Former player was at the Seminoles' first day of football spring practice

Today marks the first day of spring practice for the Florida State football team. The excitement is in the air as the Seminoles are gaining a ton of positive momentum after finishing with an undefeated regular season and an ACC Championship last year.

Head football coach Mike Norvell and his coaching staff have the program trending in the right direction as the Seminoles have a combined record of 23-4 in the past two seasons. However, there seem to be some growing pains as Florida State will be welcoming thirty-eight newcomers to its roster.

Norvell did indicate during Monday's media session that the Seminoles are one of just five programs in the entire country that had continuity in its coaching staff where the head football coach and all ten assistant coaches were returning from last season.

That speaks volumes for the program and the vision that Florida State is building as it continues to grow its success. During his tenure in Tallahassee, Norvell has emphasized a special culture in the program that allows individuals to build special bonds with each other.

Former players such as Jameis Winston, Jermaine Johnson II, Jared Verse, and Trey Benson, among others, have made their trips back to Florida State to visit. Surprisingly enough, former linebacker Ernie Sims attended the Seminoles' spring practice on Tuesday.

Sims played linebacker for the Seminoles from 2003-2005. During his three-year playing career, he recorded 200 total tackles (21.5 for loss) and seven sacks. He was selected with the No. 9 pick in the 2006 NFL Draft by the Detroit Lions. The talented linebacker played eight seasons in the league where he finished with 623 total tackles (26 for loss) and 5.5 sacks.

Sims was previously coaching linebackers during the 2023 season for the UCF Knights. The program decided not to retain him this offseason.

After WCTV's Alison Posey posted the video of Sims at practice, she alluded that Norvell stated that he could not say anything official about Sims being here. This would be an excellent pickup for this coaching staff, in my opinion.