March 21, 2025 • 4 mins
Our thoughts and prayers are with the Sims family after the passing of Longhorn Legend Kenneth Sims. Sims, the No. 1 overall pick in the 1982 NFL Draft, passed away today at the age of 62 years old.
Craig Way and Mike "Hardball" Hardge spend a few minutes remembering the impact Sims left on the 40 Acres that goes beyond the football field.
Craig Way and Mike "Hardball" Hardge spend a few minutes remembering the impact Sims left on the 40 Acres that goes beyond the football field.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Our our good friend and our colleague, our our partner
from thirteen Under the Zone, Mike Hardball Harge is here
a host, of course of the morning Kickoff with Mark Henry,
and I wanted to give you the opportunity to pass
this word along because you are much closer to the
situation and understand it. But we've had the tragic loss
(00:23):
of a lifetime long warning one of the greatest to
ever play the game in football at ut.
Speaker 2 (00:27):
No doubt you know it was unfortunate passing of one
Kenneth Simms, the pride of Grosbeck and Cassi, Texas missed
the two five four as I like to call him,
but back then when he was growing up, it was
eight one seven, that's right. But yes, it was a
kind of a chilling day, if you wanted to put
(00:49):
it in words, because of the fact of we all
know who Kenny Simms is, and you know, one of
the most jovial guys that you'll ever meet, but when
you saw him on the field, you knew he was
there to handle that business. And I got a call
today that there was some things going on and I
had to go over and wanted to check in myself,
and it was unfortunate that when I got there that
(01:12):
they said that he had passed away peacefully. But it
was still one of those things it's really hard to
believe because here's a man that lived life to the fullest,
and you know, his story is well documented, but he
was one of those guys that would definitely give you
his shirt off his back. He was one of those
guys that really loved Texas athletics. He was pride and
(01:34):
joy of Texas Athletics. And I was glad to be
a part of his journey into the College Football Hall
of Fame because I was invited by Kenny Simms to
go to the College Football Hall of Fame with him
with his family, my family, and it was one of
the proudest moments that I ever got a chance to
see him be recognized for his excellence.
Speaker 1 (01:58):
Yeah arrived on the UT campus as a freshman nineteen
seventy eight impact performer. He recorded three hundred twenty two tackles,
twenty nine sacks, fifty tackles for lost, fifteen force fumbles,
seventh FuMB recoveries, three block kicks, and earned consensus All American,
the First Team All Southwest Conference honors in each of
(02:19):
his final two seasons as Texas and finished eighth in
Heisman voting and received three first place votes in nineteen
eighty one, and then of course selected by the New
England Patriots the first the number one overall pick in
the nineteen eighty two draft. Played eight seasons with the Patriots,
including the nineteen eighty five AFC championship team when they
(02:40):
went to the Super Bowl, and finished his professional career
with seventeen sacks at seventy four games, and trined in
the Texas Athletics Hall of Honors the class and part
of the Class of nineteen ninety seven, and of course
into the College Football Hall of Fame. As Harts has
told youa in twenty twenty one, he was sixty and
he will be missed because he was he was a
(03:03):
part of so many things that was that was going
on with ut athletics.
Speaker 2 (03:06):
Yeah, and you know, he also started a scholarship program
for the women's basketball team. He was really proud of
the women's athletics. Him and Jody Conrad were really good friends,
and he did everything. Him and Chris Plonsky, they always
did something for the ladies. And you know, as I said,
he's a gentle giant, but he was more than that.
(03:28):
I mean, he was so intelligent and was always helping
and giving back and trying to support the kids. And
and he's definitely gonna be missed. I know, I speak
for a lot of people that know him. My family
is hurting today because we lost a great man. And
not only that, he was more of a mentor to
(03:50):
me about this business that we're in right now, because
he was a guest host on so many people.
Speaker 1 (03:57):
But you brought him out to the NFL Draft party
and that was say, that was a great show. We
had a lot of fun last April.
