Hello: Myles Sims
[Cory Fravel/247]
Four-star Atlanta (GA) Westlake CB Myles "Spider" Sims announced his commitment to Michigan today, less than a month removed from an unofficial visit to Ann Arbor. Sims is a Michigan transplant—his parents worked for GM—so this is a homecoming of sorts.
I am happy to say that I have OFFICIALLY COMMITTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN #BlueBloods #GoBlue #MyJourney #TRUTH pic.twitter.com/27nS8mPcrO
— SPIDER (@simsmyles) April 7, 2017
One of Michigan's top 2018 targets, Sims is the fourth commit in the class, joining IN OG Emil Ekiyor, MI DE Aidan Hutchinson, and GA OLB Otis Reese. All are four-star prospects.
GURU RATINGS
| Scout | Rivals | ESPN | 247 | 247 Comp |
|
4*, #11 CB, #80 Ovr |
4*, #8 CB, #51 Ovr |
4*, 80, #17 S, #211 Ovr |
3*, 88, #38 CB, #389 Ovr |
4*, #17 CB, #135 Ovr |
There's a significant split in Sims' rankings, though if his offer sheet is any indication, that gap is going to close in the direction of the bullish Scout/Rivals rankings.
A major reason so many top programs want Sims is his size. At 6'3", 173 lbs. (Scout and 247 list him at a more specific 6'2.5"), he projects as either a corner in the Stribling/Clark mold or a rangy safety.
[Hit THE JUMP for scouting, offers, video, and more.]
SCOUTING
The common theme in Sims' scouting reports is praise for his size/range combination; he's nicknamed "Spider" for a reason. Scout's free eval mentions that right off the bat:
Sims is a long and rangy defensive back with the ability to play cornerback or free safety on the next level. With Sims, what stands out immediately is his frame and length. He covers a lot of ground and he can get his hands on a lot of footballs in coverage. He is still thin, so he needs to add mass and strength, but that should come in time. In coverage, he is best when playing off coverage. He can still improve his quickness in short space. He has great body control, he can make plays on the ball and he is a very smart defensive back in coverage. His tackling is solid.
Rivals' Adam Friedman named Sims one of the standouts of the Under Armour Future 50, held in December in the leadup to their All-American game:
Quarterbacks had a hard time throwing around Sims because of his great length. He covered so much ground and didn’t jump double moves. Sims got better and better with each rep he took and denied the pass to his receiver. He is a lot like former Clemson defensive back Jayron Kearse.
Kearse is an interesting comparison. He was a 6'4" S/OLB prospect out of high school who ended up as a strong safety at Clemson; he entered the 2016 draft early, surprisingly fell to the seventh round, and got significant playing time for the Vikings as a rookie before getting hurt.
The big question with Sims, as with most taller defensive backs, is whether he has the requisite agility to play corner. After seeing him at the Atlanta Opening regional in March, Sam Webb believes he does:
6'3, 179 and really fluid. You wonder if kids as long as him are coordinated if they have loose hips. The answer for Simms is yes, all of the above. He showed ability to break on the ball exceptionally well. Has really good football and ball speed, a really good jumpball guy. Wants to be a corner and looks like he could play it at the college level. If that doesn't work out he could be an outstanding safety.
While 247 didn't include Sims among their top five defensive performers from that event, they mentioned that he "was the quickest defensive back at the event and he has a huge wingspan." He earned a more positive mention from 247's Keith Neibuhr the following week at Under Armour's Atlanta camp:
Sims, a 4-star recruit and Michigan lean, ran hot and cold a week earlier at The Opening Atlanta Regional, but Sunday he was locked in. Aggressive and physical in coverage, he also utilized his great length to break up passes.
