Monday Practice Report: Preparing for Virginia

Doak Campbell Stadium is the site of the Raycom/Lincoln Financial Sports ACC Game of the Week as Florida State welcomes Virginia to Tallahassee for a noon kick-off on Saturday, Nov. 4th.

• The Seminoles worked out in shorts and helmets for 10 periods Monday night, starting with agility drills before going into special teams and individual position drills. Most of periods were spent with the offense and defense working against the scout teams.

• The television networks will exercise their six-day option for the Florida State vs. Wake Forest football game with an announcement of game time coming this Sunday, November 5th.


Head Coach Bobby Bowden

(on Drew Weatherford)

"We've got Drew in a boot and he'll have that boot on today and have it on tomorrow. I guess the biggest hope is that he will be able to play Saturday. I guess we won't know until we get the boot off whether he can practice the rest of the week. That's how we stand now."

"The biggest hope is that he can play (Saturday) but we won't know the answer to that until Wednesday. Xavier would have to start. I really didn't want to say that, but might as well. The fact that the doctor has put im (Drew) in a boot for two days and then to just try to find out is he is going to play? My big hope right now is that he will be available."

(on availability of other players)

"De'Cody (Fagg) won't be ready this week, Geno (Hayes) is probably still out a week at least. I believe (Jae) Thaxton will be out as well. He tried to play last week and get back to where he used to being hit but I don't think he can do it."

(on how Xavier Lee will play over a period of time)

"I don't worry about that. I saw what he did. I saw what he is capable of doing and I was very pleased with it."

(on comfort level of having Xavier play after he's had one start)

"Well, the good thing is you've seen him in a game. Up to then, you're just not sure. You had that second quarter against Duke and you've had other times but he might be the kind of guy that you give him the ball and say okay it's your game. Some pitchers are that way I understand. It might be a good sign. You don't know what the future holds but thank goodness Xavier's here."

(on the season)

"It's been one of those years, like I told them (the team), you didn't lose a game; time ran out. We've all heard that expression. We've been in every game right down to the wire. Could of won it and we didn't. First time I've been through that because in the past, my past, plenty of times I've lost four games in my career, and seven and eight games but they're usually blowouts. These have all been close games."

Offensive Coordinator Jeff Bowden

(on Xavier Lee's play Saturday)

"He (Xavier Lee) looked like a totally different person in that game. He sat in the pocket; he never seemed rattled or flustered. I didn't think he rushed things; he just looked like a poised kid out there which was totally different from any other game that he's been in there. I couldn't put a finger on why that was. If I had been him and got told just before kickoff that I was going to start, I would have been a little more nervous, but that was not his reaction. I expected a little more nervousness early."

(on the upcoming week and decisions regarding the quarterback)

"The number one thing we have to do right now is find out how healthy Drew (Weatherford) is right now. So we won't know that until we see him running around on the field. You got to throw off that right foot and that is where you have to put all that pressure, so it's one of those wait and see type of things."

(on running the ball)

"We ran the ball better, and there is no question how much that helps us. All of a sudden our play action passes were better. You really need to be able to do both. Until we can start backing that up from week to week there are going to be games where they aren't going to allow it. You can see it throughout this league that there are teams that are going to give you fits. And when we can't run the ball, we had better be able to throw it. When we can't throw the ball, we had better be able to run it. So you have to be prepared to do both. The fact that we were able to run the ball pretty well was big. The most encouraging thing about our running game was that we had 10-, five-, six- and seven-yard runs that when we get a little better, they become 10-, 15- and 20-yard runs. And that is how close we are. That's not every time, but we are getting close."

Defensive Coordinator Mickey Andrews

(on the wind during the Maryland game)

"The weather had an effect on the game. It changed the team on offense as far as how much throwing. Probably the kicking game was what it affected the most. If you were kicking the ball into the wind it would just knock it down. Whoever received with the wind in their face didn't get a chance to return, while the team returning with the wind had the ball knocked down and would get a chance to return."

(on the number of starters on special teams)

"You'd rather have none. If we're scoring a lot of points, we will be having to cover a lot of kickoffs. Our defensive people play about 50 percent of the game, so we'd rather not have them out there. Some people, however many plays they play, that is it for them. What does that mean? We have to be in better conditioned. You have to be better conditioned mentally because you have to fight through being tired. You are going to have more to learn. There is more to learn than just being on offense or defense if you are going to be on special teams. You are involved in a lot more meetings, meaning you miss out on other meetings."

(on play of Rodney Gallon at linebacker in Maryland game)

"Rodney Gallon played an excellent game. He made some excellent plays. Here is a guy who was really better than he thought he was and it took him to this point to go out there and play like it. He made a few key plays and had a very solid performance. That was encouraging; it was the first time he has stepped up and played at that level."

Quarter back Drew Weatherford

"Well it was obviously an unfortunate situation that I wasn't able to go on Saturday. We didn't find out until Wednesday in practice that I had actually injured a tendon in my ankle. We tried to let it rest on Wednesday and Thursday. I didn't do anything on those two days. I went in on Thursday, got an MRI and an X-Ray and had the doctors take a look at it. They saw a lot of inflammation and swelling around my tendon, but they didn't see any damage to it. They are hoping that it's just a strained tendon rather than a torn one. But there is definitely discomfort and inflammation. The coaches thought on Saturday night that the best case scenario was to let me rest and give Xavier (Lee) the opportunity to come in. I was only about 70 percent and I wouldn't have been able to beat the rush or run at all. I would have loved to go out there and give it my best effort but the coaches thought it was best to give Xavier the nod."

(on how ankle issue happened)

"It happened on Wednesday just after we finished up quarterback drills. I just planted on my right foot and turned and I did something to aggravate it or make it flare up. We aren't really sure what happened, but I wasn't able to play."

Quarterback Xavier Lee

(on being named the starter for Saturday's game)

"I going to just prepare the same way I did last week, just work really hard in practice. Everything carries over from the practice field to the game so I am really going to work hard at that. I am going to watch film that much harder and correct my mistakes from last game and try not to make them this game and move forward and play it play-by-play."

"I wasn't 100 percent sure (that he would get the start once he saw Drew in a boot), I hate to jump to conclusions. I hate to see him go down like that but it's an opportunity for me and I am going to try to run with it. Drew's a great player and I respect him a lot."

Linebacker Rodney Gallon

(on how it felt to get a lot of playing time at linebacker in Maryland game.)

"I just felt really comfortable out there. They put me in there. I've played a lot of special teams and I was just trying to do my best out there. I had the boys behind me, you know Buster and Lawrence. I'd been practicing hard all week and I've just waiting for a long time for this opportunity to come and I just went ahead and try to take the chance when I got it. I just try to do my best."

"It's been probably since high school that I've gotten that many snaps but I just thank God that I was in there. I just want to do whatever I can to help the team win. We've been through our ups and downs and I just want to be a big part of us getting back to winning."