Courtesy of PhildelphiaEagles.com

High School and College Career

Ernie was an athletic standout at North Florida Christian High School, beginning his football career there by earning a varsity letter on the high school football team while only in the eighth grade, a feat not often heard of. He led his team to four state championships from 1998–2001. Coming out of North Florida Christian High School, in Tallahassee, Ernie was considered by most college football publications to be one of the best high school football players, and the best linebacker, in the country! Rivals.com, a high school football recruiting service, named Ernie the number one overall high school football player in the country ahead of Reggie Bush.  Ernie chose to play for Florida State over Auburn, Florida, Georgia, Miami, Michigan, Oklahoma, Oregon, Tennessee, and Southern California.

College: In 2003, as a true freshman at Florida State, Ernie played in every single game. He finished ninth on the team in tackles and was one of the teams top special teams performers. In 2004, his sophomore year, he played in all 12 games, and started the final 11. For his exceptional play on the field in 2004,  Ernie was named to the second All-ACC team and ESPN named him to their first team All-American team. Expectations for his junior year were high, as The Sporting News and other publications named him to their pre-season All-American teams. Ernie started all 13 games his junior year, including the Orange Bowl.  He majored in Environmental Studies at Florida State and wore #34, a number that was retired in honor of former Seminole football player, Ron Sellers. Sellers gave Sims and the university permission for Sims to wear the jersey number.