ErnestSimms

Explosive breakaway speed makes him a threat to score any time he has his hands on the ball ? Begins the fall as the starter at the ?H? receiver, a position he is likely to share with fellow senior Aaron Boone ? Has played in 26 regular-season games with three starts.

2001 (Junior): Played in all 11 games, starting twice ? Caught 16 passes for 218 yards, a 13.6-yard average, and one touchdown ? Made a career-high six receptions, good for 75 yards, against Florida ? Hauled in a 38-yard TD at Mississippi State

2000 (Sophomore): Originally projected to redshirt, but injuries pressed him into service and he played the last seven games ? Totaled 10 receptions for 168 yards and two touchdowns ? Also rushed four times for 48 yards ? Averaged 21.8 yards on eight kickoff returns ? Enjoyed his best game against his homestate school, Georgia ? Caught a short pass and weaved 86 yards for a touchdown against the Bulldogs, the fifth-longest pass play in UK history ? Started against Vanderbilt and caught a TD pass.

1999 (Freshman): Played in eight games ? Caught six passes for 62 yards ? Caught two for 29 yards against Connecticut, including a 20-yarder that was his longest ? Returned three kickoffs for a healthy average of 25 yards per return ? His long return was 32 yards against Connecticut.

High School: First-team all-state by the Georgia Football Magazine, second-team all-state by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, and All-Middle Georgia his senior season at Houston County HS in Warner Robins, Ga. ? Senior-year stats include 226 carries for 1,653 yards, 7.3 per carry, and 21 touchdowns ? Led the region in rushing yardage and set the school single-season rushing record ? Showed his ability to catch the ball with 19 receptions for 271 yards and three TDs ? Career stats feature 4,739 yards on 672 carries, 7.1 yards per attempt, and 56 touchdowns ? Caught 43 passes for 808 yards and nine TDs ? Had three punt returns for touchdowns and two kickoff returns for touchdowns during his career ? Four-year letterman and three-year starter, helping Houston County reach the playoffs each of his last two seasons ? One of the state?s top 25 recruits according to the Macon Telegraph and one of the top 50 according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution ? Coached by Doug Johnson, who called Simms ?the fastest kid I?ve had in 22 years of coaching? ? A four-year letterman in track, running the 100- and 200-meter dashes ? Went to the state meet in both events ? Set region records with times of 10.28 seconds in the 100 and 21.25 in the 200 ? Also has been clocked at 4.26 seconds in the 40-yard dash ? Member of the ROTC, Future Homemakers of America, and the prayer club ? Also volunteered to work with physically challenged classmates at his school ? Chose Kentucky over South Carolina, Louisville, Georgia Tech, and Georgia Southern.

Personal: Full name is Ernest Lee Simms ? Born 7-19-80 in Macon, Ga. ? Son of Ernest Lee Johnson and Phyllis Moss ? Has three cousins who played football at Fort Valley State ? Major is family and consumer sciences.

The Cats? Cause: Participated in the UK Schoolhouse Rock academic pep rally for fourth- and fifth-grade students (2001, 2002).

Simms Career StatisticsYear Position  G-GS Rec. Yds. Avg. TD Long KOR Yds. Avg.1999 Wide Rec.  8-0   6   62  10.3  0  20   3   75  25.02000 Wide Rec.  7-1  10  168  16.8  2  86   8  174  21.82001 Wide Rec. 11-2  16  218  13.6  1  38   3   42  14.0Totals         26-3  32  448  14.0  3  86  14  291  20.8

Simms Game-By-Game Statistics2001Opponent Rec. Yds. TDLouisville 1 14 0Ball State 1 38 0Florida 6 75 0Mississippi 1 4 0South Carolina 0 0 0Louisiana State 1 1 0Georgia 0 0 0Mississippi State 2 40 1Vanderbilt 1 15 0Tennessee 1 17 0Indiana 0 0 0Totals 16 218 1