How Blake Sims could emerge as a serious Heisman candidate

This past Saturday, Alabama was able to turn in one of the most impressive performances of any team so far in the 2014 season, a 42-21 win over the Florida Gators. It was a game in which the Crimson Tide received laudable performances from most of their top offensive players.

Derrick Henry had 111 yards on 20 carries and a touchdown. Amari Cooper caught 10 passes for 201 yards and three touchdowns, as he continues to roll through the Alabama record books, on his way to becoming arguably the best wide receiver in program history. Cooper has been a frequent mention as a Heisman candidate, and is currently ranked as high as number two by Heisman Pundit. But, what about the man throwing Cooper those passes?

Blake Sims is currently second in the SEC in completion percentage at 72 percent, and has thrown for nearly 1100 yards and eight touchdowns. Oh, and all he did last Saturday against Florida was put up more total yards of offense than any player in school history. Yet, most people who don’t follow the Crimson Tide on a regular basis probably have not given the fifth year senior much thought as one of the nation’s elite players. Sims was not even expected to be in this position before the season.

He had to battle for the starting quarterback job all the way up until the third game of the season, where he finally was able to separate himself from Jacob Coker against Southern Miss. Just last week, former Alabama quarterback and current ESPN SEC Network analyst Greg McElroy called Sims out saying, “He’s not the most accurate quarterback in the world.”

“I think (the game) shouldn’t necessarily be as competitive as it will be because I think Will Muschamp is going to do a great job of putting that game in Blake Sims’ hands,” McElroy added.

McElroy was right about one thing. The game was in Sims’ hands and boy did he deliver. Sims recorded 484 yards of total offense, a school record, silencing his doubters. Even McElroy was impressed.

“I thought he was phenomenal,” McElroy said at a luncheon for the Birmingham Bowl. “He showed us on Saturday that he can absolutely make those throws consistently.”

But, McElroy wasn’t the only one eating crow after Sims’ performance against the Gators. Plenty of people were shocked at just how well Sims performed against what could end up being one of the SEC’s best defenses. But as Alabama prepares to dive into its most robust schedule since 2010, Sims will have plenty of chances to prove that he is an elite quarterback in the nation’s best conference.

Starting next week at Ole Miss, the Crimson Tide will be playing much more high-profile games, giving Sims an increased chance to gain national exposure. Two weeks later Alabama returns home to face Texas A&M, before three games against LSU, Mississippi State, and Auburn respectively, That’s a lot of opportunities for Sims to win over the hearts and minds of the voters.

Blake Sims may not be a Heisman favorite right now, but don’t count out the possibility of Alabama’s quarterback eventually becoming one for the most prestigious award in all of sports.