Kenneth Wayne Sims (born October 31, 1959) is a former American college and professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

player who was a

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

for eight seasons during the 1980s. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

, where he was a two-time consensus All-American. Sims was the first overall pick in the

1982 NFL Draft The 1982 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 27–28, 1982, at the New York She ...

, and played professionally for the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...

of the NFL.

Early years

Sims was born in

Kosse, Texas Kosse is a town in southern Limestone County, Texas, United States. The population was 464 at the 2010 census. Kosse calls itself "A Little Town with a Big Heart." Geography Kosse is located at (31.307452, –96.630267). It is situated ...

. In his junior year at

Groesbeck High School Groesbeck High School is a public high school located in the city of Groesbeck, Texas, United States. It is classified as a 3A school by the UIL. It is a part of the Groesbeck Independent School District located in central Limestone County. I ...

, Sims quit football but then realized that football was indeed for him and went on to spend his senior year playing

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, p ...

, fullback and

tight end The tight end (TE) is a position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football, on the offense. The tight end is often a hybrid position with the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a wide receiver. Like ...

, rather than as a tackle.

College career

At Texas, Sims spent his freshman year learning the basics of the tackle position. He spent his sophomore year behind

Steve McMichael Stephen Douglas McMichael (born October 17, 1957), nicknamed "Mongo", "Ming" and "Ming the Merciless", is an American former professional football player, sports broadcaster, and professional wrestler. McMichael played college football for the U ...

and Bill Acker, then became a force his junior year. He made 131 tackles, and was named an All-American. As a senior in 1981, Sims became the first Longhorn to win the

Lombardi Trophy The Vince Lombardi Trophy is the trophy awarded each year to the winning team of the National Football League's championship game, the Super Bowl. The trophy is named in honor of NFL coach Vince Lombardi, who led the Green Bay Packers to victor ...

, was named the 1981 UPI Lineman of the Year and earned

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...

status once again.

Professional career

With the Patriots in the NFL, Sims played 74 career games and had 17 sacks over eight NFL seasons. His best year was 1985, when he managed 5.5 sacks and played in

Super Bowl XX Super Bowl XX was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Chicago Bears and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion New England Patriots to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sims, Kenneth 1959 births Living people American football defensive ends New England Patriots players Texas Longhorns football players All-American college football players National Football League first-overall draft picks People from Kosse, Texas Players of American football from Texas Ed Block Courage Award recipients

Early years

College career

Professional career

See also

References