The making of Blake Sims

— -- GAINESVILLE, Ga. -- When Alabama senior Blake Sims reported to the Mastrole Passing Academy in South Florida this past spring, quarterback guru Ken Mastrole saw an unpolished passer with a lot of natural ability but little refinement.

"He was kind of raw," said Mastrole, a former Maryland quarterback who played in NFL Europe and the Arena Football League and recently tutored NFL quarterbacks EJ Manuel and Teddy Bridgewater. "It was about like taking a raw piece of clay and trying to mold him physically and mentally."

It doesn't take very long to figure out that many people had a hand in molding Sims, who will lead No. 3 Alabama into Saturday's SEC West showdown against No. 11 Ole Miss at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium in Oxford, Mississippi.

Along the way, he was told he wouldn't make the grades to be a college football player, was told during recruiting by a rival coach, Tennessee's Lane Kiffin, that he'd have a better shot at starting for the Volunteers. Then, after arriving in Tuscaloosa, he patiently waited his turn for a shot at the starting job.