Leeps Talks Clemson

"The Secret Is There Is No Secret"

"The secret is there is no secret. The secret is it's going to be a lot of hard work. It's us getting back to playing football the way we need to play football, and the way Florida State's played football around here for a long time."
FSU Offensive Coordinator Jimbo Fisher discussing the "secret" of winning football

Grobe Gets 10 Year Contract

Georgia Tech's logjam at the quarterback position has loosened with sophomore Jonathan Garner's decision to leave the team. Coach Chan Gailey said Garner remains in school and plans to transfer elsewhere after the semester ends.

Taylor Bennett, who played well in the Gator Bowl in his second career start after senior Reggie Ball was declared academically ineligible, will be the No. 1 quarterback when spring practice starts Thursday.

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Clemson starting free safety Michael Hamlin had surgery to repair a stress factor in a foot last Thursday. He will miss at least the first half of spring practice, which begins Saturday, March 10. The injury is not considered serious and he will certainly be healthy for Clemson's season opener against Florida State on September 3.
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It looks like coach Jim Grobe won't be leaving Wake Forest anytime soon.
Grobe signed a 10-year contract , keeping him with the school he led to an improbable Atlantic Coast Conference football championship last season. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, team spokesman Mike Vest said.

FSU Player Profile: Gary Cismesia

FSU fans have heard "Wide Right" and "Wide Left" far too many times over the years. The past season was somewhat indicative of that problem as Gary Cismesia did not set the world on fire with his kicking. For the 2006 season, he ended up with a seventy percent field goal percentage that placed him sixth in the ACC. That was the same percentage that he had in 2005.The one thing that he does not lack is confidence. Now if he could translate that into increasing his percentage.

He will begin his senior year as the starting kicker for the Noles.Cismesia came to FSU from Lakewood Ranch High School in 2004 as the No. 15 rated kicker in the nation by Rivals.com.He garnered All-America First-Team honors from Kicking.com. Perhaps 2007 will be his year. The one thing that fans can wish for is that he is not put into a game winning situation.

"They Are Just Haters"

"They run their mouths a good bit up there. A lot of the guys that do it are guys that wanted to come to Florida State but couldn't. That's their problem. Some of them are just haters."
Former Seminole Alex Barron and now St. Louis Rams offensive tackle regarding fellow players who talk smack about FSU

FSU Denies Warren Request For Release

Former Florida State tight end Brandon Warren has been denied his request for a release from his scholarship that would allow him to transfer to the University of Tennessee without having to pay his own way.

Warren's mother, Deidre, lashed out at the decision.

"I am very disappointed in Florida State right now," she said. "I guess I thought better of Coach Bowden."

FSU acknowledged its denial of the release but noted that because of privacy laws, FSU officials nor Bowden could comment.

Without a release from FSU, this means that Warren will have to pay his way to Tennessee next year. And to be eligible to play next season he must receive three different waivers from the NCAA – including two that are academic related. By withdrawing from FSU during the spring semester, he will not earn the minimum six hours required of student-athletes during a semester or the combined 18 hours for the fall and spring semesters required by the NCAA.

Any NCAA Division I football player who transfers to another Division I school must sit out the next season unless he is granted a hardship waiver by the NCAA. Warren’s mother, Deidre, underwent surgery to remove a cancerous kidney in 2005.

FSU athletic department policy allows for Warren to appeal to the school’s NCAA faculty representative Joe Beckham. A hearing would be set up and Warren and the FSU football program would present their sides to Beckham and non-athletic department personnel. Their decision will be final.

"We're definitely going to appeal to somebody," Deidre Warren said.

All's Fair In QB Race

With spring practice fast approaching, one of the big storylines will be that of QB. Will it be Drew or Lee? Bobby Bowden at the end of the 2006 season had annointed Weatherford as the 2007 starter. However, things have changed since then. An overhaul of the coaching staff and the hiring of Jimbo Fisher as offensive coordinator has changed the calculus.

According to Fisher,“It will be a fair competition. We'll give them all a fair shake.” We shall see.

WWDD?

Do you know this man? Well, it is North Carolina athletic director Dick Baddour wearing some bling and making the rounds at last week's Atlantic Coast Conference women's swimming and diving championships.

Supposedly someone on the swim team gave this to Dick and asked him to wear it for good luck. Or that's his story and he's sticking to it.

Wonder if Dave Hart would wear the bling?

Results of Poll

Results of the poll: What grade would you give the 2007 football recruiting class? was "C" at 47.2%. Second highest answer was "B" at 30.6%.

New Poll

The new poll question:Should FSU grant tight end Brandon Warren his release?

