twitter on Saturday night, his first tweet in 143 days. “#Blessed#Hungry#Humble#TimeToEat.”

In what turned out to be a down draft for Big 12 football, Kansas and Texas were the only conference teams not to have a player drafted.

Sims finished his Kansas career as a four-year starter who led the team in rushing for four consecutive seasons and set career-highs each time. He was the first Jayhawk in history to record back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons and left KU third on the all-time rushing list (3,592) and second all-time in rushing touchdowns (34) and 100-yard games (16).

It certainly has become common to see draft-eligible Jayhawks go unselected, but it does not spell the end for Sims’ chances. Inspired by the success of former Jayhawks Chris Harris and Steven Johnson, both undrafted prospects who were key members of the Denver Broncos’ Super Bowl run last season, Sims maintained throughout the draft prep process that he believed he would have a shot whether he was drafted.

“Not going through the season at Kansas is going to be different,” Sims said in March. “But I’m just anxious to see where I end up next fall and take things from there. I just have to prove myself again. That’s nothing new for me.”

In other KU draft news, KU officials confirmed that offensive lineman Aslam Sterling, 6-5, 315, has agreed to a free-agent deal with the Denver Broncos. Sterling started 20 games during his two seasons as a Jayhawk after transferring from Nassau Community College in New York.

Wide receiver Josh Ford, 6-3, 207, also announced via Twitter that he had been picked up by the Atlanta Falcons. Ford, a juco transfer from Arizona Western, made little impact as a receiver during his two seasons at Kansas but caught the eye of NFL scouts because of his strong play on special teams.

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Written By Matt Tait

A native of Colorado, Matt moved to Lawrence in 1988 and has been in town ever since. He graduated from Lawrence High in 1996 and the University of Kansas in 2000 with a degree in Journalism. After covering KU sports for the University Daily Kansan and Rivals.com, Matt joined the World Company (and later Ogden Publications) in 2001 and has held several positions with the paper and KUsports.com in the past 20+ years. He became the Journal-World Sports Editor in 2018. Throughout his career, Matt has won several local and national awards from both the Associated Press Sports Editors and the Kansas Press Association. In 2021, he was named the Kansas Sportswriter of the Year by the National Sports Media Association. Matt lives in Lawrence with his wife, Allison, and two daughters, Kate and Molly. When he's not covering KU sports, he likes to spend his time playing basketball and golf, listening to and writing music and traveling the world with friends and family.