How Geoff Collins Landed Jeff Sims
The first day of the 2019 Early Signing Period certainly did not lack excitement or drama. Between all the flips and all the decisions made all across the country, one of the more notable storylines from yesterday came out of Jacksonville, FL. A week after decommitting from the Florida State Seminoles, 4* dual threat quarterback Jeff Sims announced from the auditorium of Sandalwood HS that he would be taking his talents to The Flats and signing with Georgia Tech.
From the outside looking in, the move appeared to be a bit of a surprise land for the Institute. Not only was Florida State still in the mix to land a recommitment from Sims, but the Maryland Terrapins were making a late push as well. Just 5 days prior to his decommitment from FSU, Sims had gone on an official visit with the Terps. But to head coach Geoff Collins, Sims' decision to don the White & Gold garnered more elation than shock.
That's because the wheels had been set in motion long before his decision to head to the Peach State and not the Sunshine State.
Collins and Sims had been familiar with each other for a while, with Collins and the rest of the coaches on the recruiting trail putting an emphasis on good first impressions. "One of the biggest things in recruiting is the first thing you have be is you have to be instantly likable and instantly relatable," Collins said. "I think our coaching staff does a great job of instantly making connections with people, with recruits, with HS coaches, with families, and with people that they come in contact with."
However that was just the first step, and the next one was even more critical. If Georgia Tech had any hopes of landing him, they had to build the trust level between them and Sims & his family. "[Trust] makes them want to be a part of your football family, your football program and those kinds of things," Collins said.
The trust level between Sims & Collins really amplified towards the end of the regular season. While Sims was still a verbal commit to FSU, he went on an official visit with the Yellow Jackets. He came to The Flats back on November 21st, when Georgia Tech won 28-26 against the NC State Wolfpack in a Thursday night primetime matchup.
A key part of the recruiting process in Geoff Collins' tenure as the head coach of The Institute is his utilization of social media. With the help of brand manager Santino "Morpheus" Stancato, their efforts on the digital front plays just as big of a role in attracting recruits as their in-home recruiting pitches do.
Except with Sims, this was not the case. Unlike most of the official visits from the Class of 2020 recruits where either the coaching staff or recruit themself publicized their time at the school, Sims opted to remain silent out of respect for FSU. "They wanted to do it the right way," as Collins said in his Early Signing Period press conference, and the coaching staff respected his wish.
"I thought our entire coaching staff and the recruiting office handled that with class, grace and dignity," Collins said. "A lot of places would try to make it about them and their logo, instead of about the kid and their family." Following through on their promise to not overly publicize that Sims, a high-profile commit to another school, was on campus paid massive dividends. The level of trust built between Sims and Georgia Tech allowed Collins to hold meaningful conversations with Sims and his family when he paid them an in-home visit in early December.
The rest, as they say, is history.
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