Ranking The ACC Coastal Division Teams: Virginia

Move over Ted Roof. There is another ACC coach on the hot seat. Virginia head coach Al Groh in his seventh season is feeling the heat also. Groh whose record is 42-33 at Virginia is coming off a 5-7 2006 season. Even though the Noles were struggling last year, they managed to manhandle Virginia 33-0.

The Cavaliers lost thirty-five lettermen and will return nineteen for the 2007 season. That is more starting lettermen than any other school. They will start the 2007 season having lost only three starters which is definitely a positive for the team.

2006 saw the Cavs with an anemic offense that ranked 113 out of 119 Division 1-A teams. In all, 10 starters return to a defensive unit which ranked 17th nationally in total defense.

Defensive ends Chris Long and Jeffrey Fitzgerald combined to make 24 tackles for loss. Long was named to the 2nd-team All-ACC honors, while Fitzgerald was named a first team Freshman All-America by The Sporting News and the AFCA In addition, all four starting linebackers return from last fall including Clint Sintium, Jermaine Dias, Jon Copper and Antonio Appleby. On offense, all five starters return to the line including sophomore Will Barker, who was named a second-team Freshman All-America by The Sporting News. Quarterback Jameel Sewell started the final nine games and was named an Honorable Mention Freshman All-America by The Sporting News.

So what is in store for 2007? The Cavs have an early decent schedule and should be able to accumulate some wins at the beginning. The end of their schedule looks more ominous as they have Wake Forest and Miami and conclude with Virginia Tech at home. This year should be better than last and if it isn't Groh may be getting more heat than he can stand.

FSU It's Time Ranking Prediction: Virginia should be able to finish ahead of Duke and North Carolina in their division. I think they will finish #4 in the Coastal Division.

"I can help the team more"

"I've been thinking about it. I've been wanting to stay at quarterback but it ain't all about me. I just feel like as a receiver I can help the team more. It was tough. I've got to learn the basic stuff. I just want to concentrate on receiving now and to help the team so I can get better with that. ...I knew the routes, but on the running plays, I didn't know who to block or anything."
D'Vontrey Richardson comments regarding playing wide receiver on Monday

Defense Continues To Be Strong And D'Vontrey Richardson Tries Wide Receiver Position

Excerpts from FSU Sports Information:

After taking a day off from the practice fields on Sunday, the FSU football team returned to action Monday morning. The squad was in full pads and practiced for 24 periods. Tuesday will be the second-to-last two-a-day and the last one that will involve a scrimmage.

In skeleton Drew Weatherford had a nice day going 8-of-12 completing his first five in a row. Parker had three catches, De'Cody Fagg, Richard Goodman, Joslin Shaw, Greg Carr and Antone Smith all caught passes as well. Patrick Robinson recorded a pick for the defense.

In 11-on-11 Smith opened the drill with a nice run. He broke through the line and then used a spin move at the second level to turn it into a big gainer. Other offensive highlights included Christian Ponder connecting with Carr and Taiwan Easterling, Pat Davis busting a nice run inside and Xavier Lee completing passes to McDaniel and Rod Owens. There were quite a few defensive highlights as that squad built on the momentum from Saturday's scrimmage. Toddrick Verdell recovered a fumble on a bad snap. Eli Charles and Derek Nicholson both got to the quarterback, Charles on two occasions. Budd Thacker just missed out on a sack but forced the QB into a hurried incompletion. Everette Brown skied to deflect a screen pass and Jatavious Jackson and Justin Mincey both had tackles behind the line.

In goal line, the offense got back on track scoring four times on eight tries. The first team offense got in twice. The first TD came on Smith's powerful run. The tailback lowered his shoulder and drove Verdell into the endzone. On the next play Weatherford and Jonathan Hannah connected for a TD. The defense stymied the next two attempts. Guion forced Weatherford to throw the ball away and Erik Stapleton was then stopped on a one-yard plunge. The defense kept the momentum going stopping the two's on their first attempt as D'Vontrey Richardson was tackled on a pitch out. Lee hit Charlie Graham for a one-yard TD on the next play. Stapleton then gained two yards from the three before Antonio White caught a Lee one-yard pass for a touchdown.