Ranking The ACC Coastal Division Coaches

Here are my purely subjective rankings of the ACC coaches in the Atlantic Division. It is based on won/loss record in the ACC, ACC championships, national championships, and overall coaching ability. So here goes:

1.Frank Beamer(Va Tech)- Year in and year out, Frank Beamer has great teams. Has a tough defensive and special teams philosophy.

2.Chan Gailey(Ga. Tech)- Got to the ACC Championship in 2006. Will be interesting to see how he does without superstar Calvin Johnson.

3.Butch Davis(NC)- New coach Butch Davis had mixed record at Miami and not so good in pros. He had a good recruiting effort so now he will have to produce.

4.Randy Shannon(Miami)- Although he did not have head coaching experience, he was responsible for Canes defense. He should do well.

5.Al Groh(Va)-With a 5-7 record last year, Groh is on the hot seat. This is a test year for him.

6.Ted Roof(Duke)-Duke football is what it is and Roof has very little room for error.

Colorado Completes Hire

BYU offensive line coach Jeff Grimes has been hired for the same position at Colorado, reuniting him with CU head coach Dan Hawkins. Grimes, 38, replaces Chris Strausser, who resigned Feb. 8 to return to Boise State.

Grimes was an offensive line coach at Boise State in 2000, when Hawkins was an assistant.The next three years, Grimes held the same position at Arizona State while also serving as the running game coordinator. There, he worked closely with current CU offensive coordinator Mark Helfrich, who joined Hawkins' staff in Boulder last season.

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A month and a half after being hired, Alabama football coach Nick Saban has purchased a home for roughly $2.9 million on the northeast side of Tuscaloosa, according to a Birmingham newspaper.

Saban, who was the Miami Dolphins coach in 2004 and 2005, moved out of his home outside Fort Lauderdale, Fla., on Feb. 7, national signing day. His belongings were packed into an 18-wheeler with "Crimson Tide football" on the front, the same one used to transport equipment and uniforms for road games.

FSU Retro Look Back: Jamie Dukes

The offensive linemen are a hot topic these days with the hiring of Offensive Lines coach Rick Trickett. One of the best offensive linemen to play at FSU was the highly talented and personable Jamie Dukes.

Dukes garnered a ton of awards in his playing days at FSU and was:1982 Football News - Freshman 1st Team All-American;1985 Walter Camp - 1st Team All-American Football Writers Association;and 1st Team All-American Associated Press.

Dukes played four years at FSU from 1982-1985 at center and offensive guard.He played in the Gator Bowl,Peach Bowl,Citrus Bowl,and1985 Gator Bowl.

After playing at FSU, Dukes played in the NFL for ten years and was inducted into the FSU Football Hall of Fame in 1991.He currently is a regular analyst/commentator on the NFL Network.

2007 Look Ahead: Tight Ends

Ending the 2006 season, one of the bright spots was at the tight end position. Brandon Warren was fifth on the team with 301 yards receiving. Caz Piurowski was the other tight end and looked promising also. All that has changed. Warren is back in Tennessee and Caz is now on the offensive line.

Now Charlie Graham enters next month's spring drills as the only scholarship player working solely at tight end. Piurowski has been told he will have to help some at tight end in the spring. D.J. Norris, who moved to tight end from defensive end, won't be cleared for contact work in the spring. What looked promising is now a work in progress for the 2007 season.

Ranking The ACC Atlantic Division Coaches

So here are my purely subjective rankings of the ACC coaches in the Atlantic Division. It is based on won/loss record in the ACC, ACC championships, national championships, and overall coaching ability. So here goes:

1. Bobby Bowden (FSU)- How can you not put him at the top? He has won two national championships, 12 ACC championships, and has won the most college football games in Div-1 football.

2. Tom O'Brien (NC State)- This is his first year at NC State after becoming the winningest coach in Boston College history. He is a consistient winner and shows great coaching ability.

3. Ralph Friedgen (Maryland)- Friedgen had a 9-4 record in 2006 after two terrible years. I think he is overrated as a coach but he has won an ACC Championship so he is probably where he belongs in the rankings.

4. Tommy Bowden (Clemson)- This is a coach on the hot seat. He likes putting his foot in his mouth and is known as the choker. Highly overrated as a coach.

5. Jim Grobe (Wake Forest)- The question here is he a one hit wonder? He has definitely been able to coach up players that should not be competing with better teams. This year will be the test.

6. Jeff Jagodzinski (Boston College)- He does not have head coaching experience and comes to the Eagles from being the offensive coordinator at Green Bay. He should inherit a good BC team so we wil have to see how he does in 2007.

Five Noles Invited To NFL Combine

The NFL Combine is being held this week in Indianapolis. This is the assemblage of college football players and NFL reps who assess the talent prior to the NFL draft in late April.

