Practice Cut Short By Lightning

Less than 24 hours after the first scrimmage of the preseason, Florida State's football team was back out on the practice fields Friday afternoon. The 20-period practice was cut short by about 20 minutes due to lightning in the area. The team moved inside before the coaching staff decided to call it a day after 16 periods. FSU will scrimmage for the second time in three days Saturday inside Doak Campbell Stadium.

In 7-on-7 Toddrick Verdell had the defensive highlight of the day picking off a pass and taking it back for a TD. Weatherford and De'Cody Fagg had a nice rhythm as the two connected three times. Weatherford also hit Damon McDaniel and completed on a bomb to Goodman. Lee completed passes to McDaniel and Charlie Graham. Owens caught a ball from Ponder.

Friday's pass rush drill was one of the most even so far. Everette Brown continued to dominate as he won at least three individual match-ups. Jatavious Jackson, Emmanuel Dunbar, Paul Griffin, Letroy Guion, Kevin McNeil and Andre Fluellen were among the defensive players that got past their offensive counterpart. On the offensive side Caz Piurowski recorded multiple wins as did Brandon Davis. Evan Bellamy, Tyler Graves, Daron Rose and Rodney Hudson all held their ground as well.

The practice ended amidst 11-on-11. Weatherford and Fagg continued their productive day with a completion and Patrick Robinson broke up a pass before the team was called off the field.

Head Coach Bobby Bowden:

On putting the first string versus the second string in yesterday's scrimmage:
"There are times when your team is at a maturity level where you want to do one versus one, maybe they're all young and they're all inexperienced and you want to get the best against the best. And there comes another time you want to try to preserve them a little bit and you put one versus twos."

On the injury to FB Joe Surratt
"Joe was making some progress, he was trying to gain some ground he lost during the summer and he was beginning to gain it, you know. But got that fibula busted. He'll be out for a while."

Are The Tigers Set To "Surprise" ?

As reported in a previous posting, Clemson's backs that are nicknamed "Thunder" and "Lightning" are an awesome duo. The idea of James Davis ("Thunder") and C.J. Spiller ("Lightning") in the same backfield makes the Clemson offense more dangerous.

Clemson's offensive coordinator has spent hours researching ways of taking advantage of the Tigers most valuable weapons, trying to strike the balance they lacked last season when Clemson lost four of its last five games.

Running back Spiller has stated that both backs will be in the backfield at the same time. Spiller has been quoted as saying "we've been working on it in camp and it's going great." There have also been reports that Spiller is practicing being under center at QB.

Jagodzinski Concerned About Defense And Heat Gets To Tigers

Boston College head coach Jeff Jagodzinski wasn’t ready to rip his offense’s performance after Boston College’s second intrasquad scrimmage last night. He just tellingly ommitted it when asked what he liked and didn’t like in the contest. “I loved the defense. How’s that?” Jagodzinski said.

As for the offense, Jagodzinski wouldn’t be specific about his displeasure, but it was clear that he wasn’t thrilled with the output. Quarterback Matt Ryan went 13-for-24 for 129 yards with no touchdowns and had a pass picked off and returned 31 yards for a touchdown by DeJuan.

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Clemson practiced in humid 95 degree heat for two hours and 45 minutes on Thursday. It was a long practice and the Tigers were tired by the end of the workout.

"Today the heat and humidity got us by the end of practice," said Bowden. "It was a long physical practice. We had a good skeleton passing drill and a good inside drill, but the last couple of periods were difficult for both the offense and defense."

Bowden is re-evaluating his practice schedule in light of the heat and the long 12-game schedule. "I talked with Frank Beamer at Virginia Tech and Mack Brown of Texas to see how they are practicing in the preseason. Coach Beamer is not doing any two-a-days during the preseason, and Coach Brown had just a couple. He practices the first half of practice outside and the second half in their indoor facility.
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The University of Maryland football team wrapped up Thursday's practice with a lengthy mock scrimmage, which involved referees and a running clock, but not tackling. The defense won the day, aided by the fact that they needed only to tag the ball carrier with one hand to "tackle" him.

"It was alright," head coach Ralph Friedgen said of the scrimmage-like session. "We're really tired right now. We had really good practices yesterday. It got hot today and they were dragging, but we got what we wanted out of the scrimmage. The first team continues to move the ball. They didn't score. It's tough to score when you are just tagging off."

Backs Suffer Injuries In Scrimmage

Florida State's sports information department released the following injury updates from Thursday night's football scrimmage:

Fullback Joe Surratt: Fractured right fibula. Probable surgery on Monday. Season status will be determined following the surgery.

