Top prospects: Offense | Defense
Ask Florida State's Ernie Sims to choose one play or one game he believes best typifies his football career, and he reaches for videotape of the Florida state championship game his junior year of high school.
"I scored three touchdowns," he said, "and nobody on the field could stop me."
Ernie Sims was a running back then; he's an outside linebacker today. And still nobody stops him.
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| Ernie Sims is known for his ability to disrupt offenses. (Getty Images) |
Then he arrived at the NFL scouting combine in February, and life changed.
Coaches and scouts there raved about him, gushing about his rare explosion, speed and sure tackling. He suddenly became the next-best linebacker to Ohio State's A.J. Hawk and one of the combine's most talked-about attendees.
In short, Ernie Sims was hot, hot, hot. He still is, with his name included among the top 15 players in the April 29 draft.
"I always felt I was good enough to be in the first round," he said, "but people had me in the middle of the second. That's why I was shocked when my agent told me I had a good shot at being a first-round guy. It just felt like I wasn't going to move that far. It's a weird situation, but it's a dream come true."
Well, not yet it isn't. There's still that matter of going through the torturous wait and having your name called by Paul Tagliabue in New York. But Sims will not be this year's Aaron Rodgers. He's on his way up the draft ladder, not down.
| 2006 Draft Features | |
|---|---|
| Mocks: | Prisco | Judge | Dodd |
| Rankings: | Prisco | Judge | GM Junior |
| Previews: | WR | TE | ST | QB | CB |
| Coverage: | Draft Tracker |
"I love the guy," said an AFC player personnel director. "He has unbelievable explosion. He'll pass a lot of people to get to the ball."
Sims comes by his speed naturally. His mother was an All-American sprinter in college, and his father played running back for Bobby Bowden at FSU. It was that speed that had Sims playing running back and linebacker at North Florida Christian, where he scored 23 touchdowns his senior year and had 133 tackles, including 73 solos.
When colleges called, Sims was given the option of playing running back or linebacker. He chose defense.
"I felt, as a running back, your chances of lasting in the league very long were short because of injuries," he said. "I just thought as a linebacker I could play longer. I remember watching Terrell Davis and how short his career was. He was a great back, but he didn't play that long. And I didn't want to be a running back because of that."