Head Coach Bobby Bowden:

Opening statement:
"Okay I thought from the scrimmage, I thought we improved some over the previous week. And of course that will be the key every time we scrimmage is to improve. I thought our tackling was better. Sometimes our angles are not good, missed a lot of assignments on offense. Of course when you do that, a play breaks down. But again, the main thing I thought I saw some improvement. I imagine Clemson and them improved also last week. So we've simply gotta keep on getting better."

On D'Vontrey Richardson playing wide receiver:
"We worked D'Vontrey, we're gonna work him at quarterback and receiver. We got some receiver work today; looked pretty good in there. We'll work him both positions. It's a case of a good athlete. You can't redshirt him again so if you get a chance to play him and get him some playing experience. No matter where he lines up at, it will be good for him. We're not taking anything away from his quarterbacking. They are usually pretty doggone athletes. Most quarterbacks are pretty good athletes, he is a good, exceptional athlete. But we still don't want to lose him as an athlete. That's a good prospect there."

On the passing of Mickey Andrews' son:
"We had a meeting with our squad today and talked about that. Sad, sad thing. You can tell it when he's (coach Andrews) not here, you can miss that voice. It's gotta be tough as heck. I don't know anything more then losing a son."

Miami's Kyle Wright Limping And BC Coach Happy

Kyle Wright's chances of winning the University of Miami starting quarterback job might have taken a hit. Wright, a senior, attended practice Sunday morning wearing an elasticized brace over his left knee. He was limping noticeably, and did not participate in the stretching and running drills that precede the main part of practice. UM coach Randy Shannon said Wright has been experiencing knee soreness for at least a few weeks.

In related news, Miami senior LB Glenn Cook will miss the 2007 season with ligament damage in his foot, according to sources close to the program. Cook suffered the injury on Aug. 8 and had surgery. It was originally believed that he would miss at least three games.

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Duke junior cornerback Jabari Marshall returned a kickoff 93 yards for a touchdown and added an interception to highlight Duke's 70-play situational scrimmage on Saturday afternoon at Wallace Wade Stadium.

"I was real pleased with the one defense," said head coach Ted Roof. "And the one offense started to make more plays today. We've got to develop some more depth. It can't be like we're falling off the face of the earth when the second group comes in. They've got to do a better job of executing and functioning."
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Senior quarterback Matt Ryan completed 12-of-19 passes for 94 yards in the Boston College football team's third preseason scrimmage Sunday afternoon in Alumni Stadium. Senior running back Andre Callender returned to the lineup and carried the ball 16 times for 53 yards on the day, while junior A.J. Brooks had 14 carries for 42 yards. "I was happy with today," Coach Jeff Jagodzinski said. "We've still got some work to do, and we've got 13 days to get it done."

Bama Player In Trouble And Callaway Unhappy

Alabama star cornerback Simeon Castille was arrested early Sunday on a disorderly conduct charge. Tuscaloosa police said Castille was arrested in an entertainment district near campus. He was taken to the Tuscaloosa County Jail and Coach Nick Saban said he didn't have all the facts of the case.

Castille was one of the top defensive backs in the Southeastern Conference last season. He led Alabama with five interceptions and three recovered fumbles.

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The University of Colorado said Sunday that freshman wide receiver Josh Smith was hospitalized for observation Saturday evening after bruising his kidney in the scrimmage Saturday. He is out indefinitely.Also, linebacker Marcus Burton was declared academically ineligible for the season.
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UAB head football coach Neil Callaway didn't mince words when asked his impression of his team's second fall scrimmage Saturday at Legion Field.

"I was a little disappointed with the defense, to be honest with you," said Callaway. "I didn't see a lot of the guys on the defense flying around, playing with any purpose. They're just kind of out there going through the motions."