Fullback/tailback Marcus Sims: Right elbow hyperextension.

Tailback Russell Ball: Separated right shoulder.

Fullback Matt Dunham: Re-aggravated existing ankle injury

Scrimmage Stats

FSU Scrimmage Stats:
Offensive Stats

Quarterbacks
Drew Weatherford 16-20 205 yards 1 TD
Xavier Lee 9-16 143 yards 1 TD
D'Vontrey Richardson 4-8 38 yards 1 Rushing TD
Running Backs
Antone Smith 6 rushes, 30 yards
Preston Parker 1 rush, 29 yards
Jamaal Edwards 9 rushes, 27 yards
Marcus Sims 6 rushes 13 yards, TD
Russell Ball 9 rushes, -7 yards
Wide Receivers
Greg Carr 3 rec, 82 yards TD
Damon McDaniel 5 rec, 73 yards
De'Cody Fagg 4 rec, 73 yards TD
Russell Ball 4 rec, 34 yards
Preston Parker 3 rec, 31 yards
Antone Smith 2 rec, 23 yards
Richard Goodman 2 rec, 20 yards
Jonathan Hannah 2 rec, 18 yards
Rod Owns 2 rec, 9 yards

Defensive Stats:
Aaron Gresham: 6 tackles, 3 TFL for 11 yards
Dekoda Watson: 6 tackles, 2 TFL for 6 yards, 1 sack for 10 yards, PBU, FR
Derek Nicholson: 5 tackles, 1 TFL for 2 yards
Myron Rolle: 4 tackles
Emmanuel Dunbar: 3 tackles, 2 TFL for 5 yards
Marcus Ball: 3 tackles, 3 TFL for 11 yards
Eli Charles: 3 tackles, 1 sack for 8 yards
Budd Thacker: 3 tackles
Jeremy Franklin: 3 tackles
Mister Alexander: 3 tackles
Roosevelt Lawson: 3 tackles
Anthony Leon: 3 tackles
Maurice Harris:3 tackles
Everette Brown: 2 tackles, 1 sack for 7 yards
Alex Boston: 2 tackles, 1 TFL for 4 yards
Letroy Guion: 2 tackles, 1 sack for 9 yards, FC
Neefy Moffett: 2 tackles, 2 sacks for 16 yards
Kevin McNeil: 2 tackles, 1 TFL for 3 yards

FSU Holds First Scrimmage

Florida State returned to two-a-day practices on Thursday. The team had a morning kicking scrimmage and then conducted the first full scrimmage of the season in Doak Campbell Stadium for two hours. Notes, stats, scrimmage highlights and quotes are all available below. The team returns to the field for one practice Friday at 4:00 p.m.

Friday morning's kicking scrimmage began with some position work before the team spent about an hour and a half working on all aspects of the kicking game.
Preston Parker, Michael Ray Garvin, Russell Ball and Damon McDaniel all spent time returning kick-offs as Gary Cismesia and Graham Gano worked from the 30-yard line as per the change in NCAA rules.

In punt/punt block Ball and Parker worked as the returners. There were no punts blocked.

In field goal Gary Cismesia hit field goals from 42 yards on two occasions. He hit the uprights on a 35-yard attempt and missed a 42-yarder. Gano, who punted very well Thursday, was good on two attempts from 26 yards and one from 37 yards. He hit the uprights on a 36-yard attempt.

Thursday's scrimmage couldn't have gotten off to a better start for the Jimbo Fisher coached offense. The second group, led by Xavier Lee, moved from the 25 yard line into the endzone thanks to a couple catches by Greg Carr including a 63-yard bomb. Despite plenty of complaints from the defensive side that Carr pushed off to gain separation from Tony Carter, the TD stood.

The first team offense with QB Drew Weatherford took a different approach but ended in the same place. Running back Antone Smith started things with a nice run after the catch on a screen. De'Cody Fagg then caught a pass across the middle and turned it into a 31-yard gain. Preston Parker took another short pass and broke it for a huge gainer as he picked up another 20 yards. Marcus Sims finished the drive scoring a short TD despite the fact the defense had 12 men on the field.

After the first two series the defense started to respond. Defensive end Everette Brown recorded a sack versus Lee and linebacker Dekoda Watson, who had a great scrimmage, tackled Russell Ball behind the line. Ball responded with two nice plays. On the first, he slid between two defenders that converged on him to make a tackle. On the second, he had a big gainer off a screen pass but the offense was unable to produce points.

