Furman University

David Sims, who enjoyed a solid collegiate football career at Georgia Tech, was named running backs coach at Furman in February of 2017.

In his first season with the Paladins he was instrumental in the notable improvement of All-SoCon performers Antonio Wilcox (814 yds., 14 TDs) and Kealand Dirks (720 yds., 9 TDs), who combined to play a key role in the Paladins’ 8-5 season and FCS playoff appearance.

In 2018 he oversaw the emergence of Devin Wynn, who rushed for 722 yards and six touchdowns, including an impressive late season stretch that helped fuel the Paladins’ 5-1 run en route to a share of the SoCon championship — the 14th in program history.  Wynn followed up his 2018 campaign by rushing for 1,182 yards and 14 touchdowns a year ago, helping key a potent Paladin ground attack (265.7 ypg) that paved the way to an 8-5 season, FCS playoff berth, and AFCA Coaches No. 19 final ranking.

Sims came to Furman following two years at NCAA Division II Shorter University in Rome, Ga., where he served as assistant head coach and directed the program’s fullbacks and quarterbacks while also serving at the Hawks’ academic coordinator.

While at Shorter he helped the Hawks finish seventh in the country in rushing in 2015, averaging 280.4 yards per game for an offense that featured running back B.J. McCoy, a first team all-conference selection, USA College Football All-America honoree, and finalist for the Harlon Hill Trophy — Division II’s Heisman equivalent.

Sims was a three-year starter as a running back at Georgia Tech (2011-13) who served as team captain and earned honorable mention All-Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) honors his senior year after rushing for a squad leading 884 yards and 12 touchdowns. He completed his career ranked 11th on Georgia Tech’s rushing charts (2,252 yards) and tied for seventh in rushing scores (23).

A native of St. Mathews, S.C., he was an outstanding quarterback at Calhoun High School, where he helped lead the Saints to three region championships and earned all-classification second team all-state recognition as a senior prior to playing in South Carolina’s North-South All-Star Game.  Along the way he set a number of school records, including season passing touchdowns (37) and career passing yards (5,800) and rushing yards (2,800).

Sims was accorded a bachelor of science degree in management from Georgia Tech in December of 2012.