A Sad Note

The Tallahassee Democrat is reporting that Ronnie Andrews, the son of Florida State defensive coordinator/associate head coach Mickey Andrews, died on Sunday.

TPD spokesman David McCranie indicated that Ronnie Andrews was found outside his father's house about 5:55 p.m. and that foul play is not suspected. Ronnie Andrews, 41, was the father of three children.

I know that readers of this blog join me in our condolences to Mickey and his family. Our thoughts and prayers are with Mickey and his family at this tragic time.

Ranking The ACC Coastal Division Teams: North Carolina

North Carolina with Butch Davis at the helm is one of four ACC schools that will have new head coaches and staff for the 2007 season.

Davis brings a proven record at the college level having amassed a 51-20 record at Miami in six years as the Canes head coach. Tar Heel fans are full of optimism as the 2007 season is set to begin. Optimism for the future is so high that Davis recently announced that the school is hoping to begin a $100 million renovation of Kenan Stadium within the next 18 months.

Davis came in and had an excellent recruiting season which led to more optimism by the fans. Nole fans will recall that Davis snared highly recruited defensive tackle Marvin Austin who by all accounts was coming to FSU. However, it takes time to bring in a whole new system and staff and expect to win lots of games in the first season. Chances are that is not going to happen.

North Carolina returns forty-six letterman having lost sixteen. Of the sixteen leaving, eleven were starters for the 2006 season. The Heels have an easy schedule to begin with before taking on Virginia Tech, Miami, and South Carolina three weeks in a row. Question marks loom at quarterback and the defense only has four starters from last year. Davis did announce this past week that redshirt freshman T.J. Yates will start the Heels opener Sept. 1 against James Madison. The decision does not entirely resolve the quarterback competition, though, because Davis said he would only commit to starting Yates in the first week.

The Heels do have a talented receiver in sophomore Hakeem Nicks who some are predicting could be the best receiver in the ACC. At 6-1, Nicks isn't huge or a speedster, but he does have the ability to come up with the ball and make big plays.

With that said, the Tar Heels will probably have to endure another lackluster record. Any thing above the 3-9 2006 record will be cause for celebration.

FSU It's Time Ranking Prediction: I think the Tar Heels could surprise but I still think they will be no better than #5 in the Coastal Division.

Ranking The ACC Coastal Division Teams: Duke

One thing can be said about the Duke football program. There is nowhere to go but up. After a 0-12 season in 2006, the Duke Blue Devils will open their season with Connecticut which is a decent team. Their road schedule includes Northwestern, Navy, Miami, and Florida State. After playing Virginia Tech, Wake Forest, Clemson and Georgia Tech at home, they end their season with games at Notre Dame and North Carolina. Ouch!

Head coach Ted Roof in his fourth year with a 5-34 cumulative record will definitely be on the hot seat this year. It was so bad after last season that Duke held a "Duke Football Summit" with former alumni and others to try and breathe life into the program.

Duke has had some off the field problems and had suspended junior linebacker Michael Tauiliili indefinitely for violating team policy. This past week, Duke reinstated Tauiliili who had been arrested for gun and driving while impaired charges. He will be suspended for the UConn game,

Duke has forty-four returning lettermen and lost sixteen. They will have an experienced offensive line and a returning QB that should provide some help. Duke also has a new offensive coordinator and Roof has promised that his offense will be wide-open. According to Roof, "we're going to be aggressive in throwing the football down the field."

So what is the prediction for this bastion of academia? Don't expect the Blue Devils to do a "Wake Forest" on the ACC Coastal Division. They may win one or two games this year. Maybe.

FSU It's Time Ranking Prediction: I am going to go out on a limb and predict Duke at #6 in the Coastal Division.

"Quarterbacks aren't as big a problem around here as y'all think...."