Head Coach Bobby Bowden:
Opening statement
"The offense was good for a quarter and then we began to get sloppy. The defense had a terrible first and second series and then they began to get better and got better and got better. Goal line they about split up half and half. Offense won half the battles defense won the other half the battles. It's not bad for a first full scrimmage, you know. You see so many mistakes. You look at those films and you'll see errors they're making. Of course our success will come if we correct the errors. The two quarterbacks, that's the big thing, correct those errors."

On the quarterback's decision making:
The thing I talked to them before we went out there was no turnovers, no turnovers, no turners. So they didn't have any interceptions, that's what we're looking for. The first thing a quarterback has got to do is not get you beat. Don't get you beat. If they can do well, that's good. So that's a good starting point as far as that's concerned.

Hawkins Chooses Hawkins And "Gators Stink"

The Colorado football team practiced under the Wednesday night lights.And which quarterback is more ready for prime time? Based on consistency and ball security, the coaching staff is still giving the edge to redshirt freshman Cody Hawkins over junior college transfer Nick Nelson. By the way, Cody Hawkins is the son of head football coach Dan Hawkins. CU head coach Dan Hawkins might even make an official announcement as to who his starter will be for the Sept. 1 opener against Colorado State after evaluating this Saturday's scheduled scrimmage. "We probably will just for the ease of everybody, (the media) and us," Dan Hawkins said.

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Although they are coming off a national championship season, Urban Meyer is lowering expectations."We stink now," the University of Florida football coach told a group at a Wednesday luncheon. "Our attitude is good," he said, "but our execution is awful." Meyer gave this assessment of his Gators before a crowd of about 350 people at the Joint Civic Club/UF Luncheon. The luncheon, now in its 37th year, marks the kickoff of football season and a new academic year at UF.

Is There Separation At QB?

Florida State coach Bobby Bowden has been mostly silent regarding who will be the starting QB for the Noles. However, yesterday when asked if he is beginning to see some separation between QBs Drew Weatherford and Xavier Lee, he answered with a simple "yeah."

Last year Weatherford impressed Bobby Bowden in practices but we all know the horrible mistakes Weatherford made in game situations. Hopefully that will not be the case this year. There are some players that do poorly in practice but play good in game situations and vice versa.

Apparently on Wednesday, Weatherford connected on most of his passes in 7-on-7 drills, while Lee was chastised at times by offensive coordinator Jimbo Fisher for bad decision-making.

The Noles hold their first scrimmage today and more will be known about who will be the starting QB.

Wednesday Practice Punctuated By Big Hit

After Tuesday's two practices, the Seminoles returned to the field Wednesday morning for a 24-period practice in pads. The practice was the final tune-up before the full team will hold its first scrimmage Thursday evening. The scrimmage will take place in Doak Campbell Stadium and will last approximately two hours.

Xavier Lee took most of the reps in 1-on-1. He connected on passes with Joslin Shaw, Preston Parker, Taiwan Easterling, De'Cody Fagg, Cameron Wade and Greg Carr. Dionte Allen recorded another pass break-up as the highly recruited corner continues to have an impressive preseason.

In 7-on-7 Lee and Carr connected for a completion. Weatherford hit Richard Goodman, Brandon Paul and Damon McDaniel. McDaniel turned a short pass into a big gainer but then let one slip away from Weatherford after he had beat a defender on a deep route. Jamie Robinson, Korey Mangum and Tony Carter all broke up passes.

After the offense dominated goal line yesterday, the defense had something to prove but the unit still struggled stopping the first team from getting in the endzone. Sims scored on the first carry and Surratt got into the endzone on the next two plays. After that Geno Hayes' 1-on-1 stop right at the goal line seemed to inspire the group as the defense did not allow another TD. Mister Alexander followed Hayes' stop with the biggest hit of the preseason so far completely wiping out Damon McDaniel. Marcus Ball followed by tackling Xavier Lee in the backfield on a broken play. The seventh play never got off due to a bad exchange and then Recardo Wright ended the day with a stop of Ball.

Head Coach Bobby Bowden

On practice in general:

"Terribly hot day again. Very hot. Kids withstood that part of it pretty good. Had a pretty good goal line scrimmage--it was more even today. The first goal line scrimmage, the defense got the best of it, second one the offense got the best of it. Today it was more even."

"Mister Alexander had the best hit. He had the best hit of the day. Get hits like that we can win some darn games."

"We're moving along, still got a long way to go, but moving along."

Hawkins Does Paintball And Harvin Has "Aggravating" Injury

Saying his football players needed to regain their legs after a week of two-a-days, Colorado coach Dan Hawkins canceled Tuesday's only scheduled workout. Replacing the practice was a trip to a paintball center. "They've worked really hard, they really have," Hawkins said. "That doesn't mean you back off of them. (But) you've got to be smart and temper it a little bit.