Where some of those players are drafted and how much money they earn in their first contract will depend largely on how they perform for pro scouts and coaches during the NFL Scouting Combine that runs through February 28th. All in all, five Seminoles have been invited to Indianapolis to participate. They are: Lorenzo Booker, Buster Davis, Lawrence Timmons, Chris Davis, and Mario Henderson.

Warren Saga Continues

As has been reported previously,former Florida State freshman All-American tight end Brandon Warren has officially asked for his release from FSU. Bobby Bowden, who is in Mexico at the moment, has said nothing about whether or not he'll grant the release to Warren.

Warren left Tallahassee February 6 to his home in Alcoa, TN indicating that he was homesick. At issue for Bowden, who has traditionally allowed releases to schools other than Florida, are the facts that Warren left in the middle of the semester (and thereby not honoring his letter of intent) and he hosted highly sought-after recruit Rae Sykes while still a member of the Seminole team. It is interesting that Sykes later signed with Tennessee, the school Warren wants to transfer to.

If Warren is not granted a release, he will have to pay his own way to Tennessee for a year. Even if he is released, he will have to sit out the NCAA-mandated year for transferring, unless the NCAA grants him a hardship for the situation with his mother. Another hitch for Warren is that he left in mid-semester and didn't have time to enroll at UT, so he won't have the credit hours to play next fall unless the NCAA forgives that requirement. And we all know how forgiving the NCAA can be.

Sims Excited About New Offense For 2007

Former North Florida Christian standout Marcus Sims is having to adjust to a new running-backs coach,Dexter Carter, a former FSU and NFL tailback. “His experience (as a player) will help us a lot,” Sims said. “There's a lot to learn from him. We're still getting to know him.”

Sims has watched film of West Virginia where new offensive line coach Rick Trickett's group helped Steve Slaton rush for nearly 1,800 yards last season. “That gets me excited,” Sims said. “(That system) is going to work out well here with the running backs that we have.

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Some of D'Vontrey Richardson's football teammates missed seeing the freshman center fielder hit his first home run as a Seminoles baseball player against Florida Tuesday night. They had a good excuse. It was too late for the Seminoles football players as FSU had mat drills that began at 5:45 a.m. the next day.

Deion Gets Involved

If you recall,Noel Devine was the highly recruited back from North Fort Myers, Florida who was considering West Virginia and the Noles. He was considered to be the number one back and had verbally committed at the last minute to West Virginia. That was before his mentor, Deion Sanders intervened.

Deion,in encouraging Devine to delay committing to a school,had taken a swipe at his alma mater, FSU. He said,"I love my former school, but I wouldn't recommend the Seminoles. Why? Their record the past few years, their poor offense and their inconsistency at quarterback. You want me to give my blessing to an undersized running back in a situation like that?" Gee, I am glad Deion doesn't hate his former school.

Devine is now expected to enroll at Hargrave Military School in Chatham, Va. this fall. Sanders has been quoted in newspapers as saying that his love for Devine is as pure as "a child's love." We shall wait to see what happens next. When Deion is involved, it is always interesting.

Colorado Getting A Bubble

Alabama coach Nick Saban completed his first Crimson Tide staff with the hiring of Curt Cignetti as recruiting coordinator and wide receivers coach. Cignetti formerly coached tight ends and quarterbacks at North Carolina State and also served as recruiting coordinator.

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The University of Colorado football program is going to be getting an indoor practice facility with turf and more space than the field house on campus can provide. The Buffs new indoor facility will be a bubble, much like the one used by the Denver Broncos at Dove Valley.The normal outdoor practice field at CU in Boulder is still covered in snow weeks before spring practice is set to start.

Miami Completes Its Coaching Staff

Maryland coach Ralph Friedgen will resume his role as offensive coordinator for the 2007 season, a school spokesman confirmed yesterday.

NCAA rules prohibit football staffs from having more than nine assistants, and because Friedgen hired Kevin Lempa to replace former secondary coach Tim Banks, who left to become defensive coordinator at Central Michigan, there are no vacancies left on staff.

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North Carolina was the surprise winner of the ACC recruiting race this year, so it's no surprise that the Tar Heels have two coaches on Rivals.com's list of top 10 recruiters in the conference.

Led by linebackers coach Tommy Thigpen, the North Carolina staff had a breakthrough year.

Thigpen recruited UNC's biggest signee in years in defensive tackle Marvin Austin who had widely been thought to be going to the Noles. Thigpen also had a hand in landing Ryan Houston, Albert Craddock and Quantavius Sturdivant. Thigpen's efforts played a big part in facilitating a smooth transition from John Bunting to Butch Davis.
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Coach Randy Shannon completed his 2007 coaching staff with the hiring of former Hurricanes All-American linebacker Micheal Barrow as linebackers coach and Wesley McGriff as secondary coach. In addition, Tom Walton, who was the team's defensive backs coach the last three seasons, has been promoted to defensive coordinator.

