REPORT: Charles Sims Considering Cal, West Virginia
By Kyle Kensing
October 18, 2012; Dallas, TX, USA; Houston Cougars running back Charles Sims (5) rushes for a touchdown against Southern Methodist Mustangs linebacker Cameron Rogers (50) during the second quarter at Gerald J. Ford Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jim Cowsert-USA TODAY Sports
ESPN.com’s Joe Schad reports that Houston Cougars running back Charles Sims is considering playing his last year of eligibility out for either Sonny Dykes’ Cal Golden Bears, or Dana Holgorsen’s West Virginia Mountaineers.
Houston RB Charles Sims will now consider transferring to West Virginia or California, where he would be eligible to play this season.
— Joe Schad (@schadjoe) June 6, 2013
Last month, Sims announced his transfer from UH, where he was the team’s leading rusher in each of his three seasons. Reportedly, the Texas Tech Red Raiders were high on Sims’ initial list. Tech’s head coach, Kliff Kingsbury, was Sims’ offensive coordinator in 2010 and 2011.
Houston RB Charles Sims had been widely speculated to be headed to Texas Tech. But even graduate students need "permission to contacts."
— Joe Schad (@schadjoe) June 6, 2013
Each of Sims’ rumored destinations runs a similar offense to Houston’s air raid spread, lessening the learning curve on the talented running back when he arrives for preseason practices.
Sims should integrate nicely wherever he lands — his new home just won’t be in the American Athletic Conference or on the Cougars’ 2013 schedule. It also won’t be in the state of Texas. Both are restrictions UH head coach Tony Levine placed on Sims’ transfer, Schad reports. The former makes sense; the latter, less so.
Texas is home to 11 FBS football programs. In addition to the eight other teams playing in the American this season, that’s a wide net to cast over one player’s transfer (there’s overlap between the two categories with SMU).
West Virginia’s offense is in a state of flux, with quarterback Geno Smith and talented receivers Stedman Bailey and Tavon Austin gone for the NFL. The Mountaineers return running back Andrew Buie, who rushed for 851 yards in 2012. As more of a traditional every-down back, Sims and Buie could feed off each other nicely.
Sims would also be the second major addition to the WVU roster, eligible immediately as a result of the NCAA’s graduate exemption. Former Florida State Seminoles quarterback Clint Trickett joined the Mountaineers last month.
Cal loses a pair of prolific running backs from last season’s team in Isi Sofele and C.J. Anderson. The arrival of Dykes likely means a less run-oriented offense than the Golden Bears have used in recent years, though Cal has routinely used a multifaceted backfield over the past decade.
The addition of Sims with talented returner Brendan Bigelow would give Dykes two steady options in the run game to complement his uptempo passing attack.