Longhorn legend Kenneth Sims died Friday, March 21, in his North Carolina home. The former defensive end was 65.
The 2021 College Football Hall of Famer moved from Kosse, Texas, to begin his career with the Longhorns in 1978. Wearing number 77 on his back, the true freshman helped the Longhorns to a No. 9 final ranking that year.
Standing at 6 feet, 6 inches and 265 pounds, Sims’ record speaks for itself with his 15 career forced fumbles still holding the school record for the most by a single player. His 29 sacks and seven fumble recoveries also rank top five among Texas’ all-time records. The defensive end also has 50 career tackles for loss, the ninth-best in school history.
“I prided myself on being a smart player because I believe dumb lose, more than smart win,” Sims told Longhorn Network in November 2021. “I think I jumped offside one time in four years. That’s winning football.”
Sims played behind now-fellow College Football Hall of Famer Steve McMichael in his first two seasons. He finally got his chance to start in the 1980 and 1981 seasons.
Sims’ final two years with the Longhorns proved his most impressive, earning consensus All-America and first-team All-Southwest Conference honors both years and becoming Texas’ first Lombardi Award recipient in 1981. Sims remains one of six Longhorns awarded Team MVP honors in consecutive seasons.
Sims played in four bowl games during his four years with the Longhorns, which ended with two top-10 finishes for the team. Before a season-ending leg injury in the 1981 season, Sims and the Longhorns went 7–1–1 through nine games. His most notable wins that year were a 34–14 win over No. 10 Oklahoma and a 9–7 win over No. 8 SMU.
“We had a strong senior crowd, especially on the defense,” Sims told Longhorn Network about the SMU matchup. “We went out there, and we shut them down. I think I sacked the quarterback four times. I made him cry like a baby.”
Selected first overall in the 1982 NFL Draft, Sims is the most recent to join Earl Campbell and Tommy Nobis as one of three Texas players with that achievement. The New England Patriots drafted Sims, leading to his eight-year NFL career.
Sims posted three sacks in his rookie season and was part of the 1985 team that advanced to Super Bowl XX. Sims tallied 65 tackles, 5.5 sacks and two fumble recoveries before suffering another leg injury that eventually sidelined him for the Super Bowl.
With an injury-riddled career, Sims’ only complete season rang in as his career best, where he posted 96 tackles and 3.5 sacks. Over his career with the Patriots, Sims played in 74 games and recorded 17 sacks.
Sims’ concluded an eight-year pro career with New England in 1989, where he played most of the season before a knee injury sidelined him for the final game. Sims later went on to be enshrined in Texas history as he was honored as part of the 1997 inductee class and placed into the Texas Athletics Hall of Honor.
Sims said his proudest moment came from off the field when he went on strike twice to fight for players’ rights to free agency.
“We got that right for them now, free agency in America,” Sims told Longhorn Network. “Freedom in America, how ‘bout that.”