Micheal Barrow,36, played for the Hurricanes from 1989-92 and was named All-American in 1992. He was the middle linebacker on national championship teams in 1989 and 1991. He was a Butkus Award runnerup in 1992 and finished seventh in Heisman Trophy voting that season. He was also the Big East Defensive Player of the Year and finished his career as the third-leading tackler in school history.

Wesley McGriff was considered one of the Big 12's top recruiters. McGriff comes to Miami after a few weeks on the staff at Kansas State and four years at Baylor, where he served as recruiting coordinator and cornerbacks coach under Guy Morriss. An extremely versatile coach, McGriff has mentored players on both sides of the ball during his 17-year career, including two stints as a defensive coordinator.

Mat Drills Proceeding

Rick Trickett, the former Marine Corps veteran, is trying to whip his offensive linemen into shape. Maybe he is harkening back to his recruit days at boot camp. Whatever the inspiration, it seems the O linemen are beginning to march in step to his regimen.The mantra is being strong and in shape instead of being big. Players like Frady have dropped over 20 pounds. Others like Dumaka Atkins are down to 293 pounds from 307 pounds.The bottom line is that there is a fundamental change in philosophy for the linemen this year.

Hart Finally Speaks Out

In what could be termed as too little too late, Florida State athletic director Dave Hart said today that the FSU coaches' recruitment of Spartanburg (S.C.) Broome wide receiver Markish Jones did not violate NCAA or ACC rules.

Responding to comments made by Clemson's Tommy Bowden, Hart said, “There has absolutely been no rules broken.” It was disappointing there was an inference otherwise.”

Contrary to earlier reports, FSU apparently does have the right to appeal. FSU's interpretation is that the letter is not binding until it is received along with grant-in-aid information from the school, and all documents are properly signed

2006 Clock Changes On The Way Out

Two controversial rules, 3-2-5 and 3-2-5-e, are destined to be scrapped. The Football Rules Committee put in the changes for the 2006 season to help speed up games that were often three hours or more.

Rule 3-2-5 dictated that the clock start when the ball is free kicked and rule 3-2-5-e, the more controversial, ordered that, after a possession change, the clock would start on the officials' ready-for-play signal.

The rules had a significant impact on speed of play and drew harsh criticism from many of the game's high-profile coaches.

Bobby Bowden was one of the most vociferous opponents of the clock changes. Bowden had said,"I don't know many coaches that are too happy with the new rules. They're trying to speed the game up. All they're speeding up are [coaching] firings."

The NCAA's football rules committee decided last week to repeal the controversial clock rule changes it made last year and tweaked rules to keep games shorter while still restoring the 14 plays a game lost last season to the new clock rules in Division I-A. Last year's changes enraged fans and coaches, who complained that actual playing time was sacrificed to make games more television-friendly.

The changes - which still must be approved by the NCAA's playing rules oversight panel March 12 - would eliminate controversial Rule 3-2-5e and restore the timing rules that governed play in 2005. Mike Clark, the chair of the rules committee and coach at Division III Bridgewater (Va.) College, said the 14 minutes shaved off each game by 3-2-5e would be eliminated by taking away dead time."After reviewing the data … we didn't think the trade [of actual plays for time saved] was worth the exchange," Clark said in a teleconference.

College Recruiting And The New Technology

I must confess that I do not know how much technology is used by FSU in the football recruiting process. I am pretty sure however that Bobby Bowden does not bother with those "new fangled" gadgets like a Blackberry and/or text messaging.

Universities and coaches are adapting to the new changes in technology. Some universities and coaches are utilizing technology to their full advantage. Schools like Georgia Tech have even created a web site for their football recruits that are like video games with all the bells and whistles.

Coaches like former Gator and now Illinois head coach Ron Zook utilize technology like text messaging to the extreme. Zook sent more than 95 million kilobytes of text messages from his BlackBerry since the contact period began Nov. 26. Zook and Florida's Urban Meyer are known as the masters of text messaging.

This new form of technology has impacted coaches as well as athletes. Auburn defensive line coach Don Dunn, 53, said it's been a challenge to learn the new technology. He's used an older phone, but will get a Blackberry soon.

"It will take me five years to learn how to use that," Dunn joked. "I'm not a big phone guy. I'm still old-fashioned. I like to write a hand-written note or thank-you note."