"We've got to learn how to block people up front, run the ball and hold onto it there. We keep pointing at the quarterbacks. Quarterbacks aren't as big a problem around here as y'all think they are."
Offensive coordinator Jimbo Fisher after second scrimmage

Clemson Defense Fired Up

Observers declared Clemson’s starting defense the clear winner in Saturday’s scrimmage. The first-team defense stuffed the running game, did not allow a passing touchdown and made the starting offensive line look bad.“I’m finding out our defense could be pretty good,” Bowden said. “They run real good and you can’t bounce anything outside.”

“There is a fire in our defense right now,” sophomore middle linebacker Cortney Vincent said. “Everybody is running wide open. I’ve never seen anything like this from us. We’re playing a different style now. We’re not going to turn it on and turn it off anymore.”

"...Hard To Get Anyone Open...."

"The thing that impressed me the most was the coverage of our secondary. They stayed on those receivers pretty doggone good. Other than those first two (big plays), they stayed on them tight. It was hard to get anyone open in there. They also put a lot more pressure on the passer."
Bobby Bowden comments re secondary after second scrimmage

Stats From Second Scrimmage

Passing

Drew Weatherford: 5-for-15, 147 yards, 2 TDs

Xavier Lee: 5-for-13, 35 yards

Christian Ponder: 2-for-3, 30 yards

D'Vontrey Richardson: 0-for-3

Rushing

Antone Smith: 9 rushes, 85 yards; Long: 54 yards

Dionte Allen: 4 rushes, 9 yards; Long: 6 yards

Jamaal Edwards: 5 rushes, 7 yards; Long: 7 yards

Receiving

Bert Reed: 3 catches, 35 yards

Rod Owens: 2 catches, 45 yards, TD

Joslin Shaw: 2 catches, 16 yards

Damon McDaniel: 1 catch, 36 yards

De'Cody Fagg: 1 catch, 34 yards, TD

Richard Goodman: 1 catch, 34 yards

Greg Carr: 1 catch, 8 yards

Jonathan Hannah: 1 catch, 4 yards

Defense

Mister Alexander: 3 tackles, 2 TFL for 12 yards, 1 sack for 7 yards, PBU

Eli Charles: 3 tackles, 3 TFL for 13 yards, 2 sacks for 6 yards, fumble recovery
Everette Brown: 3 tackles

Patrick Robinson: 3 tackles, PBU

Letroy Guion: 2 tackles, 2 TFL for 11 yards, 1 sack for 6 yards

Budd Thacker: 2 tackles, 1 TFL for 5 yards

Dekoda Watson: 2 tackles

Derek Nicholson: 2 tackles, 2 TFL for 6 yards

Myron Rolle: 2 tackles, PBU

J.R. Bryant: 2 tackles

Rodney Gallon: 2 tackles

Maurice Harris: 2 tackles, PBU

Neefy Moffett: 1 sack for 7 yards

Emmanuel Dunbar: 1 sack of 11 yards

Paul Griffin: 1 tackles, forced fumble

Roosevelt Lawson: forced fumble

Jatavious Jackson: fumble recovery

Defense Makes Statement In Second Scrimmage

Excerpts from the FSU Sports Information Department:

The Seminole football team held their second scrimmage in three days on Saturday and it was a big day for the FSU defense. Once again the offense got off to a fast start but over the duration of the scrimmage it was the Florida State defense that had the better evening. The team will take the day off Sunday before returning to practice Monday at 9:20 a.m.

Saturday 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.

Joslin Shaw, Preston Parker, Bert Reed and Jamie Robinson worked returning kicks. Parker and Reed spent the morning returning punts.

Gary Cismesia had a great morning kicking field goals. The senior hit from 21, 22, 31, 32, 32 and 43 yards and missed just one kick from 38. Graham Gano connected from 24, 30 and 37 yards but missed from 30, 41 and 47.

