Lions’ Xadavien Sims signs with Oregon Ducks

Division I football signees have been few and far between for the Durant gridiron program, but the Lions managed to pick up their first in more than a decade over the Christmas break as Xadavien Sims inked his scholarship offer from the University of Oregon.

Sims becomes the first Lion to sign with a Division I program since Dakota Diessner put his name on an offer from Air Force back in early 2013.

As a defensive line standout, Sims has been a coveted prospect by schools throughout the nation before settling on the high-profile Duck program in the Pacific Northwest.

“It feels good to finally be able to sign because it’s been a crazy process in the journey since my freshman year,” Sims commented. “It’s a dream come true to sign and play Division 1 football. That’s been my dream since I was a child. I loved Oregon because as soon as I got there everyone there made me feel like family. Everything about the university and campus was a perfect fit for me. Playing in the Big 10 will be a great opportunity in a great conference.”

Sims has been a mainstay on the Lion defense during his final two seasons after moving in from Denison following his sophomore year.

Despite missing one full game due to injury this year at Durant, Sims recorded 31 tackles for the season, including five quarterback sacks, nine tackles for loss, forced one fumble, recovered a fumble and broke up one pass.

“I’ve been blessed to be around this team the last two seasons,” Sims added. “Coach (Todd) Vargas and the other coaches made me feel like family as soon as I got here. Playing with this team has been great and I’m sad it’s over, but now it’s on to a different path and different dream.”

Vargas knows that the addition of Sims also brought additional notoriety and exposure for other Lions as he was being pursued by a host of colleges both around the region as well as the entire country.

“We are extremely thankful that Xadavien has been in our program and on our team the last two years,” Vargas said.

“He’s family to us. He’s done a lot for this program and school. He has brought a lot of recognition and we’re just thankful to be able to be a part of his journey and really excited for him and his future.

“There’s no doubt his presence and notoriety has brought recognition to some of our other kids and players as well as the program and it’s really neat to see them benefit as well.”

Sims isn’t quite finished with his pre-college career as he will suit up in the 2024 All-American Bowl on Saturday at the Alamodome in San Antonio.