Text messaging is a relatively new phenomenon. Darryl Richard, who signed with Georgia Tech in 2004, said only a few recruiters sent him electronic messages. But now it’s widely seen as out of control, not just by prospects but by the coaches who recruit them.

The NCAA has limits on the number of phone calls that can be made to recruits but that does not apply to text messages. The NCAA allows one phone call a week from college coaches to high school seniors. It has no rule regarding the number of text messages a recruit can receive.

Thus, more football and basketball coaches are text messaging recruits. Coaches still send letters and make phone calls, but some say the short messages transmitted from a cell phone or handheld device are more effective than traditional recruiting tools in communicating with prized prospects."It's an instant letter or note to a recruit," said Peterson, the recruiting coordinator for the Buckeyes. "As prevalent as cell phones and text messages are, it's a tool that is definitely being used across the country."

Antwane Greenlee who signed with the Noles in February was excited when he received his first text message from the Mississippi State coaching staff during recruiting season. However, it quickly lost its luster.

The Hardaway, Georgia offensive tackle started receiving more and more text messages. By month's end, the 6-foot-6, 310-pounder had received about 500 text messages from various colleges.And then last spring, Greenlee saw his phone bill.

"It was a lot of fun to receive them," he said. "Then I got my phone bill and it was over by $34 just for text messages and it wasn't as fun." Having experienced the hundreds of messages from coaches, Greenlee has tried to warn some of his younger players. "I told them to change their plan to unlimited," he said. "I also tell them to look for the plan that allows for free text messages."

It's taken some adjustment for coaches, who haven't grown up with the technology like the teenagers they're recruiting. Some have adapted quickly, while others are still learning. As with all new technology, sooner or later even the most stubborn of coaches will have to adapt.

Release Me And Let Me Go

Brandon Warren has done the expected and officially requested his release from Florida State.

Deirdre Warren confirmed this afternoon that her son, who as a freshman tight end ranked fifth in receptions for FSU, asked for his release. According to FSU athletic department policy, that request must be made in writing and must be specific as to the schools the student-athlete wants to transfer to.

Noles Scored Big In Bowl Viewers

Bowl games are big business. Just take a look at the TV ratings for postseason games from Nielsen Media Research.

Even though the Noles did not play in a big bowl in 2006, the Emerald Bowl was the ninth most watched bowl of the bowl season.

My View:Markish Jones Case Produces More Questions Than Answers

The Markish Jones case is very troubling and I believe that FSU should be fighting the ACC ruling. In my opinion, I do not think any court would interpret the Letter of Intent (LOI) in the manner the ACC ruled. So let's ask some questions:

What was the ruling by the ACC?

The ACC said that Markish Jones was obligated to Clemson because he had signed the LOI even though he did not fax it to Clemson. He did however fax a LOI to FSU. According to FSU, ""(our) interpretation the last 10 years is the letter of intent is binding once the institution receives the copy of the letter signed by the player and parent (or guardian) and signed letter grant in-aid with with all the information is filled out."

How ludicrous is this interpretation by the ACC?

Here are some hypotheticals that may illustrate how ludicrous the ACC ruling is:

If a kid executes a LOI in the privacy of his own home with parents as witnesses, then changes his mind, then rips up the LOI, then signs another LOI with another school, does the ACC take the position that the original LOI is binding as to that kid?

What if a kid executes a LOI in front of video cameras at school, then immediately changes his mind and rips up the LOI, then signs another LOI with another school, does the ACC take the position that the original LOI is binding as to that kid?

Sounds ridiculous.

If Jones signed the thing and then ripped it up and never delivered it to Clemson via fax or mail, how can the ACC or NCAA can take that position?

Can FSU appeal the decision?

Apparently, FSU does not have standing to initiate an appeal. However, I believe that FSU should legallychallenge the issue of standing in this case. Also, Markish Jones could appeal. Do you think there is a snowball's chance that he could withstand the pressure from Bowden and Clemson if he chose to appeal the decision?

So what is the reaction of Markish Jones?

His comments are very intersting. Here is what he said."I think this is all for the best and I'm not disappointed at all," Jones said. "I think it's best that I just go ahead and go to Clemson because it's about being around people you're comfortable with."

Jones also added: "I think it's definitely all for the best right now with all the rules and the ACC talking about Florida State getting on some kind of probation and all that. I didn't want to make them go through that or me having to go through that."

This sounds like a kid that is not 100% committed to Clemson. In addition, it sounds as if he was "fed" misinformation by Tommy Bowden or Clemson boosters that he or FSU might get probation for this. Do you think this South Carolina kid had a tremendous amount of pressure applied ? Here again, he was quoted as saying he " didn't want to make them go through that or me having to go through that."

What about the comments of Tommy Bowden?

