Ernie Sims

This article is about the American football player. For the English footballer, see Ernie Simms.

Ernie Sims

No. 55     Indianapolis Colts
Outside Linebacker
Personal information
Date of birth: December 23, 1984 (1984-12-23)
Place of birth: Tallahassee, Florida
Height: 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	Weight: 230 lb (104 kg)
Career information
College: Florida State
NFL Draft: 2006 / Round: 1 / Pick: 9
Debuted in 2006 for the Detroit Lions
Career history
Detroit Lions (2006–2009) Philadelphia Eagles (2010) Indianapolis Colts (2011–present)
Roster status: Active
Career highlights and awards
ESPN first-team All-American (2004)
Career NFL statistics as of Week 16, 2011
Tackles	530
Sacks	4.5
Interceptions	1
Stats at NFL.com

Ernie Sims III (born December 23, 1984) is an American football linebacker for the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Detroit Lions in the first round of the 2006 NFL Draft. He played college football at Florida State.

Sims has also played for the Philadelphia Eagles.

Early years

Sims 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, Sims 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 Sims the number one overall high school football player in the country ahead of Reggie Bush. Sims chose to play for Florida State over Auburn, Florida, Georgia, Miami, Michigan, Oklahoma, Oregon, Tennessee, and Southern California.

College career

In 2003, as a true freshman at Florida State, Sims 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, Sims played in all 12 games, and started the final 11. For his exceptional play on the field in 2004, Sims was named to the second All-ACC team and ESPN named Sims 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. Sims had a productive, but not spectacular junior season, starting all 13 games, including the Orange Bowl. Sims majored in Environmental Studies at Florida State.

At Florida State, Sims 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.

In January 2006, Sims announced that he would forgo his senior season to enter the draft.

Professional career

Pre-draft

Pre-draft measureables

Ht	Wt	40-yd dash	10-yd split	20-yd split	20-ss	3-cone	Vert	Broad	BP
5 ft 11⅛ in	231 lb	4.50 s	1.54 s	2.64 s	4.23 s	7.32 s	41 in	10 ft 5 in	25 rep
All results from NFL Combine

Detroit Lions

Sims was selected as ninth overall in the first round of the 2006 NFL Draft by the Detroit Lions. Sims was targeted by Lions general manager Matt Millen to bolster the Lions' defense at weakside linebacker. On July 30, 2006, he signed a 5-year, $15.735 million contract with $12.1 million guaranteed. Sims started all 16 games his rookie season at outside linebacker, collecting 124 tackles (81 solo tackles) and was credited with a half sack and one pass deflection. On December 3, against the New England Patriots, Sims had a career high 13 total tackles. On December 31, Sims made a key tackle on fourth down to give the Lions a big win against the Dallas Cowboys. On September 3, 2007, Sims was named one of five captains for the 2007 Detroit Lions. The Lions former head coach, Rod Marinelli, said that Sims' resembled that of Tampa Bay Buccaneers linebacker Derrick Brooks in his early years, being described as a fast, punishing, sure-tackler.

Philadelphia Eagles

Sims was traded to the Philadelphia Eagles on April 19, 2010 in a three-team trade. The Denver Broncos sent tight end Tony Scheffler and a seventh-round draft pick in 2010 to the Detroit Lions, the Lions sent Sims to the Eagles, and the Eagles sent a fifth-round draft pick in 2010 to the Broncos.

Indianapolis Colts

On August 2, 2011, Sims signed with the Indianapolis Colts as an unrestricted free agent.

Personal

On May 29, 2009, Sims married Brooke McGriff, who is pursuing a degree in Education at a local college.

Sims' mother, Alice Sims, formerly Alice Bennett, was an All-American sprinter on the Florida State track and field team from 1980 through 1983. His younger brother, Marcus Sims, a highly regarded high school running back, announced in February 2006 that he will also play his college football at Florida State before transferring to the University of North Alabama . His father Ernie, Sr. was also a running back at Florida State

Sims owns an extremely large collection of animals: 20 dogs, 28 different types of reptiles, several horses, and a monkey. Fox produced a segment for the Lions' game against the Minnesota Vikings in Detroit in 2007 which showcased his pets.

External links

• Official website
• Ernie Sims on Twitter
• Philadelphia Eagles bio