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Alabama head coach Nick "The Liar" Saban was somewhat critical of Alabama's defense -- specifically its poor tackling -- following Saturday's 92-play scrimmage. On Tuesday, Saban said he was pleased with the way the defense has responded in the three practices following Saturday's session.

"I think we made a lot of improvement," Saban said. "I think we slowed down a little bit. ... I think this is not unusual relative to starting out with a new defensive scheme because on defense you have to make so many adjustments ... and I think when things are pretty simple on offense, our players make pretty good adjustments, but when the offense grows, the multiples for the players on defense to make adjustment also grows.
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Florida WR Percy Harvin has been slowed by tendonitis in his right Achilles' tendon, Coach Urban Meyer said Tuesday. Meyer said Harvin's condition isn't serious, but it is aggravating. "[It's] enough that it's a pain in the butt," Meyer said. "It's frustrating for him." An ankle injury suffered against Tennessee hampered Harvin for much of his freshman season, limiting him to 75 offensive touches. Florida's coaching staff would like to keep Harvin healthy and triple that number, because he averaged 11.4 yards a touch last season

Frady Moves And Surratt Fighting For Position

Senior John Frady will move from center to tight end when he returns to practice following off-season ankle surgery. Frady started all 13 games at center last season and 21 in his FSU career, but the emergence of converted defensive lineman Ryan McMahon pushed him down the depth chart.

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Talk is that the Noles may be attempting to emulate the Gators when they used receiver Percy Harvin in the backfield last year. The Seminoles used wide receiver Damon McDaniel on some goal-line running plays during Tuesday morning's practice. He scored a touchdown on one play and impressed coach Bobby Bowden.
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Fullback Joe Surratt is fighting for his starting position back. In 2006 Surratt led FSU with six rushing touchdowns, scoring five in the first four games. His injured shoulder slowed him, and he skipped the Emerald Bowl for surgery. He lost the starting job in the spring and was absent for much of summer workouts. Surratt said he was very disappointed but will not give up his spot without a fight."I'm pushing more, hitting-wise, and it's helping me out," Surratt said.

Noles Lose Freshmen And Richardson Gives Up Hard Ball

The Noles have lost a freshmen football player. New Jersey freshman Anthony Grosso informed offensive line coach Rick Trickett that he would be leaving. Some are saying that it may be due to Trickett's intense and demanding style. Grosso was not at Tuesday's practices.

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FSU QB D'Vontrey Richardson told FSU's baseball staff that he will not be playing baseball for the 2008 season. This is good news for FSU football and yet more bad news for the baseball team.

Evening Practice Report

The FSU football team concluded its first two-a-day going 18 periods in shells Tuesday evening. It was a night of firsts for the 2007 preseason as the Seminoles practiced under the lights, participated in board drills, worked on the two-minute drill and in red zone situations. The team will resume its normal single day schedule Wednesday practicing 24 periods in pads. Practice gets underway at 9:20 a.m.

In down and distance Weatherford completed passes to Goodman and Fagg for first downs. Weatherford and Goodman hooked up again later for a nice gain and Antone Smith made a nice play on an underneath route. Christian Ponder hit Rod Owens twice. Owens paid the price on the second one as Darius McClure laid a huge hit on the receiver but could not dislodge the ball from Owens grip.

The practice finished with the 2:00 drill. The first team offense got into the endzone on the final play but it wasn't easy. Smith broke a big run on a 3rd and five for a first down and then Weatherford hit Damon McDaniel to convert another third down. With time winding down Weatherford and Preston Parker connected for a TD.

Two- A- Days Begin

The Seminole football team continued practicing for the season opener versus Clemson on Tuesday. It was the first of five scheduled two-a-day practices. The morning session started a little earlier and lasted 24 periods once again. The evening session will get underway at 6:15 p.m. and last 18 periods. There will be a brief report following the second practice but there will be no more quotes from players or coaches today.

PRACTICE NOTES:

Antone Smith (hamstring) participated in most of practice today.

Many of the Seminoles who are returning from off-season surgery did not practice in both sessions. Players like Marcus Ball, Derek Nicholson and Anthony Houllis were held out of the first session but are expected to participate tonight.

In 11-on-11 Weatherford completed passes to Fagg and Goodman. Lee hit McDaniel twice. On the first, the receiver turned a short pass into a big gainer and on the second he hit McDaniel deep. Russell Ball had two impressive runs including one he broke for a TD with a vicious cut back move. For the defense Moffett had a big hit in the backfield when he read a reverse and stuck the ball carrier knocking the ball out. Moffett then scooped up the loose ball and scored it. Roger Williams recorded the only pick but he was the beneficiary of some great pressure applied by Toddrick Verdell.