Tommy Bowden is fighting for his job and apparently will say and do anything to keep it. Bowden took a cheap shot at FSU and his dad. This classless coach said the following, " Obviously it was pretty good work on (Florida State's) part by trying to undermine the rules and regulations of the NLI, but it did not work.”

T.k. Wetherell, Dave Hart, and/or Bobby Bowden should make a very strong statement in regard to this comment by Tommy Bowden. Bowden and Clemson are impugning the most important "brand" in FSU athletics, namely, the FSU football program. To let this comment stand without a response damages the program.

What role did Tommy Bowden and the Clemson boosters have in this appeal?

First, the university has the right to appeal. However, the question is if Tommy Bowden and.or the Clemson boosters pressured Markish Jones. What did they say to him or what did they offer? There should be an NCAA investigation into the actions of the Clemson football program. As I have said before, this is just the tip of the iceberg. There is a lot beneath the surface that needs to see the light of day.

"I Committed Five Times"

“We were in five home visits together, and I committed five times."
New Florida State offensive-line coach Rick Trickett commenting on Bobby Bowden's recruiting abilities

My View:"Tommy Boy"

In the interest of full disclosure, I am not a Tommy Bowden fan. I think he is arrogant and definitely overrated as a coach. Apparently, Clemson is beginning to feel the same way. The 2007 football season will probably determine whether "Tommy Boy" stays or goes.

It seems that "Tommy Boy" loves putting his foot in his mouth. A couple of examples will illustrate the point. After Steve Spurrier was given a raise at South Carolina in order to stop him from interviewing at Alabama, Spurrier,who was 7-5 in 2007,got a nearly $500,000 a year raise." Tommy Boy" then proceeded to say the following.""it's amazing how this thing works because I'm at a place where seven [wins] gets you fired. He's at a place where seven gets you a raise."

Spurrier in his typical fashion quipped,"If Tommy Bowden wants a raise, he can just ask his AD and president if he's as good a coach as Mark Richt, and me, and Fulmer and Tuberville and those other guys. That's the only reason I got a raise. They think I'm that good a coach."

So what else has "Tommy Boy" been saying? Seems that he thinks the academic standards at Clemson are too tough and he is losing football recruits. He has caused such an uproar that the Clemson president has promised a review of the academic standards. What a guy "Tommy Boy" is. He is playing into the football factory mentality and doesn't seem to care. Could it be that he is worried about his job being in jeopardy?

And the last example is Markish Jones. How many think that the Clemson alumni and Bowden did not have a role in convincing Markish Jones to stay at Clemson? I am sure the full story of this will never come out. On top of this, "Tommy Boy" took time to blast FSU and his dad, Bobby Bowden. Here is what he said, " Obviously it was pretty good work on (Florida State's) part by trying to undermine the rules and regulations of the NLI, but it did not work.”What a classy guy.

A recent blog post that I read sums up my feelings about "Tommy Boy". "Tommy, son of legendary coach Bobby Bowden, is a consistent underperformer who justifies a salary of over $1 million per year by claiming that winning seven or eight games is enough. This comes on the heels of a beatdown in a bowl game with Kentucky where the Tigers were embarrassed."

This is a guy who has never won an ACC division title, an ACC Conference Championship, nor been to a BCS bowl.Enough said.

FSU Gets First Commitment For 2008

This should be filed under "don't hold your breath." FSU got its first 2008 commitment this week but we all know what verbal commitments mean.

"Anthony Hill has committed to Florida State," Pensacola High School coach Mike Bennett said. "He is a great player. He is 6-foot-4, 280 to 285 pounds. He is a 4.9 (in the forty) kind of guy. He can run and get after you. He is an outstanding player."

This past season, Hill played nose tackle for Pensacola High and put up good stats despite battling a serious injury throughout the season that hampered his ability to practice.

"From week five of the season on, he had a grade three separated shoulder and he didn't get to practice a lot but he played on Friday nights," Bennett said. "He has bounced back from that though. He is in the weight room and working very hard."

According to Bennett, Florida, Alabama, and South Florida had also extended offers to Hill.

Colorado's Hawkins Loses Coach

One day after helping to bring eight new offensive linemen into the Colorado football program,the most in more than 20 years,assistant head coach and offensive line coach Chris Strausser decided to leave.

Strausser is returning to Boise State to serve as tight ends coach and running game coordinator. He spent five seasons at Boise State prior to coming to CU with coach Dan Hawkins a year ago.

Wonder if Strausser leaving has anything to do with Hawkin's recent rave?

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His first recruiting effort may not have been everything he had hoped for, but first-year UAB head coach Neil Callaway still had a reason to smile.

