58 days 'till kickoff - De'Rail Sims

It's now 58 days until kickoff of Catamount football at Floyd Stadium, home of the Blue Raiders of Middle Tennessee State on August 29th in Murfreesboro, Tennessee.

To help pass those long summer days until football season starts, and hopefully get the Catamount faithful more excited about the upcoming season, we'll continue with the 100 day football countdown to kickoff.

-No player is currently assigned to #58, so today we'll highlight another WCU football coach

De'Rail Sims

Hometown: Union, S.C.
Position: Assistant Coach / RBs
Alma Mater: University of Pikeville





De'Rail Sims joined the Catamount Football coaching staff in January of 2013, making the move to WCU from perennial Division-II football power, Carson-Newman, after spending a season coaching the Eagles' running backs. He additionally served as C-N's video coordinator.

In 2012, Sims worked with Carson-Newman's running attack which led Division II football by averaging nearly 380 rushing yards per game and 52 touchdowns on the ground. The 52 rushing scores on the ground were the most among all schools in all NCAA divisions - and only Georgia Southern averaged more yards per rush than did C-N.

Under Sims' tutelage, Carson-Newman junior running back Brandon Baker rushed for 1,468 yards - the third-best in Eagles' history - and 13 TDs. Baker's 8.25 yards per carry were the best in the nation for anyone with more than 100 carries in 2012. He was named first team All-SAC as well as earned postseason honors in being selected to the Associated Press (AP) Little All-America Team and was named to the Don Hansen All-Super Region II team.

A native of Union, S.C., where he won a South Carolina State Championship in 2002, Sims was a two-year starter for the University of Pikeville in Kentucky, playing from 2006-08. He got his start in collegiate coaching in 2009 at Pikeville as a student assistant coaching the outside linebackers.

Following his graduation with a history/political science degree, Sims spent the 2010 season coaching tight ends and coordinating the video aspects for Millersville University football program before returning to his alma mater as the running back coach and director of football operations in 2011. He additionally served as the head coach for Pikeville's junior varsity squad.

Courtesy WCU Athletics Media Relations