Just like Thursday's scrimmage, the offense got off to a fast start. The first team offense, which started with Drew Weatherford under center at the one yard line, picked up two big plays for first downs. The first jaw-dropping play was turned in by Antone Smith. With the ball at the one-yard line, Smith disappeared into a sea of Garnet jerseys but somehow broke loose and took the ball 54 yards up the sideline. The next big play came on a Weatherford to Richard Goodman pass for 33 yards. The first team defense then came out with the ball once again placed on the one and had a very impressive stand. Everette Brown tackled Jamaal Edwards inside the one, and close to a safety, and the second team offense was unable to get a first down.

In red zone the offense continued to struggle. The ones, with Weatherford at the helm, could not get into the endzone on any of their four tries. The biggest play was turned in by Smith who went for five yards on a third and goal from the eight. The two's came on and were unable to get in the endzone either. Lee did have a nice 10 yard completion to Jonathan Hannah from the 18 but after that Brown recorded a sack and knocked the ball loose. The next two plays netted three and one yards respectively.

In goal line drills, the defense allowed just three TD's in eight tries. The first team offense scored twice. The first came from three yards out as Smith got around the edge thanks in no small part to a nice Seddrick Holloway block. After an incompletion to Hannah, Weatherford hit Holloway on a three yard TD pass. Weatherford made a very nice throw as he lofted it over a defender in front of him and into Holloway.

The second team offense started off with a TD from Lee to Charlie Graham but after that it was big plays by the first team D. Nicholson had a big hit on Edwards, who kept his balance but was finished off by Guion. Lee then was forced into an incompletion when he was chased out of the pocket by Neefy Moffett.

The kickers each got one field goal attempt. Cismesia missed his from 36 and Gano made his from the same distance.

Head Coach Bobby Bowden

On the last two scrimmages
"I thought the last two scrimmages have followed the same pattern. The offense comes out scores a big one, gets the ball, scores another big one, the defense shuts them out the rest of the day."

"Defense, you've got to come out the first of the game, you can't spot people two touchdowns. Offense you've got to play 60 minutes so it's been two scrimmages in a row that it's been like that."

Noles #19 In AP Preseason Poll

1. Southern Cal
2. LSU
3. West Virginia
4. Texas
5. Michigan
6. Florida
7. Wisconsin
8. Oklahoma
9. Virginia Tech
10. Louisville
11. Ohio St.
12. California
13. Georgia
14. UCLA
15. Tennessee
16. Rutgers
17. Penn St.
18. Auburn
19. Florida State
20. Nebraska
21. Arkansas
22. TCU
23. Hawaii
24. Boise St.
25. Texas A&M

Heads You Lose Tails We Win

Tommy Bowden said Friday he'd defer the kickoff until the second half if he wins the coin toss for the Florida State game. "Right now I plan on deferring," he said. "I could change my mind." The NCAA has changed the rule on kickoffs ; this season kickoffs are moved from the 35-yard line to the 30 to match the NFL.

Reed Returns And Hannah Scores

Fullback Joe Surratt will be sidelined indefinitely due to a fractured right fibula sustained in Thursday night's scrimmage. Surratt will probably have surgery Monday and his status for the rest of the season will be determined after the operation. Bobby Bowden said that Surratt could be back by the middle of the season but also did not rule out the possibility of a medical redshirt.

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Freshman wide receiver Bert Reed returned to practice after missing four days of practice following the death of his brother this past weekend. Reed took part in the second half of practice on Friday.
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Louisburg College transfer Jonathan Hannah practiced in full pads for the first time in Thursday's scrimmage. The tight end caught two passes for 18 yards, and finished the goal-line drill with a touchdown reception from Drew Weatherford.

Clemson Loses Running Back For Season

Clemson's football practice on Friday began with Coach Tommy Bowden's announcement to the team that sophomore running back Ray Ray McElrathbey would be lost for the season due to a torn ACL. The injury took place in practice on Thursday.

"I really hate this for Ray Ray," said Bowden. "He was doing very well at running back. He had a good spring and had been doing well in the preseason. He did well in the scrimmage last Saturday.

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.