Callaway and his coaching staff received national letters of intent from six offensive linemen, five running backs and four defensive tackles. They also welcomed four defensive backs, one linebacker and a combination punter/place-kicker.

Callaway stopped short of singling out impact recruits. However, he did say "out of 25, I expect half of them to play next year."

FSU Player Profile: Marcus Sims

Marcus Sims will definitely play a larger role for the Noles this year at running back with the graduation of Lorenzo Booker. Following in the footsteps of his older brother, Ernie Sims, Marcus will be a sophomore for the 2007 season.

Sims was one of the top prospects in the state, looking to continue a long line of family tradition at Florida State...a four-star player and No. 4 inside linebacker in the nation according to Rivals.com...named the No. 8 overall prospect on Rivals.com's Postseason Florida Top 100 and is a member of the Rivals100 for 2006...ranked as the No. 54 overall player nationally in The ESPN 150 for 2006...a four-star player by Scout.com...rated the 11th best linebacker in the PrepStar100...a member of PrepStar's Preseason Top 100 Dream Team after running for 1,154 yards and 17 touchdowns on offense and making 84 stops on defense as a junior...a first team all-state selection for Class 1A by the Florida Sports Writers Association after finishing his senior season with 175 carries for 1,626 yards and 23 touchdowns from the running back position...also starred on defense for NFC, recording 130 tackles, five sacks, four fumble recoveries and three forced fumbles at linebacker...represented Team Florida in the annual CaliFlorida Bowl and was named to Rivals' Florida Hot 11 list based on his performance during the weeks' practices and ensuing game.

Fax Mean Nothing To ACC

The case of highly recruited wide receiver Markish Jones is troubling on many levels. The first troubling aspect is the ruling by the ACC. The ACC also known as "After Consulting Clemson" ruled that the first letter of intent signed by Markish Jones was the binding one even though it was not faxed to Clemson. This is ludicrous. It goes against what FSU had relied on for years.

According to FSU associate athletic director Brian Battle,"My interpretation the last 10 years is the letter of intent is binding once the institution receives the copy of the letter signed by the player and parent (or guardian) and signed letter grant in-aid with with all the information is filled out."

Jones signed a letter of intent with Clemson during a press conference at Broome High at about 9 a.m. on Feb. 7. An hour later - after speaking with FSU coaches on his cell phone - word was out that Jones instead planned to enroll at FSU. He signed a letter of intent with FSU and faxed to the coaching staff later that day.

What is also troubling is thet FSU and Dave Hart seem content on accepting this ludicrous interpretation without a fight.

Ouch! ACC Says Markish Jones A Tiger

FSU cannot get a break. It looks as if wide receiver Markish Jones who changed his mind on signing day and opted for FSU is now going to Clemson. This is as bizarre as it gets and really is a huge loss for the Noles.

Jones seems to not know what he wants and has not been heard from since signing day.Regardless of which school Jones wishes to attend, the ACC appears to have resolved the issue.Sources are saying that the ACC granted an appeal filed by Clemson on Friday that will enforce Jones' original LOI and invalidate the second one sent to Florida State.

Norris Moves To Tight End

Florida State football fans will pay more per home game in the 2007 season. The season-ticket package drops from $282 to $215 because of a decrease in home games from eight to five at Doak Campell Stadium. But ticket prices for individual games will increase by $2-$7.

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With Caz Piurowski moving to offensive tackle and Brandon Warren's departure from Florida State a near certainty, FSU needs help at tight end. J.D. Norris, a starting defensive end last season until more shoulder problems shortened his season, has been moved to tight end.

"The biggest reason is that D.J. has had problems with his shoulders and he has undergone three shoulder surgeries," defensive end coach Jody Allen said of the former Pace student-athlete. "D.J. feels it may be easier for him to stay healthy at tight end because of the reaching and grabbing involved in tackling and pass rushing - whereas at tight end most of the time, when you are blocking, your hands are in the framework of your body."

Cash Flow Problem At NC State

FSU fans don't need to feel sorry for Chuck "The Chest". However, NC State fans may be feeling something else.

Water damage to N.C. State's athletic center early in the 2006 football season and the firing of Wolfpack coach Chuck Amato after the season proved to be costly.
Amato was fired after a 3-9 season with three years remaining on his contract. He was owed three years and one month in salary, plus a $720,000 annuity -- about $1.42 million.

Athletic Director Lee Fowler said the annuity, funded by the Wolfpack Club, has been paid. Amato recently was hired at Florida State at a $200,000 annual salary. Fowler said that total will be deducted from NCSU's annual financial obligation. Amato's annual salary at NCSU was $228,960.

"The water damage and paying off coaches has put a dent in the athletics department budget," Fowler said.

