By Alex Boggis, UT Martin Assistant Sports Information Director
MARTIN, Tenn. – Two-time All-Ohio Valley Conference first team performer Deven Sims garnered a big offseason honor as Lindy’s Sports picked the redshirt-senior as the OVC Preseason Defensive Player of the Year in its yearly publication.
Hailing from Smyrna, Tenn., Sims has been a consistent contributor in the Skyhawk secondary as a starting safety for the past two and a half years while garnering back-to-back All-OVC first team honors in 2020 and 2021. During his career he has played in 38 contests while accumulating 194 tackles, 12.0 tackles for loss, 2.0 sacks, 14 passes defended, four forced fumbles and one interception.
Sims played and started in all 13 games in 2021 for a UT Martin squad which ranked in the top-10 nationally, won an OVC championship and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Division I playoffs. He paced the team for the second consecutive season with a 93 total tackles – including 45 solo stops – while notching 6.0 tackles for loss. He eclipsed double figures in the tackle column on four occasions while reaching season-highs with 11 against both Austin Peay and Southeast Missouri. The standout also tallied his first career interception against Tennessee Tech while adding two pass breakups on the year.
Graphic courtesy of UT Martin Sports Information