CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Quarterback Phillip Sims (Chesapeake, Va.), a member of Alabama’s 2011 BCS title team, has announced he is transferring to Virginia.

“Virginia football welcomes Phillip Sims to our family,” said Virginia football head coach Mike London. “Hopefully he will have a productive career her at UVa as his previous accolades have shown.”

Sims (6-2, 211) appeared in eight games as a redshirt freshman in 2011, completing 64 percent of his passes for 163 yards. He threw for a season-best 73 yards on 7-of-14 passing in his collegiate debut against Kent State.

A 2010 graduate of Oscar Smith High School, Sims will team up with former high school teammates and current Cavaliers, Perry Jones and Tim Smith.  The trio won the 2008 Virginia Group AAA Division 6 State Championship the last season all three were teammates.  While at Oscar Smith, Sims was a Parade magazine and EA Sports All-American, posting a 48-4 record as a four-year starter. 

Sims was ranked as a five-star recruit by Scout.com coming out of high school, while Rivals.com and ESPNU had him as a four-star prospect.  He was the No. 1 ranked quarterback nationally by ESPNU and SuperPrep Magazine in the class of 2010.  After graduating from Oscar Smith High School as the Commonwealth of Virginia’s career leader in passing yards (10,725) and touchdown passes (119), Sims played in the 2010 Under Armour Game in Orlando, Fla.