FSU Retro Look Back: Sebastian Janikowski

Sebastian Janikowski played three seasons for the Seminoles, where he amassed a career scoring total of 324 points (3rd all-time for the school). In 1999 he became the first kicker to twice win the Lou Groza Award, given annually to the nation's top collegiate kicker. The Noles would now love to have a kicker like Janikowsi who kicked field goals in any kind of game situation. They would not like to have his off the field problems however.

Janikowski was drafted by the Oakland Raiders in the first round of the 2000 NFL Draft - only the fifth time a kicker had been taken in the first round in NFL history.Janikowski has annually performed at a high level. After the 2004 season he was given a five-year contract extension reportedly with $10.5 million, making him, at the time, the highest paid kicker in NFL history

A Man Named Frady And His Bunch

Starting center John Frady is adhering to the new beginnings of the FSU program. He is energized by the new offensive staff as well an off-season program that already has made him leaner and even better conditioned.

“This is as excited as I’ve ever been going into a season,” Frady said. “I wish we played Clemson this coming Monday. I’m ready to step up and go.”

Frady credits strength and conditioning coach Jon Jost with tweaking the strength program. He also points to how Trickett challenged his offensive lineman to be leaner and better conditioned. There is a more serious tone in the weight room where the music has been turned off.

Frady is 30 pounds lighter than his playing weight last season. And since his body fat was tested the second week of January, his body fat has dropped 5 percent and under the 25% demanded by Trickett.

Brain Of An FSU Fan

Four Noles Named To All-ACC Academic Team

Four Seminoles were named to the 2006 All-ACC Academic Football Team on Tuesday. Graham Gano, Myron Rolle, Antone Smith and Drew Weatherford were among 37 athletes who earned a 3.00 grade point average for the previous semester and maintained a 3.00 cumulative average during his academic career.

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Lorenzo Booker has been rated as the seventh best running back in this year's NFL draft. Other services are saying that Lorenzo Booker is one of the top ten underrated players in the draft.

Is Hawkins Upset ?

I thought I had heard just about every rant until I heard this one from Colorado head coach Dan Hawkins. FSU plays Colorado on Sept. 15 at Colorado.

Hawkins was addressing the media and was telling them of an anonymous letter that he had received from a parent of a player complaining about not having enough time off before their conditioning program.

Here is the audio clip: Dan Hawkins Rant

Ten Things To Know About Mat Drills

1. Jon Jost and Mickey Andrews oversee the mat drills.

2. Mat drills began on February 12.

3. Mat Drills consist of nine sessions -- Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

4. Drills begin at 5:45 a.m. and end at 7:15 a.m.

5. Offensive linemen get checked in Bod Pod on February 13.

6. There are three 18 minute segments to the mat drills.

7. Mat station - Same as the traditional mat drills where players are run through drills on a mat.

8.Three-part station
(a) Agility station - Reaction based
(b) Footwork (ropes) station
(c) Pins station (emphasis on quick feet and staying low).

9.Two-part station
(a) Ladder/footwork station
(b) Speed/quickness station

10. Mat drills end March 2.

Bod Pod Invasion

Mat drills continue and one of the things being used to assess the players is the Bod Pod. The Bod Pod, which looks like a giant ornamental egg with a window, is being used by FSU, other universities, and professional football teams to assess body fat.

"It's a diagnostic piece, not an evaluation piece," Colts general manager Bill Polian says. "For example, if a guy was 340 pounds, and it told us the fat content was incredibly high, we'd say there is a problem here. The guy might have an eating disorder, or he's not disciplined, whatever it may be.

Body fat has been measured for years with skinfold calipers, bioelectrical currents and underwater weighing. Calipers and bioelectrical currents can be off by as much as 8 percent. Underwater weighing is as accurate as the Bod Pod, but it's not as quick and convenient. For a Bod Pod reading, the subject wears a pair of Lycra shorts and a hair cap and sits in the machine for a few minutes.

You've probably heard of hydrostatic weighing, where the amount of water your body displaces while submerged reveals how much of you is lean meat and how much is flab. The Bod Pod takes that concept a step further, using air instead of water to see what you're really made of. It measures mass and volume, and from that it can extrapolate your whole-body density.

Even though the Bod Pod, a fiberglass chamber, has a nice big picture window up front, it still must not be much fun for the claustrophobic. But it only takes five minutes to complete the procedure, it's noninvasive, and it can be used to weigh even the biggest bruisers—even 500-pounders can fit into the thing.

Offensive Linemen coach Rick Trickett and Conditioning coach Jon Jost want all of the offensive linemen under 25 percent (body fat). Acoording to Jost,the Noles have ranges for every position and everybody has to be under 25 percent. Ideally FSU would like them under 22 percent.