Offseason Over, ‘Noles Ready For Miami

It's been an especially tough summer for Bobby Bowden and his No. 12-ranked Florida State Seminoles. You'd think getting rid of a huge headache like Chris Rix would be beneficial to FSU's program. But when the pre-season rolled around, a bigger headache awaited the winningest coach in NCAA history.

That bigger headache came in the form of a deranged semi-nude Wyatt Sexton prancing around the streets of Tallahassee in the wee hours of the summer morning claiming to police officers that he was god. It sounded like something made for a corny football movie like Varsity Blues. But this was real life.

Then it came to pass that Sexton hadn't just had a night of indiscretion, but that he really was quite ill. His form of lime's disease was so advanced that Sexton had to be hospitalized and he will have to sit out the entire 2005 football season. Sexton had been to the Bonaroo music festival the week before, a three-day Woodstock-esque outdoor concert. His attendance at the festival prompted accusations of drug use as an explanation for his strange behavior. Instead of the brown acid being the culprit, however, it turned out to be the brown insect: the tick.

So just when Bowden thought that he would be giving the ball to an experienced quarterback in his season-opener against their hated rival, No. 8 Miami, he was back to square one. Bowden is in the same position he was when Chris Rix's career with the Seminoles started — an inexperienced freshman making the most important decisions on the field. A rookie as the field general. For the Seminoles' sake, for Xavier Lee and Drew Weatherford's sake, and for the sake of every Seminole fan, let's hope these freshmen have better adaptability than Rix.

Rix's tenure with the Florida State Seminoles was one long tumultuous ride. From his inception, he was deemed the legacy to Chris Weinke's empire. He was going to be the savior that led the Seminoles into their next era of glory. He was going to make everyone forget about that embarrassing loss to Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl in 2000. He was quick, athletic, and had a cannon.

But something went wrong in between Rix's first flip into the Doke Campbell Stadium end zone against Alabama-Birmingham and his final snap three years later against West Virginia. Rix never grew, he never adapted to collegiate secondary coverage, he never got smarter. He never became the quarterback that everybody thought he would be. And as a result, the FSU program struggled through four seasons, losing an unheard of total of 15 games.

Some people chalk Rix's failures to Bobby's son, Jeff Bowden, the Seminoles' offensive coordinator. Fans have been calling for Jeff's head on a stick for quite a while now. Other people just blame Rix. He wasn't exactly the most popular guy after all of his antics. He had to sit out a bowl game against Georgia because he missed a religion exam, which left Anquan Boldin as the starting QB. He has more campus parking tickets than Newman from Seinfeld. And his pretty boy, gold cross-wearing, squeaky-clean image left some of us FSU alums (i.e. me) wanting to throw up.

But let's not dwell on past problems. The 'Noles have enough problems ahead of themselves. Bowden finally made a decision on Tuesday between his two freshmen QBs. He decided to go with Drew Weatherford over Xavier Lee, probably influenced by Lee's recent shoulder injury. Weatherford is a 6-3, 220 lb. hoss out of the little-known high school Land O' Lakes. He has been prone to injury in his very short collegiate career. In his only play from scrimmage last season against North Carolina, Weatherford sprained his right ankle and had to finish the season as a medical red shirt. Then, in spring practices in April, he suffered another injury to his ankle that required surgery.

But the news isn't all bad about the former All-Florida first-team QB. As a junior at Land O' Lakes high, Drew threw for 2,494 yards on 151-215, he had 27 touchdowns, and only 2 interceptions. As a senior, Drew didn't fall off with 2,639 yards on 172-of-341 attempts and 20 touchdowns.

But as promising as Drew seems, Xavier Lee seems that much better. Xavier Lee is 6-4, 227 pounds, and built like a brick outhouse. At Seabreeze high school in Daytona Beach, Lee became the state of Florida's all-time leader in passing yards with 9,082, completions with 549 and touchdowns with 98. He was Mr. Football in 2003, when he rushed for 567 yards on 104 carries with 10 touchdowns.

Despite all of their accolades, neither man really left a great impression on Bowden during scrimmages. Lee's best game was April 9th when he went for 140 yards on 7-of-13 passing and 3 touchdowns. Drew Weatherford's best was the first scrimmage when he went 7-of-8 for 64 yards. Weatherford will be the starter against Miami, but Lee will be looming not far behind on the sidelines. It will be interesting to see if Bowden sticks with Weatherford for the entire game if he begins to struggle against the powerful 'Canes' defense.

