Noles OL Ineligible

Right off the heels of OLB Marcus Ball's departure from FSU, the Seminoles have lost another important starter in Daron Rose. It's been a pretty rough 6 months from a Noles standpoint, what with the academic scandal going around and all. Poor Geno Hayes leaves early for the NFL and gets drafted in the 6th round. Oops.

Don't forget there are several players suspended for the first two games of next season. FSU will be hard-pressed to keep up in the ACC with all of these issues looming over their program. However, things will probably be fine in Tally in the long run. They just finished locking up a decent 2008 class and so far have one of the top 2009 recruiting classes in the country.

I look forward to the day when we can see another 6-0 Miami vs 6-0 FSU matchup that actually means something. Beating the Seminoles is that much sweeter when they are relevant.

Preston Parker Arrested

Continuing the theme of this site, I am posting something anti-FSU. After this past season for Canes football, and for South Florida sports in general, I need the occasional laugh to keep me going. So tough luck, Noles fans.

Anyway, Preston Parker got arrested for gun and drug charges today. The 21 year old receiver was one of those Bobby Bowden specials I often talk about here. He was all but a Cane but somehow out of the blue committed to FSU at the last second. He's been their best receiver recently, so this is going to hurt big time. Unless of course the Noles manage to sweep this under the rug and not punish him at all. I would hope they know to act quickly especially with the spotlight on them after the recent academic scandal.

Noles Land 7th 2009 Commitment

Since February's post regarding the CJ Mizell commitment, the Seminoles have gotten verbal commitments from 3 more local recruits. Chris Thompson and Brandon Jenkins committed on consecutive days a little over a month ago and just this week FSU received a commitment from Georgia safety Gerald Demps.

The former two are rated 4 stars each by Rivals, while Demps is unrated for the time being. I don't know much about them specifically, but that now makes 7 total commitments for the 2009 class, all of whom are highly regarded.

What this means is that Randy Shannon and his staff have to increase their recruiting efforts to make sure there isn't a run of talent into FSU. It's extremely early to be panicking, especially considering Miami already has a great foundation set for their own 2009 class. However, kids like jumping on bandwagons and right now FSU's is looking really good.

I don't know that we have any guys who are ready to commit to the Canes anytime soon. Other than TE Orson Charles and RB Lamar Miller, I don't know of many players we are targeting that are rumored to be making their decisions early. We have offered several dozen highly rated recruits by now, many of which have us high on their lists. I don't think we'll be in bad shape even if FSU reels in a top class, but it would help to gain some momentum to keep up with them.

We shouldn't expect too much from the 2009 class anyway because we only have 18-19 scholarships left for next season. We got our bounty this year and should hope they can produce. If the new freshmen can have an impact, then the Canes should be looking at a relatively successful season and start that push towards title contention again.

Noles QB Battle

Even with Xavier Lee having left the program, Drew Weatherford isn't out of the woods yet. The embattled QB is facing a long recovery from knee surgery and will miss the rest of Spring practice. In his place Christian Ponder has done pretty well, leading the team to 5 TDs in 12 attempts in a recent redzone drill. Considering the Seminoles' struggles in the redzone of late, I would have to guess fans will be happy with this.

The truth is that FSU is in the same boat as the Canes are on offense. We will hear all the right things being said in the Spring, but none of it matters until the players line up in Week 1 of the regular season. I heard great things last year from the Canes' camp, but look how that turned out. I won't believe anything until I see it with my very own eyes.

DeCody Fagg Done for Good?

FSU fans may have heard about Fagg's unfortunate injury at the combine that will likely cost him a shot at being drafted this year. However, now word is that the injury was so devastating that he might never play again. That's a very sad story, even as a hater of all things Seminole. You never want to see a guy get hurt that badly.

Fagg didn't take out a personal insurance policy, but players at the combine do receive some sort of insurance benefits if they get hurt at the combine. That's nice, but if it's true that Fagg's career is over, then whatever small amount of cash he gets from the NFL won't be enough to cover his broken dreams and lost wages over what could have been a productive career.

FSU Good and Bad

Recently, FSU has been trying to clean up it's act after an embarrassing academic scandal. Making things worse, their top commit E.J. Manuel revealed in an interview that he was told up to 800 students were involved, and the focus had been on football players. That story has it's own credibility issues I'll tackle another time, so we'll move on.

Part of FSU's self-imposed disciplinary actions was to cut football scholarships. Though we don't know how many were cut quite just yet, it doesn't seem to have been affecting the 2009 recruiting class. Yesterday they landed their 4th commitment from a high school junior looking to play football for the Noles.

The problem is that this commitment doesn't come with all-around praise like the previous 3 did. The recruit in question, C.J. Mizell, comes with some serious red-flags. Mizell apparently had to skip his junior year of football after transferring from a Georgia high school due to an incident where he attacked a coach and gave him a serious head injury that resulted in a concussion. CJ was then barred from GA high school sports and thus had to move to Leon.

His talent is unquestionable, but I have to say that it probably isn't the best idea for FSU to bring in kids with these kinds of issues right now. For all we know Mizell has learned from the incident, but it's still a pretty big risk for a program whose reputation is in decline.

Additionally, rumor is that two players have left the team. One, Jamaal Edwards, was a superstar RB recruit that didn't pan out for the Noles. The other player was junior OL Geoff Berniard. I'll try to find confirmation for you guys later.

T-Buck Joins Noles

Don't ask me why I have so much Florida State news today. I don't know, and I'd rather not think about it too much. Anyway, former Dolphin corner Terrell Buckley has joined his alma mater's football program as an assistant strength coach.

