Southern Utah trio set to make history at NFL Draft


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CEDAR CITY — The first thing that jumps out when anyone meets former Southern Utah cornerback LeShaun Sims is his voice.

He’s quiet. Really quiet.

Soft spoken and sometimes without much to say, Sims will get a chance to meet the larger world soon enough.

Sims is part of a trio of NFL draft prospects from Southern Utah who are likely to feature in this week’s NFL draft in Chicago, which starts Thursday at 6 p.m. MDT and runs through Saturday afternoon.

But you wouldn’t guess the 6-foot, 203-pound defensive back to be one of the best at his positions.

“I don’t talk a whole lot,” Sims said with a sly smile. “Just to people I’m close to.”

What stands out about that trio, though, is where they come from. They aren’t the usual prospects from powerhouses Alabama, Southern California or Florida State. They come from Southern Utah, which is quietly putting together a contending class of NFL prospects.

When you get to know Sims, the Thunderbirds standout has plenty to say. Just ask teammate and good friend James Cowser, who played with Sims for four years and ran stairs every summer in Cedar City alongside the Las Vegas native as well.

Southern Utah defensive back Miles Killebrew runs a drill at the NFL football scouting combine, Monday, Feb. 29, 2016, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/L.G. Patterson)
Southern Utah defensive back Miles Killebrew runs a drill at the NFL football scouting combine, Monday, Feb. 29, 2016, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/L.G. Patterson)

“I think he’s just been so much more confident in himself as he sees that he’s an NFL-caliber cornerback. Now he can show people his best side,” said Cowser, a former Davis High standout who had two other offers before his two-year LDS Church mission. “People think he’s a mystery, but you just have to talk to him. He’ll open right up; he’s a smart, clever, funny kid. But he came in as a quiet kid, and it’s stuck with him.”

Cowser and Sims, along with teammate Miles Killebrew, are the trio of SUU prospects who are likely to be taken in the NFL draft. If all three sign draft-pick contracts with NFL teams, they would be the first SUU trio to sign in the same draft — elevating the program to new heights.

It’s a familiar position for a group of players who took the Thunderbirds to two FCS playoff appearances in three years, including the school’s first-ever Big Sky Conference title in 2015.

Bringing Southern Utah football to the forefront starts with what Killebrew calls support of the squad’s brotherhood.

“It’s amazing; you still have a copious amount of support, and that’s amazing,” Killebrew said after SUU’s first-ever Pro Day in St. George. “The support was huge, the brotherhood we formed was incredible, and it continues to be incredible.

“Everyone has each other’s back. The love of the teammates is what got us going.”

Being in the spotlight of the pre-draft season is new to most Southern Utah players, and it reminds Sims never to take anything for granted.

“You see the mock draft boards all the time, but nothing is ever guaranteed,” Sims said. “It’s best to just sit and wait.”

Killebrew is the top projected pick from the Thunderbirds, hovering in the third or fourth round. But even he had several questions around him as late as last March when he ran a 4.65 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine.

Still, the southern Nevada native knew he could do better. At SUU’s Pro Day, the 6-foot-2, 217-pound safety ran a 4.50 40, showing off a speed that impressed the two dozen NFL scouts at Desert Hills High School.

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“I think the biggest question around me was if that 4.6 I ran at the Combine was my real time,” said Killebrew, a four-time all-Big Sky honoree. “Now I think the scouts understand that I’m faster than the time I ran there.”

Killebrew doesn’t care which team picks it up, he’s just happy to be considered a part of the process.

“Vegas doesn’t have a team, so I didn’t really have a great connection with any team,” said Killebrew, who was born in Indiana. “My favorite team is the next one that signs me.”

Just having the three draft picks — four who could make NFL rosters when you add quarterback Ammon Olsen — is big news for the Thunderbirds. When the San Diego Chargers selected quarterback Brad Sorensen in 2013, the one-time BYU signee became the first NFL draft pick from SUU since the event began in 1937.

Just as rare, then, was seeing the three-headed monster of Cowser, Sims and Killebrew each receive an invitation to the NFL Combine in Indianapolis.

SUU had as many invitees as traditional powers Texas and Michigan — combined. More locally, BYU had just one invitee in defensive lineman Bronson Kaufusi, while Utah sent six players in running back Devontae Booker, punter Tom Hackett, defensive end Jason Fanaika, safety Tevin Carter and linebackers Jared Norris and Gionni Paul.

Even with the Utes, injuries kept Booker from running before his private pro day in Sacramento, and the two-time Ray Guy Award-winning Hackett was limited to special teams drills during the annual event.

Southern Utah defensive lineman James Cowser runs a drill at the NFL football scouting combine, Sunday, Feb. 28, 2016, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/L.G. Patterson)
Southern Utah defensive lineman James Cowser runs a drill at the NFL football scouting combine, Sunday, Feb. 28, 2016, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/L.G. Patterson)

“It is rare to see three guys from any school go to the Combine, and to have four guys go to national games after the season is over,” Killebrew said. “We were four captains who went on to keep playing, and whenever you have that, it’s incredible what it does for the rest of your teammates.

“I always joke that me, James and LeShaun are like birds of a feather. Everything we do is similar.”

When you’re making history, it’s easier not to take advantage of the little opportunities — something Cowser reminds himself to do often.

“It’s fun to realize this is what I’ve been working for,” he said. “When you get tired, you have to look back and realize this is an opportunity that not everyone gets.”

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