Being No. 1 has its responsibilities

When you’re the nation’s No. 1 player, you’re bound to have plenty of attention showcased on you. But it’s just another day in the life of Tallahassee (Fla.) North Florida Christian standout Ernie Sims.

You see along with being the nation’s top prospect, Sims is also become one of the nation’s most savvy prospects with the media – this includes an upcoming interview and photo shoot with the Atlanta Journal Constitution.

But when you’re the top player, you’re also the focus of head coaches, including Bobby Bowden, who made a visit to the Sims household on Wednesday night.

“I grew a big Florida State fan so it was an honor to have coach Bowden in my house,” Sims said. “We got to talking about the history at FSU and all of the great players that they’ve had there while he’s been coaching. Coach Bowden told me he would be honored if I could come and join that list of players.”

And along the way maybe make some history.

“That did come up,” Sims said.

Sims, however, has taken a cautious approach to the recruiting process and kept a lot of his feels about teams to himself, including potential leanings and favorites.

He’s still very interested in Auburn, Georgia and Florida State and is set to check out South Beach this weekend and see what Miami is all about. Then Florida State gets its chance on January 31.

“I’m hoping to have it narrowed down to the final three after next week,” he said.

And with FSU getting that last visit, you can count on the Noles, where he has strong family ties with, to be in that final three. But who else?

“That’d ruin the fun, wouldn’t it,” Sims chuckled.