Three stand out to elite Texas back

FORT WORTH, Texas - There is plenty of talk that this is the most talented and deepest year for running backs that the state of Texas has seen in years. Right in the thick of the discussion as to who is the best among that group is Abilene back Herschel Sims.

Sims has stated his case for the top back by leading his team to a state championship as a junior and by racking up offers from around the country. With all of that under his belt, there isn't a lot he has left to prove, but that didn't stop him from coming out and competing at the NIKE Football Training Camp at TCU on Sunday. Sims was among a fantastic group of running backs to compete and he enjoyed the competition.

"I think the group here was a good group to me personally," Sims said following the event. "I liked a lot of the guys. I'd never heard of some of the guys but after I saw them play, I knew I'd hear about them sometime in the future."

The motivation to get out to TCU despite his already strong reputation was simple: love of competition.

"It's just the fact that I love competing," he said. "I'm a competitive guy and I just want to show everyone who's best. There's a lot of people who talk and have different opinions on who's best so I'm just letting everyone know that I'm all about football and I'm all about business."

With all the talk and debate over who is the best back in the state of Texas among the deep group, some backs would rather not listen to the comparisons, but not Sims. He doesn't hide the fact that he wants to be considered the best.

"I always want to be thought of as the best guy," he said. "No matter what I want to be the best at what I do but I'm just going to let God handle that and put it in God's hands."

Even to be mentioned among the best backs in the state, it's clear that Sims is a highly coveted recruit with a host of options for the future. At this point in the process, there are three schools that stand out though.

"USC is starting to stick out a lot and Oklahoma and here at TCU as well," said Sims of his current favorites.

The 5-foot-10, 190-pounder touched on each of the three standouts.

"USC, they produced Reggie Bush. He's also a great back and I really didn't think that I was going to get anything from USC just from them being far out and then again I started getting letters from them and then they offered. I'm hearing good things about Kiffin. Him and his dad are great coaches and they bring a great coaching staff to the table.

"The same thing with Oklahoma. Coach [Cale] Gundy is a great coach and the same with Coach Stoops. My favorite running back is Adrian Peterson. He came from Oklahoma and he wouldn't be who he is today if it wasn't for those guys. And I feel like Oklahoam has the best strength and conditioning coach and they're the ones that are going to get you ready for the next level if you choose to go that way.

"TCU, they have a great coaching staff as well. Coach Patterson is a great coach and the same with Coach Winters who is recruiting me. When I came here I felt like I was just back at my old high school playing around with the coaches and just hanging out and that's what I like."

There is one x-factor worth mentioning in Sims' recruitment as well. He has a close relationship with his cousin and teammate Ronnell Sims and is keeping a close eye on his recruitment.

"The other thing is me and my cousin, Ronnell, we've been playing together since we were little and I'd like to go somewhere with him and see how that goes," he said. "It's a selfish decision. It's whatever is best for me but if I have an opportunity to play with my cousin then I'm going to take it."

Currently, Sims lists Baylor, Texas Tech and Rice as the common offers between him and his cousin with TCU starting to show interest. Regardless, don't expect a quick decision from the blue chip recruit.

"I'm not going to decide any time soon," he said. "I'm going to take my time…it's going to lead up to [National Signing Day]. I'm going to hold out as long as I can but if I'm taking visits and I like what I see and if I feel like I'm ready to commit, I'm going to commit but I don't think that's going to happen anytime soon."