The offense obviously was a little angry about scoring once in eight tries on Monday because it was the complete opposite Tuesday. The offense scored on all five of their first five attempts. Marcus Sims ran three in with the first team offense and Joe Surratt pounded one in as the first group went 4-for-4. After McDaniel scored on a run for the fifth straight TD, the defense shut the offense out on the final three plays and ended on a good note. On the last play Dekoda Watson got the ball carrier in the backfield, slammed him down and knocked the ball loose.

Head Coach Bobby Bowden

On the heat:

"Heat plays a role, no doubt about it. We started at 8:40 this morning instead of 9:20 you could really tell the difference. That first hour was fairly comfortable, and then it got back into the heat again."

On morning practice:

"We spent a lot of time on kicking, course we'll come out this afternoon. Mostly in the morning we'll feature our running more `cause we're in full pads. And in the afternoon we'll feature our passing more `cause we'll be in shells."

"They Need To Get Nasty... "

“We got about some of the nicest kids we ever had. We really have, and that's great. But they need to get nasty when they walk through those gates.”
Defensive coordinator Mickey Andrews

Trickett Yapping

It's not often that a football coach is compared to a dog but that is what happened at FSU Fan Day on Sunday. Offensive guard Shannon Boatman drew some laughs when he compared always yapping, constantly moving offensive line coach Rick Trickett to a Chihuahua. "He's a tough little man," Boatman said of Trickett. Wonder if Boatman will hear Trickett barking out extra laps for that remark?

Noles Begin Second Week Of Practice

Monday it was back to business as the squad practiced 24 periods in pads. It was the second straight full pad practice and the last single before tomorrow's two-a-day session. Florida State will practice for 24 periods in pads at 8:40 a.m. and then come back in shells for a 6:15 p.m., 18-period practice on Tuesday.

PRACTICE NOTES:
Antone Smith (hamstring) was dressed again on Monday and was involved in limited drills.

Tight end Jonathan Hannah continued to participate in non-contact drills but he is still not in full pads.

11-on-11 featured a few highlights. Weatherford hit running backs Ball and Marcus Sims on swing passes and Ponder connected with Shaw and Josh Dobbie, who made a great catch. On the other side of the ball Brown had a tackle for loss and a sack. Justin Mincey and Alex Boston recorded QB pressures and Thacker hit Ball immediately after the back hauled in a pass behind the line of scrimmage.

Goal line got off to a good start for the offense as Sims took the first handoff in for six but that was the last time the offense would hit pay dirt. On the second play the defense stuffed a run right up the middle. On the third try Brown once again made a huge play. The sophomore defensive end blew up a play in the backfield, knocked the ball loose and Roger Williams recovered the fumble. On the fourth play Sims was gang tackled at the one yard line. Verdell and Jeremy Franklin made the next two stops and then combined to take down Ball about six inches shy of the goal line, which got the offense complaining to the refs about the spot. The drill and practice ended on another turnover as Eli Charles caused a fumble that was recovered by Michael Ray Garvin.

Bobby Bowden Quotes:
Okay, I guess tomorrow we start two-a-days. Last week I thought it was today, but two-a-days you have to go every other day, you can't do them consecutively. Practice is very much the same program we had last week. You know they picked up a little bit. They're learning it, making enough mistakes you couldn't win if you were playing today. But if we can keep eliminating, keep eliminating, keep eliminating. Too many fumbles, too many fumbles down on the goal line, things like that. The kids still, I'm amazed the way they handled the heat. That's been a plus."

Tigers Hold Scrimmage

Clemson freshman Willy Korn threw three touchdown passes in Clemson's scrimmage on Saturday while starter Cullen Harper had two. Harper, who came into the fall as the team's No. 1, connected with Jacoby Ford for a 6-yard TD and Durrell Barry for a 3-yard TD. Harper, a junior, was 8 of 11 for 80 yards.

"The quarterbacks played well. They made some good throws and some good reads," Clemson coach Tommy Bowden said. "They got the offense in the end zone a couple of times."

Kicker Mark Buchholz had field goals of 22 and 28 yards and put two kickoffs into the end zone. College football kicks off from the 30-yard line this year, five yards further back than before.

The Tigers will go through two more scrimmages at Memorial Stadium before they open the season Sept. 3 against the Noles.

