By RORY MOORE
Tiger Media Network
Former professional football player Billy Sims arrived at Billy Sims Barbecue in Hays on Saturday for a meet-and-greet with fans. The 1978 Heisman Trophy winner spent the first two business hours of the restaurant signing autographs and posing with fans for photographs while visiting the restaurant chain he co-founded in 2004.
Fans come out to meet Sims and grab autographs from him. 
Sims poses with a Chiefs fan for pictures. 
Sims played Football for the Oklahoma Sooners and Detroit Lions before he retired in 1984 due to a knee injury. 
Sims was the 1978 Heisman Trophy winner and 1980 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year. 
Billy Sims great OU fans at Billy Sims Barbecue in Hays.
Sims played college football for the Oklahoma Sooners before he was selected as the first overall pick of the 1980 NFL Draft by the Detroit Lions, where he played as a running back until a knee injury forced him to retire in 1984.
“Besides having a barbecue place in my name, there’s good enough reason to come up here and see some of those fans who like barbecue,” Sims said. “They’ve been treating me like I’ve been here all the time.”
Coming to Hays provided a source of familiarity for the three-time Pro Bowler.
“I haven’t had the chance to venture out and see it,” he said. “I grew up in a small town of 2,000 people, so I’m used to small towns.”
Many fans who came to meet him were admirers who watched him play for the Sooners and the Lions, and others came from areas outside of his former career homes.
“We’re from Nebraska,” Eric Lorenz said. “It was a little different meeting him but, he’s a cool guy. We’ve seen a few football players, and he’s a legend. So, it was great to see him.”
Billy Sims Barbecue in Hays opens at 11:00 a.m. daily. It closes at 8:00 p.m. Sunday through Wednesday and 9:00 p.m. Thursday through Saturday.