ESPN is the only site to categorize Sims as a safety; there's a significant chance he ends up there at Michigan, so let's take a look at their eval:
STRENGTHS: Very tall with great length and range. Fast and reactive enough to play high safety and make big stops in 1st level. Flashes the ball skills and leaping ability to win most jump-ball passes. Understands the game and puts himself into sound position. ... AREAS OF IMPROVEMENT: Will come up versus the run but not with a decisive, physical manner on a consistent basis. Needs to add serious bulk and functional strength. Not overly explosive and lacks elite top-end speed. ... BOTTOM LINE: Sims is a tall, athlete defender with lots of upside. While he'll need to add bulk and refine his technique, he possesses most qualities sought-after in a safety prospect.
Sims should initially get a shot at corner, since a 6'3" athlete who can play that position is a potential All-American and future pro. Free safety looks to be a very viable backup plan.
OFFERS
Sims holds a very impressive offer list featuring Alabama, Auburn, Clemson, Florida, Georgia, Louisville, LSU, Michigan State, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Ole Miss, Oregon, Penn State, South Carolina, Stanford, Tennessee, Texas, USC, Virginia Tech, Washington, and West Virginia, among several others. Given that he's just beginning his senior-year camp season, that's a remarkably impressive list.
HIGH SCHOOL
Sims is the eighth four-star or better prospect to emerge from Westlake in the Rivals era (2002-present). The school has produced two five-stars: 2017 Clemson CB signee AJ Terrell and a 2007 Florida QB signee by the name of Cameron Newton. Westlake has also produced a number of three-star prospects, including former Alabama OG standout and first-round pick Chance Warmack.
STATS
None that I could find.
FAKE 40 TIME
Sims has full testing numbers from his Opening regional appearance: 4.73 40-yard dash (zero FAKEs), an impressive 4.00 shuttle, 36.4-inch vertical jump, and 40.0-foot powerball throw for a solid 115.59 SPARQ rating. While he doesn't have elite top-end speed, the vertical and powerball throw indicate he's relatively explosive, and that shuttle time provides reason to believe he can stick at corner.
VIDEO
Junior highlights:
Sophomore highlights and single-game reels can be found on his Hudl page.
PREDICTION BASED ON FLIMSY EVIDENCE
Whether at corner or safety, Sims is going to get the chance to bulk up and develop for a year or two before he's pressed into service. Michigan has a lot of talent at cornerback in the two classes ahead of him (Long, Hill, St-Juste, Thomas); ditto at safety (Hudson, Metellus, Kelly-Powell, Woods). He still looks like a player who will push for snaps when he's ready physically; his size, range, and ball skills will cover for a lot of technical shortcomings. Given his versatility, I think he winds up as a safety in Don Brown's defense, which will allow him to go between making plays as a centerfielder and playing man coverage closer to the line.
UPSHOT FOR THE REST OF THE CLASS
Sims is a great start to Michigan's defensive back recruiting. Other top targets in the secondary include five-star CA CB Isaac Taylor-Stuart, four-star FL CB Josh Jobe (a soft Miami commit), and three-star TX twin corners Gemon and German Green.
Is Michigan prioritizing length in the defensive backfield? Seems like we are picking up a lot of lanky fellows.
I really want there to be a recruit named Lanky Fellows.
In order to play for us the kid will need to be named Tremendous Lanky-Fellows.
Gooooooooiiiiinnnnggg!!!!!
This staff developed Channing Stribling, moved Jeremy Clark to corner, and brought in Benjamin St-Juste and J'Marick Woods (both 6'3") for the 2017 class. They'll still take smaller, talented players like Ambry Thomas (who's lanky for a 5'11" corner) and Jaylen Kelly-Powell, but they notably passed on an Army All-American in-state corner last cycle in Cass Tech's Donovan Johnson, who showed excellent cover skills but was smaller than this staff's ideal at 5'10".
The nice thing about these bigger corners is they can easily be safeties if they're not quite fluid enough to be great in man coverage at the college level. The coaches seem to be approaching it like they do with linemen: take a healthy number and sort out the position specifics later.
Brown's system also requires safeties that can cover in man to man. Even if they're not quite fluid enough for corner, the coverage skills will be very useful at safety as well.
