Former Pine Prairie High Panther, Jerrod (JJ) Sims, made his presence felt in the latter half of the year for the Southern Jaguar football program, as the freshman running back helped lead the Blue and Gold to a Bayou Classic win and an appearance in the Southwest Athletic Conference Championship game.
Sims did not get to touch the ball very much at the beginning of the season, collecting only 54 yards on 12 carries in Southern’s first nine games. His breakout game, however, came in week 10 win Sims carried the ball seven times for 92 yards and a touchdown against Virginia-Lynchburg.
Following that game, Sims had two carries for 13 yards when the Jags faced off against Jackson State. But, Southern knew they had something special in their fold.
That special talent shined through in a huge way in the ensuing contest for Southern. In the most anticipated game of the year, and before a national TV audience, Sims rushed the ball seven times for 89 yards and two touchdowns as the Jags took out their rival Grambling in the Bayou Classic.
That performance allowed Sims the opportunity to get more touches and in the SWAC title game, the former Panther showed his skills even more as his picked up 149 yards on 20 carries and a touchdown against Alcorn State.
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Tracey Jagneaux
Sports Editor