"I Just Wish We Were A Bit More Mentally Tough"

“I just wish we were a bit more mentally tough. Physically, we've got ability, we've got enough ability to win, that's not going to be the issue. We're not anywhere close to where we need to be, mental toughness wise. I've had guys with way less ability, and won a lot of ball games.”
Offensive Line coach Rick Trickett regarding mental toughness of his players

"Shocking" News

It must be slow for the media currently. Most of the dailies have a story regarding the fact that Xavier Lee was definitely thinking about leaving FSU last year. What a "shocker"! Stop the presses.

Lee said Sunday that he was "very close" to transferring after the 2006 season.

"If coach [Jimbo] Fisher wasn't here, I wouldn't be here," said Lee, who had grown impatient under the direction of former quarterback coach Darryl Dickey and offensive coordinator Jeff Bowden.

Is The Sky Falling?

Everyone from ACC Commissioner John Swofford to Duke head coach Ted Roof believe this ACC football season will be better than the last.Some football analysts and columnists however seem to think the sky is falling.

They say that the ACC has nowhere to go but up. They point to the measure of a conference's strength in its record against the other Bowl Championship Series conferences (and Notre Dame)..In the ACC's case, that makes 2006 an unqualified disaster. The league went 4-12 against its BCS brethren during the regular season. That ranks sixth, out of six, among the BCS conferences.

The Big East on the other hand, which also went 5-0 in the bowl games, ranked first with a 11-7 mark, edging the SEC (9-6) by percentage points.The ranking doesn't get any better when you consider the ACC's record vs. the rest of I-A in 2006. The league went 17-6, which in terms of percentage points, also ranks sixth (the Big 12 went 20-6 with the benefit of playing three more I-A non-conference opponents).The only good news for the ACC was it went 3-3 in the bowls, which was a better mark than the Big 12 (3-5) and Big 10 (2-5).

These "the sky is falling" gurus seem to believe that teams such as perennial powerhouses Miami and FSU will stay down. As Lee Corso would say, not so fast my friend! They seem to forget the years that FSU and Miami were in the national championship hunt. The last time I checked the SEC has its share of "frogs". Mississippi State, Ole Miss, and Vanderbilt are not exactly teams that put fear into the hearts of opposing teams. The SEC has been down in the past but I did not hear this cry from these same so called "experts." I for one do not think the sky is falling in the ACC. As they say, we shall see.

Fisher Silences Players And Hannah Begins Practice

Offensive coordinator Jimbo Fisher barred his players from speaking to the media because he was so upset with their effort in the fifth day of preseason camp. In an equal opportunity move,defensive coordinator Mickey Andrews was equally upset and kept his group for extra work.This despite the fact that the defense had allowed only one TD in goal line drills.

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Tight end Jonathan Hannah participated in Saturday's practice in shorts and jersey - his first day of working out with his new team. The junior college transfer who originally signed and played with South Carolina showed he can catch the football in limited work.

Hannah must comply with the NCAA acclimation guidelines that require players to gradually work toward wearing full pads on the fifth day.

Noles Wrap Up Day Five Of Practice

On Saturday morning the Seminole football team really started to get down to work as they put on full pads for 24 periods and had the most physical practice to date. The return to pads also brought a return to 3-on-3 drills and goalline. There were also a ton of big hits in 11-on-11 and goalline. The team will not practice Sunday as they participate in media day and the Seminole Superstars Strength and Skills competition as a part of fan day.

PRACTICE NOTES:

Kevin McNeil (shoulder) and Antone Smith (hamstring) both dressed on Saturday but both were limited to non-contact drills as they nurse minor injuries.

Marcus Ball had some soreness in his surgically repaired left knee. Preston Parker came out to practice wearing a cast on his left hand but participated in all 24 periods.

Junior tight end Jonathan Hannah caught passes for the first time today but was unable to practice in full pads yet.

After pass drills the practice moved into 11-on-11. Parker had a nice run and freshman Bert Reed showed his toughness taking three big hits on a short gainer but never going down. Williams got the defense cheering with the biggest play of the drill. He knifed into the backfield, hit the receiver just as he caught the swing pass and then picked up the ball he jarred loose for the turnover.

For the first time the team worked in goalline to close out the practice. Letroy Guion got things started on the right foot for the D. The junior got to the running back right as he was taking the handoff and broke up the play. He knocked the ball loose and recovered the fumble three yards behind the line. Roger William and Derek Nicholson combined for a tackle behind the line, Darius McClure recorded a big hit at the line and Jeremy Franklin made a last ditch tackle at the goalline to save a TD. Russell Ball was the only offensive player to get into the endzone as he went around the right end. Xavier Lee also scored over the top on a busted play but with the defense unable to touch him due to the green jersey, they lobbied for that score not to count.

