Ernie Sims’ father, Ernie Sims Sr., played for Bobby Bowdon at Florida State 1977-1981. His mother, Alice Bennett, also attended Florida State where she was an all-American sprinter 1980-83. Ernie attended North Florida Christian High School in Tallahassee, Florida where he played running back and linebacker, helping the football team to four straight state championships. As a junior Ernie totaled 180 tackles, 12 sacks, and 7 forced fumbles. On offense he rushed for over 600 yards and scored 17 touchdowns on the year. As a senior he finished with 133 tackles and 6 forced fumbles. He also recovered 7 fumbles and blocked a field goal attempt. On offense he had his best year, rushing for 1,081 yards on 155 attempts, scoring 23 touchdowns. He was invited to play running back in the California-Florida all-star game and was considered to be the top linebacker prospect in the nation. He was recruited by schools such as: Miami, Florida, Oklahoma, Michigan, Auburn, USC, Georgia, and Oregon, but he opted to stay close to home, signing with Florida State instead. He was granted permission from Ron Sellers to wear his old #34, which was retired by the University. Ernie made an impact immediately for the Seminoles, seeing action in all 13 games on both defense and special teams. He finished with 42 tackles and a forced fumble on the year. As a sophomore, Ernie had career highs in tackles (86), sacks (4 ½ ), and forced fumbles (2), on his way to second team all-acc honors. He had another solid season as a junior, totaling 72 tackles, 2 ½ sacks, and a career high 2 interceptions. He was named honorable mention all-acc for his play as a junior. Ernie still has a year of eligibility left but he opted to leave school early to enter the 2006 NFL draft.

Ernie Sims has been a starting linebacker at Florida State the past two years and was a big contributor as a freshman as well. During that time he has proven to be a durable player, seeing action in all 38 games of his college career. Ernie is an excellent athlete with good speed and quickness for the position. He has great instincts and always seems to be around the action. His speed allows him to make plays all over the field as well as be effective in coverage. He has good strength and is able to shed blocks and get to the ball carrier. He makes a lot of plays in the backfield and has the ability to chase a running back down from behind or get to the quarterback on passing downs. He is an extremely hard hitter and a fundamentally sound tackler. Ernie lacks great size for a linebacker and has a tendency to overpursue the ball carrier at times. He also has some character issues after an incident with his girlfriend last July led to him being arrested and charged with domestic battery and resisting arrest. Despite his lack of great size and his off the field issue, Ernie has all the tools to become an impact player at the outside linebacker position in the NFL. He should be selected on the first day of the 2006 NFL draft.