But the quarterback position is not the only one that has seen its troubles this offseason. The defense has had its run-ins with the law, academics, and injuries, as well. The biggest blow to the team this season has been the loss of first-team All-ACC cornerback Antonio Cromartie. Cromartie led the team, and was second in the nation last season with 4 interceptions. He was lost for the season in spring practices with a knee injury. Academics claimed another one of the Seminoles' starters on defense. Projected starting nose guard Clifton Dickson was ruled academically ineligible earlier this year.

And, of course, what would a Florida State season be without a little trouble with the 5-O. Keeping with the tradition of kicker Sebastian Janikowski (bribery), wide receivers Laveranues Coles and Peter Warrick (grand theft), linemen Darnell Dockett (grand theft), quarterback Adrian McPherson (gambling on his own game), and linebacker Travis Johnson (sexual assault), among many others, the Seminoles added two more players to their list of deviants.

Linebackers A.J Nicholson and Ernie Sims were both arrested in separate incidents over the summer. Nicholson was charged with a first-time DUI offense. And Sims was charged with disorderly conduct stemming from a domestic fight with his live-in girlfriend. Sims got off with two days of community service and Nicholson got 50 hours of community service, plus three days in a Sheriff's work program. And sticking with typical FSU fashion, both have been cleared by Bobby Bowden to play Monday night against Miami.

Despite the mountain of problems facing the Florida State football program this season and really for the past four or five seasons, the sky is still the limit for this team's potential. As usual, the 'Noles are jam-packed with NFL talent. Although youthful, both Weatherford and Lee have the skill to be the next Weinke or Charlie Ward. The tailback tandem of Lorenzo Booker and Leon Washington will leave defenses begging for mercy. The two could be the team's best asset this season. Last year, they combined for 1,838 yards last season on 311 carries and ran for 11 touchdowns.

The wide receiver core lacks that superstar of old with the departures the last few years of guys like Anquan Boldin (Cardinals), Javon Walker (Packers), Talmon Gardner, Peter Warrick (Seahawks), and Marvin 'Snoop' Mennis (Dolphins).

This season, the freshman quarterbacks will be looking for Willie Reid, FSU's talented PR/WR/RB, to be their main target. Although Reid has great speed and the ability to find holes in the defense, he has never been a go to receiver. And on third-down when the freshmen need someone to go to, he will have to step up his play.

Freshman Fred Rouse and sophomore De'Cody Fagg will also help out at the wideout position. Rouse was considered to be the top-rated receiver in the nation in this year's recruiting class by most publications. He had 608 yards at 8 touchdowns at Tallahassee Lincoln high school in his senior season. The offensive line has gotten a facelift from new coach Mark McHale. The line returns five starters from a disappointing year last year.

And despite the loss of Cromartie and Dickson from last year's seventh-ranked D, they still promise to be stingy. The linebacker trio of Buster Davis, A.J. Nicholson, and leading tackler from last year Ernie Sims promises to give ACC offenses fits again this season. But the big question marks will be in the secondary and on the line. J.R. Bryant and freshman Tony Carter will try to hold down the fort at cornerback. While free safety Pat Watkins and strong safety Kyler Hall will lock down the rest of the secondary.

Monday night will be a huge test for FSU. This marks the second time these two ACC teams will square off for their opener. Miami has defeated FSU six straight times, and the 'Canes would love to do it again this year in Doke. Miami is coming off of a fairly disappointing season, with upsets against North Carolina and Virginia Tech. Miami has a few question marks at major positions this year, but, as always, they are a major powerhouse with a formidable defense and an electrifying offense.

The defense will be led by defensive tackle Orien Harris and strong safety Greg Threat, who had 139 tackles and 3 interceptions last season. The offense will be headed by 6-5 sophomore Kyle Wright who has only taken a few snaps in his career. Their starting tailback, junior Tyrone Moss is also inexperienced. In two years with the 'Canes, he's rushed for 856 yards and 11 touchdowns while being buried behind Willis McGahee and Frank Gore. The wildcard in the game will be corner back, wide receiver, and kick returner Devin Hester. He is so versatile and lightning-quick he can shift a game into Miami's favor in seconds.

When it all goes down, I think Miami's six-game win steak against the 'Noles comes to a halt Monday night. I think the FSU running attack will take over and will open up the passing game for Weatherford. The defense should be able to get to the youngster Wright and cause him to make mistakes. It won't be pretty, both defenses will create turnovers. But in the end, I believe the 'Noles will finally end the losing streak against the hated 'Canes.