Virginia Tech Signing Day capsule 2021: DJ Sims

Virginia Tech's Signing Day didn't end with Justin Fuente's noon presser. An evening commitment from DJ Sims - an in-state wide receiver flipped from Wake Forest - capped the affair.

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5.6 three-star. Unranked nationally or within his position. No. 21 senior in the Commonwealth of Virginia.

Wake Forest (former commit), Army, Campbell, East Carolina, James Madison, Liberty, Norfolk State, Old Dominion, Tulane, Virginia, William & Mary

Sims had a number of mid-major and FCS programs on his offer list fairly early in the process. Wake Forest joined the fray early inn the Spring. Without an indication that he'd get much other Power-5 opportunity, Sims committed to the Deacons.

However, Virginia Tech continued to monitor. Even though he didn't have a senior season to evaluate, the staff had seen enough from his character (and their own need to change the narrative on in-state recruiting) to ramp up the interest. They gave indication that they were serious about him on the eve of Signing Day, and that was enough for him to decommit from Wake.

Immediately after that decommitment, both the Hokies and UVa offered, but he was all Hokie. An evening ceremony at his home made the commitment and the signing official.

Sims is a recently-converted basketball player, and his game shows it. He has soft hands and good body control when trying to bring in passes. His ability to contort in the air while leaping is solid. He relishes winning those one-on-one battles downfield.

He also shows good deep speed at the high school level, though playing a caliber of competition that's not quite comparable to what he'll see in the ACC definitely adds a caveat to take some of that with a gran of salt. His route-running will have to improve to create openings since he's not quite the immediate-burst athlete just yet.

Nonetheless, a relative newcomer to football with physical potential is always welcome. The polish that he'll pick up with the coaching at VT gives him very high potential.

As a junior at Christchurch School, Sims caught 21 passes for 598 yards and seven touchdowns, all tops on his team. He also ran the ball seven times for 156 yards. His Christchurch team finished 6-3.

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