Bobby Bowden Quotes:

"It was hot as fire. I thought we stood that part okay. Got a lot of work to do. We'll start two-a-days I guess Monday. Kids will be off, well they'll be in meetings this afternoon, but won't practice this afternoon."

On Letroy Guion:

"Guion, think he is probably, in my opinion, second best tackle out there, behind Fluellen, the way it looks to me. That's true, he's been handicapped with injuries of and on ever since he's been here.

On the first week of practice:
"I guess we got out of it everything we supposed to get out of it. You know you're never satisfied. Always like to see it better. But with the heat like it is, it could have been worse. And so I guess ought to be happy with that part."

It's Good To Be King

Sports columnist Stewart Mandel decided to rank the "prestige level" of all 66 BCS schools (including Notre Dame) by dividing them into four tiers. Here are his "kings":

Alabama, Florida, Florida State, Miami, Michigan, Nebraska, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Penn State, Tennessee, Texas and USC.

Clemson Players Hosed And BC May get Hosed

Miami defensive tackles Chris Perry, Teraz McCray and Josh Holmes, safeties Lovon Ponder and Anthony Reddick along with linebacker Romeo Davis all missed practice with injuries. Head coach Randy Shannon would not comment on the severity of any injuries. When asked whether any players would need surgery, Shannon responded, "I'm not going to talk about any of that stuff."

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The Clemson Tigers held two practices Friday to make up for canceling Thursday night’s session because of heat. That night, coach Tommy Bowden gathered the team on the field, then had a fire truck come from behind a fence and hose off players.
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Boston College committed an NCAA rules violation yesterday, allowing former NFL offensive line coach and consultant Alex Gibbs to interact with players on the field. When it was realized that a violation had occurred, Gibbs - a friend and mentor to BC head coach Jeff Jagodzinski during their time with the Atlanta Falcons -was asked to leave the field. BC then reported itself to the ACC. Temporary consultants such as Gibbs are allowed to work with coaches but not players. The secondary violation was that, with Gibbs effectively coaching the players on the field, BC exceeded the number of coaches allowed under NCAA rules - one head coach, nine assistants and four graduate assistants.

Moving Day For Boatman And Noles Land Another Commit

Senior Shannon Boatman has moved from offensive tackle to guard on Friday in what is FSU's last practice before working in full pads. Boatman also saw playing time at right tackle. “We're trying to get the best guys on the field,” Fisher said. “He's a big guy inside that has power and is flexible. He can do some things in there. We're trying to put everybody in the best position possible.”

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Sophomore tailback Russell Ball, who is trying to come back from his second reconstructive knee surgery, was the offensive star of the day. He made several great moves in the open field and broke two long runs.
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FSU received its 16th verbal commitment for the 2008 class on Friday when Gainesville (Ga.) defensive end Keith Wells committed to the Seminoles. “They showed a genuine interest,” Wells said at a press conference broadcast on warchant.com. “I have been to a lot of places, a lot of colleges, throughout the spring and the summer, and the feeling I got at Florida State I didn’t get anywhere else.” Wells is ranked the fifth-best weakside DE in the nation according to rivals.com.

Day Four Practice Report

For the second day in a row the entire FSU football team took to the practice fields for 24 periods in shells. Many of the biggest highlights came from the defensive side of the ball after the offense had a pretty successful outing the day before. The Seminoles will put on full pads for the first time when they hit the fields at 9:20 a.m. Saturday. Sunday the team will not practice as they take part in media day and fan day.

Notes:

Kevin McNeil sat out Friday's practice due to a minor shoulder injury and he will be re-evaluated Saturday. Antone Smith practiced but was held out after a minor injury to his hamstring.

In skeleton drills Drew Weatherford hit Goodman twice and also connected with Joslin Shaw and Rod Owens. Weatherford also connected with De'Cody Fagg on the biggest pass play of the drill for a long TD. Lee completed passes to Carr and Damon McDaniel. Carr made another great catch later in the period going down and digging out a ball from Richardson. For the defense Roger Williams broke up a pass and on the play the receiver was crushed by Anthony Houllis who knocked his helmet off with the hit. The biggest play was turned in by Toddrick Verdell though who batted away a pass and stayed with the ball picking it off and taking it back for a TD with his fellow defenders running all the way with him.

