April 15, 2009
Written/compiled by Cat Park
Freshman wide receiver Quentin Sims, who redshirted the 2008 season as a true freshman, is anxious for the 2009 season. With a year of the offense under his belt, Sims will be expected to contribute this fall, joining Demaryius Thomas, Tyler Melton and Daniel McKayhan to give Tech a talented corps of receivers. We recently caught up with him to chat about his high school experience, his goals, and his strengths and weaknesses:
Q: You redshirted last season. What did you learn from that experience and how do you think it will help you this upcoming season?
A: I learned that you have to wait for your turn, always. It helped me get a lot of experience as a receiver since this is my second year playing that position. It really helped me get a full year under my belt and get used to the college beat. There is a lot of adjustment coming into college. Now I can tell from when I first got here that there is more urgency in everything that I do.
Q: What do you consider to be your strengths on the field? What areas do you think you need to improve on?
A: I will say that I am pretty fast. A couple of things that I need to improve on is route running; be more precise on my routes, quick out of my breaks. I think I can catch pretty well, and I am pretty good with the ball, I think.
Q: If you could play any other sport at Tech, what would it be and why?
A: Any other sport at Tech, I would say basketball just because that’s one of my favorite sports. They might be able to use me a little bit.
Q: Did you have any pre-game rituals in high school? If so, what and do you plan to keep them?
A: Just always focus with the IPod in my ears and listening to my songs. Just zone everything out, really. Yes, I plan doing that still.
Q: What would you say is the hardest part about your transition from high school to college in both school and football?
A: School: just the work and time management, especially at Georgia Tech. In football, also, that is your life – student and football. Also, the tempo of everything and how hard you need to work.
Q: Who has helped you the most in this transition?
A: My academic advisors have helped a lot. Those are probably the main people – my academic advisors and all the help they have given me.
Q: You have a younger brother who is in high school and that he is a very good football player. How was it playing with him in high school? What advice are you given him about football in college?
A: It was really fun. My greatest memory of high school was throwing him a touchdown. I’ve been telling him to start working hard in the weight room. He has to do all the work that school gives him, and he has to do everything that he can. He can’t slack any, and he can have a chance to play.
Q: So, you used to be a quarterback in high school?
A: Yes, I’ve been a quarterback for all my high school except for my senior year, when I was the quarterback for just a couple of games.
Q: What made you decide to switch from quarterback to receiver?
A: I really switched because it was better for my high school team. We had a person who could play quarterback. If I’m looking at my future and possibly playing the next level, it would probably be at receiver.
Q: Being that you are from Cincinnati, which chili do you like more: Skyline or Gold Star? Explain a little about this type of chili and what makes it so good?
A: I would say Skyline because I eat it more. But, they’re both good. The chili doesn’t have beans in it. Skyline is a little bit more runny that most people don’t like.
Q: You grew up close to the Ohio State-Michigan rivalry, and your father was a part of the Oklahoma -Texas rivalry when he played for the Sooners in 80’s. How would you compare the Tech-UGA rivalry to those?
A: I didn’t grow up in Georgia, but it didn’t take long to start learning how important it is to people around here. I think there is a lot of comparison between Tech-UGA and other major rivalries.
Q: You have won national tournaments in karate. How did you get into that? What made you pursue football instead of karate?
A: When I was really young I got into karate, and I was really good at it. I really liked my teacher. He taught me a lot of life lessons. It helped me to have a lot of discipline in my life. Then I started playing all types of sports in middle school and I ran out of time for it.