They've taken some really athletic large corners. St-Juste posted a shuttle time that would've been a good one at the NFL combine, and Sims isn't too far off. These guys may not be quite as twitchy as Lewis but their size gives them a lot more room for error; Stribling was darn near as good as Lewis in coverage last year and he was a three-star camp pickup out of high school.
EDIT: I should add that Ambry Thomas is a ridiculous athlete. They're taking a good combination of Lewis types and Stribling types.
ill further that by saying its hard to say they are sacraficing athleticism with a 4* athlete that just put up a 115 sparq. That is fairly elite.
I wondered the same thing. The Patriots, for example, have only a couple receivers over 6' and most are 200 pounds or lower. They have height and size in their TEs but the receivers tend to be smaller, shiftier guys that are better at getting YAC and getting open in smaller windows. That and they have REALLY good hands.
This led me to wonder if smaller CBs with the abilty to quickly change directions may come back into style if more teams value elusiveness in their receivers over pure size.
I have to believe this is a trend that will continue. Coach Harbaugh mentioned on numerous occasions during National Signing Day how impressed he was with the families of the incoming freshmen. It would seem a message like that would really resonate with similar family units and build interest for their kid to play for UM.
Gemon and Germon twin corners? Don't want... need them!
Mr Long Fellow
Sims accepted an invite to the UA All American game today and got some high praise from Prime Time as well.
3 and done!!!!! #Truth https://t.co/UsmzM3EqU4
— Deion Sanders (@DeionSanders) April 7, 2017
delete.
Sims holds a very impressive offer list featuring Alabama, Auburn, Clemson, Florida, Georgia, Louisville, LSU, Michigan State, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Ole Miss, Oregon, Penn State, South Carolina, Stanford, Tennessee, Texas, USC, Virginia Tech, Washington, and West Virginia, among several others.
Uh. . .
/ I know, I know, list, not school
// Just sayin'
And 4-8 seconds to get rid of Notre Dame.
AA=Sims City.
Indulge me, but that is the phrase that came to mind. Friday about quitting time. Bad news at work, but good news on MgoBlog. Welcome to the team Mr. Sims.
A quality addition to what will be a small class in number of recruits. That said, M is the highest ranked team among those with 4 or fewer commits thus far with an average rating of 93.7 (#17 overall), ahead of Alabama, Auburn and Arkansas ... and Sparty.
Still, OSU is #7 overall with 5 recruits and a 98.1 average rating, which is obscene.
Big time pickup!
Our main rival hads a 1st round CB in this draft who had similar measurables and a similar rating. He was a Michigan decommit, so he's nameless.
Love the height, he'll add weight over the next couple of years - hell Stribling never added weight and held his own.
I don't know who you're talking about so I googled "Illinois NFL draft prospects 2017" and I couldn't find anything so I still don't know.
The War of Northern Recruiting Aggression continues apace in SEC territory.
By the way, when did it become so #&$^*@!! trendy to say "long" instead of "tall"?
I always thought "long" was a reference to arm span rather than height.
reach is proportional to height anyway, so if he's 6'3", you'd expect he would have about a 75-inch wingspan. Unless his reach is significantly longer than that, I don't get why "long" is preferred other than it's the trendy recruitnik lingo. I mean, have we ever recruited a T. Rex with stubby arms that weren't height proportional?
Not that there's anything wrong with that.
When I read "long" I think of having arms that are disproportianlly long compared to height. So if by long these writers mean tall.....well then im just lost on everything.
When I hear long, I think basketball..."he's long at 6'7 with a 7'1 wingspan." Listen to Jay Bilas for 5 minutes during the draft. He turned it into a drinking game.
Whenever he catches himself saying "wingspan," he'll look into the camera and say "tip it back, America."
Potential/Upside/High Ceiling are similar in usage.
Looks like he has big hands as well. Probably a pretty good basketballer. Spiders are awesome!
Love the idea of having a 4-star CB named "Spider"...I'm sold.
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