Speaker 2 (04:02):
Week, right, we had that. And then you know, you
talk about Brian Jones and Derek Johnson and and and
Norm Watkins, guys that he mentored, and then you can
go all the way back to Stony Clark and all
those guys. But it was more than just the football
part of it. It was the life aspect that he
brought to everybody every single day. And I, you know,
(04:23):
I had I had to make that call to uh
a lot of his friends and and it was one
of the hardest calls that I had to make. And
I had to make that call for our our late
great friends Shawn Adams as well. And it's just one
of those things that when you lose guys like that,
you know Shawn Adams and the the the Kenneth Simms
not you don't. You're not the only one hurting. It's
(04:45):
the people that admired him as well, So you don't
know all those other people that had a relationship to
him as well,
Our our good friend and our colleague, our our partner
from thirteen Under the Zone, Mike Hardball Harge is here
a host, of course of the morning Kickoff with Mark Henry,
and I wanted to give you the opportunity to pass
this word along because you are much closer to the
situation and understand it. But we've had the tragic loss
(00:23):
of a lifetime long warning one of the greatest to
ever play the game in football at ut.
Speaker 2 (00:27):
No doubt you know it was unfortunate passing of one
Kenneth Simms, the pride of Grosbeck and Cassi, Texas missed
the two five four as I like to call him,
but back then when he was growing up, it was
eight one seven, that's right. But yes, it was a
kind of a chilling day, if you wanted to put
(00:49):
it in words, because of the fact of we all
know who Kenny Simms is, and you know, one of
the most jovial guys that you'll ever meet, but when
you saw him on the field, you knew he was
there to handle that business. And I got a call
today that there was some things going on and I
had to go over and wanted to check in myself,
and it was unfortunate that when I got there that
(01:12):
they said that he had passed away peacefully. But it
was still one of those things it's really hard to
believe because here's a man that lived life to the fullest,
and you know, his story is well documented, but he
was one of those guys that would definitely give you
his shirt off his back. He was one of those
guys that really loved Texas athletics. He was pride and
(01:34):
joy of Texas Athletics. And I was glad to be
a part of his journey into the College Football Hall
of Fame because I was invited by Kenny Simms to
go to the College Football Hall of Fame with him
with his family, my family, and it was one of
the proudest moments that I ever got a chance to
see him be recognized for his excellence.
Speaker 1 (01:58):
Yeah arrived on the UT campus as a freshman nineteen
seventy eight impact performer. He recorded three hundred twenty two tackles,
twenty nine sacks, fifty tackles for lost, fifteen force fumbles,
seventh FuMB recoveries, three block kicks, and earned consensus All American,
the First Team All Southwest Conference honors in each of
(02:19):
his final two seasons as Texas and finished eighth in
Heisman voting and received three first place votes in nineteen
eighty one, and then of course selected by the New
England Patriots the first the number one overall pick in
the nineteen eighty two draft. Played eight seasons with the Patriots,
including the nineteen eighty five AFC championship team when they
(02:40):
went to the Super Bowl, and finished his professional career
with seventeen sacks at seventy four games, and trined in
the Texas Athletics Hall of Honors the class and part
of the Class of nineteen ninety seven, and of course
into the College Football Hall of Fame. As Harts has
told youa in twenty twenty one, he was sixty and
he will be missed because he was he was a
(03:03):
part of so many things that was that was going
on with ut athletics.
Speaker 2 (03:06):
Yeah, and you know, he also started a scholarship program
for the women's basketball team. He was really proud of
the women's athletics. Him and Jody Conrad were really good friends,
and he did everything. Him and Chris Plonsky, they always
did something for the ladies. And you know, as I said,
he's a gentle giant, but he was more than that.
(03:28):
I mean, he was so intelligent and was always helping
and giving back and trying to support the kids. And
and he's definitely gonna be missed. I know, I speak
for a lot of people that know him. My family
is hurting today because we lost a great man. And
not only that, he was more of a mentor to
(03:50):
me about this business that we're in right now, because
he was a guest host on so many people.
Speaker 1 (03:57):
But you brought him out to the NFL Draft party
and that was say, that was a great show. We
had a lot of fun last April.
Speaker 2 (04:02):
Week, right, we had that. And then you know, you
talk about Brian Jones and Derek Johnson and and and
Norm Watkins, guys that he mentored, and then you can
go all the way back to Stony Clark and all
those guys. But it was more than just the football
part of it. It was the life aspect that he
brought to everybody every single day. And I, you know,
(04:23):
I had I had to make that call to uh
a lot of his friends and and it was one
of the hardest calls that I had to make. And
I had to make that call for our our late
great friends Shawn Adams as well. And it's just one
of those things that when you lose guys like that,
you know Shawn Adams and the the the Kenneth Simms
not you don't. You're not the only one hurting. It's
(04:45):
the people that admired him as well, So you don't
know all those other people that had a relationship to
him as well,
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