It might sound funny to call 2007 the year that Pat Sims arrived for the Tigers, but after two wasted seasons earlier in his career and brief flashes of brilliance in 2006, he truly put it all together as a junior. He dominated in the trenches, which was a remarkable feat, considering he had to play most of the season wearing a club-like hard, protective cast over several broken fingers and bones in his left hand.

A late bloomer, Sims was relegated to scout-team duties most of the 2004 season and then left the team prior to the 2005 season. The media reported that his departure was due to being demoted to third string during fall drills. But, he was simply not mentally able to play for the Tigers and needed time away from the university. His career was at a crossroads, but a family issue was the major reason for his departure, as he struggled throughout that summer dealing with the sudden death of his sister from a heart attack.

Sims was a standout defensive lineman at Dillard High School, earning Prep Star All-American honors as a senior. He was a Florida Class 5A All-State selection, rated among the top 20 defensive tackles in the nation by Rivals.com and garnered Southeast Elite 88 accolades from that recruiting service. He was also a member of the Florida Times Union Super 75, Mobile Register Super Southeast 120 and Orlando Sentinel Florida Top 100 teams.

As a senior, Sims registered 65 tackles, with 20 stops behind the line of scrimmage and 12 quarterback sacks. He also collected 75 tackles, 12 sacks and 22 stops for losses during his junior season. In addition to lettering in football, he competed with the school's basketball team, helping to lead them to a state championship as a junior.

Sims was regarded as the cream of Auburn's recruiting crop in 2004, as the defensive lineman turned down scholarship offers from Florida, Florida A&M, Mississippi, North Carolina State, Ohio State and Rutgers to join the Tigers' program. He was almost an academic casualty until he improved his ACT score prior to enrollment. He appeared in the season opener vs. Louisiana-Monroe, recording three solo tackles with a stop for a loss and a forced fumble, but did not play in any of the other contests.

Upon returning to the team in 2006, he was used in all 13 games, playing behind Sen'Derrick Marks at right defensive tackle. He posted 16 tackles (nine solo) with three sacks and five stops behind the line of scrimmage. He also broke up one pass and caused a pair of fumbles.

Sims claimed the starting right tackle position in 2007 preseason camp, going on to earn first-team All-Southeastern Conference honors. He suffered broken fingers on his left hand early in the season and wore a cast the rest of the way, but still managed to rank second on the team with 4.5 sacks, 11.5 stops behind the line of scrimmage and 15 QB pressures. He also caused two fumbles, recovered one that he returned for a touchdown and deflected three passes.

In mid-December, the media began reporting that Sims would leave the school after the 2007 season to play in the National Football League. On Dec. 19, head coach Tom Tuberville confirmed no current Auburn underclassman has filled out paperwork to join the NFL draft. The coach stated that Sims would not be leaving the team.

Three weeks later, Sims held a press conference and announced that he was leaving the school. "This was something that I carefully thought about and felt it was in my best interest to pass on my senior season at Auburn and make myself eligible for the NFL Draft," Sims said. "It's always been a dream of mine to play at the next level and I believe this is the right time to pursue that goal."

