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INDIANAPOLIS –The stops David Sims should have been making in 2006 were to the likes of Neyland Stadium, the Georgia Dome and eventually the National Championship game in Glendale, Arizona.
Instead, the stops Sims made were much shorter and far less scenic.
Instead of leaping into the air for interceptions on a Florida Gators National Championship team, Sims was "leaping" off of garbage trucks.
If the waste management job wasn't enough, Sims was also working night shifts at Sam's Club stocking shelves.
It was a result of poor grades and a senior year ACL injury that took away any potential scholarship offer to the future National Champion Gators.
To say the least, it was a humbling experience for Sims, the newest Colts safety.
"Those two jobs, I never thought I would be doing," Sims, who can laugh about those times now, said.
"Guys don't think about it until it happens to them. But it put me in the right piece of mind."
Sims comes to the Colts after playing 15 games (1 start) with the Philadelphia Eagles during the 2012 season.
He was waived by the Eagles in the cut from 75-to-53 last year and spent the entire 2013 season waiting to see his phone light up.
One call came from the Colts in October and a Tuesday workout a few months back obviously left a lasting impression on the personnel department.
"To have that phone not ringing was extremely tough," Sims said of last season.
"Sometimes I would get down on myself but I would continue to work. Once you get that call into a workout, you are competing against another guy. That's my whole train of thought. I want to work hard."
Sims perseverance dates back to the spring of 2006 when he put the cleats back on and began heading over to the University of Florida late at night to run around its track.
Following stints in junior college and at Iowa State (Sims was the 2009 Big 12 Newcomer of the Year), the 5-9 safety went undrafted in 2011.
He bounced around a trio of NFL teams before appearing to find a home in the Eagles secondary.
Now, after a year away from the gridiron, Sims is back again and he has no intention of wasting another opportunity.
"There's big things coming for the Colts," Sims says. "I'm really excited to get started and try an earn the respect of everybody in the locker room and do my best to contribute in any way possible."