The practice concluded with 11-on-11, which was mainly controlled by the Seminole defense. The offense was able to put together a few nice plays. Ball had the biggest run taking a carry to the endzone. Weatherford and Fagg connected on an underneath route and then Weather ford completed a deeper ball to Owens who was promptly hit by rover Myron Rolle. Seddrick Holloway had a good gainer on the ground and Christian Ponder completed a pass to Greg Carr who had a productive day. Defensively Watson had another big hit in the backfield that had the defense celebrating. Justin Mincey also made a nice play getting into the backfield, jumping up and batting away a Lee pass.


Bobby Bowden Quotes:

"Today again, we're in shoulder pads and hats and tomorrow we'll be out full pads, practice at the same time. Tonight, the seniors will go out to my house for dinner."


On RB Antone Smith:

"I think Antone, kind of, you didn't see him work any, he had a slight, slight pull. He says he thinks he caught it before it did any damage. He missed a lot."

On the offensive line's quickness:

"I hope so. I think that's Trickett's thing. He wants them quicker, if he wants them quicker you've got to shed weight to get it. That's what he's working on."

On when he's picking a starting QB:

"What's the hurry? Twenty-five or six more days, haven't we? We're in no hurry."

Jimbo Fisher Quotes:

Starting QB:

We ain't scrimmaged yet; we've only been on four days of practice. I mean, take our time, make a right decision, make sure we do the right guy. Or right guys."

On Weatherford and Lee:

"I'm gonna tell you what, I was upset the first day. Second and third day got better. Today, made a few mistakes, but didn't let that affect them. It's like playing corner, playing quarterback sometimes you got to have a short memory in the way that, you got to remember what you did wrong and not make a mistake again, but you got to brush it off and go play the next play. Cause you got to make plays to win. And today's one of the first days that they made a couple big mistakes that I didn't like, got on'em extremely hard, and you know what they did? Instead of going in the tank, (they) came back and made some plays at the end. That's the way a football game's gonna go, you're not going to make all perfect plays. We just have to eliminate plays that beat us. Just not make it a terrible play--maybe a bad one, but not a terrible one. And stop it and then you gotta go back and keep making plays. And I was pleased in that avenue of it today. You know a football game's got ups and downs, you got to go through them."

Will It Be Thunder And Lightning At Clemson?

At Clemson, they are known by the nickname "Thunder and Lightning". This year there are big expectations from this duo.

James Davis, aka "Thunder," is a 5-foot-11, 205-pounder who broke tackles and shunt defenders for big gains a year ago. C.J. Spiller, the "Lightning" of the combo, has unbelievable speed and moves.

Davis said he has been told he and Spiller will play together this year instead of shuttling in and out as they did a year ago.

"It is exciting because it'll mess up the defense," Spiller said.

Last season, the pair combined for 1,525 yards and 23 touchdowns.

BC Takes On USC And Miami LB Out

After two months of negotiations over dates, Boston College and Southern California have agreed to a two-year series beginning in 2013 in Los Angeles and returning to Chestnut Hill in 2014. The arrangement was originally scheduled to begin in 2011, but USC couldn't clear the dates. "We went back and forth and we just couldn't get it done in 2011," BC athletic director Gene DeFilippo said yesterday. "But this will work out great."

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The University of Miami was dealt its first major injury of the season when coach Randy Shannon announced linebacker Glenn Cook will miss at least three games with an undisclosed injury. Cooker, a senior, did not participate in the scrimmage Thursday. He started 11 games last year and is among the most experienced defenders.
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Later this month, University of Miami trustees may decide if the Hurricanes should continue playing in the 70-year-old structure (Orange Bowl) that needs an estimated $206 million in repairs. The other option is moving 16 miles north to Dolphin Stadium — the home of the Miami Dolphins and Florida Marlins. If the Hurricanes stay, the city of Miami, which owns the Orange Bowl, has put together a plan to add suites, new restrooms and other amenities. If Miami leaves, the athletic department could gain another $2 million or more in extra revenue at Dolphin Stadium.

Players Vote

SI.com asked one starter from each of the 119 Division I-A football teams a series of questions about college football and the upcoming 2007 season. Here's some of the questions and their responses:

Which coach besides your own would you most like to play for?

Pete Carroll, USC: 28.6%
Urban Meyer, Florida: 10.9%
Joe Paterno, Penn State: 10.2%
Bobby Bowden, Florida State: 8.4%
Steve Spurrier, South Carolina: 6.7%
Jeff Tedford, Cal: 3.4%
Bob Stoops, Oklahoma: 2.5%
Mack Brown, Texas: 2.5%
Nick Saban, Alabama: 2.5%

Do you agree with the NCAA's recent decision to ban text-messages in recruiting?

Yes: 53.8%
No: 41.2%

Do you read message boards or blogs where fans discuss your team?

Yes: 39.5%
No: 60.5%