Positives: Has a thick frame with good overall muscle development, thick, powerful-looking thighs, long arms and room on his frame to carry another 15-20 pounds of bulk. … Strong player who can disrupt an offense, especially with his agility in lateral pursuit. … Has the power and explosion off the snap to create movement and push offensive linemen into the backfield. … His low center of gravity allows him to fire off the snap and squeeze through gaps to pressure the pocket consistently. … Strong wrap-up tackler who might give up his body at times, but he has the strength to recover and power through reach blocks. … Can close in the box and has that sudden burst to give long chase when running down ballcarriers. … Hard-nose type who played most of the year with broken bones in his left hand, requiring him to wear a club-like cast, but he compensated by using that club as a weapon while making physical drag-down type of tackles. … Has a good edge to him on the field. … Hustles in pursuit and has rededicated himself to the game, showed marked improvement in his work ethic and approach to preparing for games in 2007. … Can track the ball well on the move and has good blocking-scheme recognition. … Shows a quick initial burst off the snap, with the sudden moves to gain advantage. … Plays with impressive aggression flashing into the backfield and when he uses his hands properly, he is capable of getting a good push off blockers (uses that raw power to toss blockers aside). … Stout at the point of attack (when he sinks his weight) and has good upfield penetration moves, as he has learned how to stay low coming out of his charge, making him much more effective shooting the gaps. … Can easily stack and anchor when holding ground at the point of attack or in attempts to split double teams (has the leg drive and lower-body strength to disengage from blockers). … Shows good functional power in his arms and hands to create separation, shed and maintain balance through the pile, as he works hard to get underneath the pads of an offensive lineman. … Generates good pop on contact, even when on the move and shows good effort in his lateral pursuit, exploding behind his hits with arms extended to wrap and secure. … His hand punch is one of his best assets, using it as a weapon to push the blocker back and collapse the pocket. … Has enough acceleration and surge to close on the quarterback in a flash, as he is nimble moving his feet when coming from the backside or working an offensive guard's edge. … Best on the bull rush, but he has the flexibility to get upfield or stack with good effect. … Could not be as active as he wanted with his hands due to the cast he wore most of the year, but he was still able to leverage and gain position.

Negatives: Shows softness in his midsection, but has big hips and thighs and calf definition. … Very effective when he stays low in his pads, but when he gets too upright (especially after his initial move fails), he will give up a lot of body surface (gets his hands outside his frame), resulting in losing leverage on the play. … Has had academic issues throughout his career (barely qualified in 2004) and might not be capable of digesting a complicated playbook. … When he gets his pads too high, he can be knocked off balance by a hand jolt, as he keeps his feet too close together. … Gets into a rhythm where he tries to overpower his man on each play, making him late to get off the block and make the play (needs better avoidance skills on the move). … Has good functional strength, but his frame lacks compact muscle definition in his midsection. … Possibly due to the cast he had to wear on his broken left hand, he flashes a powerful hand punch, but he needs to show more consistency getting his hands into the blocker's chest. … Needs to improve his overall stamina, as he will wear down late in games. … Some question his football desire, as he quit the team for a time back in 2005, but there were extenuating circumstances that might better explain his decision to leave (his sister died suddenly from a heart attack the previous season).

Compares To: KEVIN WILLIAMS-Minnesota. … Sims is one of the better gap-shooters you will find. He showed his toughness playing all year with a cast to protect the broken bones in his left hand in 2007, but he also learned how to use it as a weapon. Like Williams, Sims has very good explosion off the snap to impact the pocket. He is still lacking experience and will need time to develop, but as he matured, you could see that he developed a good desire to play the game at a high level. Pessimists need only examine the case of the Titans showing extreme patience with Albert Haynesworth. Some team could luck out with Sims using the same approach.

2007: Suffered broken fingers on his left hand vs. South Florida (9/08) and was fitted with a hard, club-like black cast to protect his hand from further injury, as he played most of the season wearing it.

Campus: 4.89 in the 40-yard dash. … 392-pound bench press. … 526-pound squat. … 327-pound power clean. … 32-inch vertical jump. … 33 1/4-inch arm length. … 10-inch hands.

Attended Dillard (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) High School, playing football for head coach Ken Scott. … Standout defensive lineman, earning Prep Star All-American honors as a senior. … Florida Class 5A All-State selection, rated among the top 20 defensive tackles in the nation by Rivals.com and garnered Southeast Elite 88 accolades from that recruiting service. … Member of the Florida Times Union Super 75, Mobile Register Super Southeast 120 and Orlando Sentinel Florida Top 100 teams. … Registered 65 tackles, with 20 stops behind the line of scrimmage and 12 quarterback sacks as a senior. … Collected 75 tackles, 12 sacks and 22 stops for losses during his junior season. … Competed with the school's basketball team, helping to lead them to a state championship as a junior.

Public Administration major. … Son of Lizzie and George Sims. … Born 1/29/85. … Resides in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.