Noles Begin To Prepare For Wake

FSU Sports Information Excerpts:

Tuesday the Seminole football team practiced in full pads for 22 periods as they squarely set their sights on preparing for the Demon Deacons. The ACC opener for both teams is the first meeting of two ranked ACC teams this season and with Wake Forest on a two-game winning streak in the series, it is one of the biggest games on the docket this week.

Head Coach Bobby Bowden:
“Pretty good, pretty spirited practice today. Of course we had No. 5 (Preston Parker) and Budd [Thacker] back out there. I think they both add a little something to us. We had a couple of nice catches; No. 80 (Jarmon Fortson) had a couple of nice catches out there. I thought he kind of stood out as a receiver.”

On what the team is thinking preparing for a game of such importance as the game this weekend:
“You never know what they’re thinking. The guys that have been there before they know what’s coming up and I feel sure that it will carry over. Again, you just don’t know what those kids are thinking. I think they’ll be thinking positively though.”

On playing with a young team against Wake Forest:
“I noticed a write-up out of Wake Forest where they had three freshmen play last year, didn’t start, but played last year. And here we are playing 27; we’re mighty young. Looking forward to it though, ought to be a good ballgame.”