Florida State on Self-Imposed Probation

Have to say, that despite my general dislike of FSU and their university, I have to give them their due credit for taking care of a very nasty situation. The incident that left them shorthanded for the Music City Bowl has given Florida State no choice but to put itself on probation.

Obviously this is a preemptive move on the part of the Seminoles. If they didn't do this, eventually the NCAA would have come down on them, and probably a lot harder had FSU not admitted to the wrongdoings. It's interesting to see this in comparison to the UF "investigation" into potential recruiting violations by Urban Meyer. Granted a cheating scandal is far more serious, but at least FSU isn't sweeping this stuff under the rug.

The scholarship reduction will certainly have to affect the football program, though as of now I don't know how many (if any) scholarships will be taken away from Bobby Bowden. It should be interesting to see how this affects the 2009 recruiting class, which as I mentioned earlier, is off to a fantastic start.

FSU Receives Another Commitment

So much for Bobby being done. This time it's 4-star safety JaJuan Harley who commits to the Noles for the 2009 class. For a safety, he has some blazing 4.37 speed. That makes the 3rd Top 50 player the Seminoles have gotten a commit from in the past week. Very impressive.

Seminoles Land Another

Pretty fast start for the Noles. It's impressive how Bobby can continue to reel in top-flight talent despite his inevitable retirement. The newest commit is 4-star S/WR Willie Downs.

Gators and Noles Get Early Start on 2009

Just as I finished writing a post on how well our 2009 class is starting to shape up, the Gators and Noles already have taken the lead.

Florida State received a commitment from Jacobbi McDaniel, Rivals #5 overall player in the entire country next season. The DL/OL prospect grew up a Seminole fan and is supposed to be an absolute monster. Not the best of news for Canes fans, but it's good for the rivalry when FSU signs stellar athletes as well.

UF also got their first verbal of the 2009 season is Georgia athlete Greg Reid. I don't know much about him (McDaniel is a well-known stud), but he too grew up rooting for the school of his choice. I'm sure he's a talented kid, but Urban can have all the Georgia prospects he wants (except Allen Bailey) as long as Randy keeps that fence around Miami shut.

Dome on Doak?

Happened to come across this, which suggests FSU might try to raise funds for a dome on top of the existing Doak Campbell Stadium. The idea was brought about by the combined lack of an indoor football practice facility and the lack of space on campus to build one on.

The project is expected to cost about $20 million dollars, but I would imagine that number will go up over time if they expect to build a decent roof on there. Bobby Bowden and Jimbo Fisher plan to tour the state later this spring, and the duo will use that opportunity to attempt to raise funds for the proposed dome.

It should be interesting to see how this situation turns out.

Xavier Lee Going Pro?

Forgive me if I need a minute to pick myself off the floor from laughing. Xavier Lee, the oft troubled QB from Florida State, has decided to forgo his final year of eligibility from FSU.

No, he's not transferring. He's entering the NFL Draft. Why he made that decision is beyond me.

Actually, come to think of it, it's probably not that dumb a move. He was awful at FSU, wasn't the best person off the field, and was told he wasn't going to be playing QB for Florida State next season. However, he is an excellent athlete and some team might be dumb enough to take a flier on him in the draft.

What else does he have to lose really? He has zero shot of getting enough playing time to impress scouts next year, unless he were to take Jimbo Fisher's advice and switch to tight end. He also wouldn't get much publicity playing at a Division II school. He is probably at the peak of where NFL scouts might be interested in his athleticism, even though he had an awful season.

Anyway, no huge loss for the Seminoles there. Personally, I'll always remember him as the guy who fell apart in this year's game versus the Canes once Miami actually made an adjustment and started blitzing him. Without that, they don't win the game.

Geno Hayes Leaving for the NFL

Miami fans will probably best remember Geno for getting tazed by the cops not too long ago. Gators will recall him calling out Tim Tebow before this year's UF blowout of the Seminoles. However, Noles and (more importantly) NFL scouts will remember him as one of the more athletic LBs to come out of Tally in a while. Look for Hayes' departure to hit Florida State hard, although they are bringing in a sick LB class to help out the position. Also look for Hayes to be a day 1 pick. I've heard as high as first round, though that might be a slight stretch for the FSU standout.

Seminoles and Gators Lose Bowl Games

It's been a nice 24 hours in college football for Miami fans. Both of the Canes' in-state rivals fell in their respective bowl games to end the season. Granted, at least they went to bowl games, right?

Anyway, I have to give credit to Florida State for putting up a fight against Kentucky in the Music City Bowl. UK has a talented quarterback and were one of the two teams to top LSU this season, so it was going to be a challenge even before FSU had to play without 30+ players. Even after all the bad press due to the embarrassing academic scandal, the players still went out there and gave it a shot in a bowl game that Florida State traditionally would be ashamed to play in.

The Seminoles are in a tough spot. Like the Canes, they have had a string of disappointing seasons and are looking at a top 5 recruiting class that includes a potential savior at quarterback, EJ Manuel. However, they don't have the stability at the head coaching position. How long is Bobby going to stick around? Who is going to replace him if Jimbo leaves? I'd say at this point Miami has a better chance of getting back to the top in the immediate future than FSU does.

However, I do want FSU to become relevant again. I hate them, but there is a certain respect between players of the programs, and I want to look forward to an October matchup where both teams are in the top 10 and Miami can ruin FSU's season rather than just be one of several losses for the Seminoles.

The Gators also deserve some credit for their performance today, at least offensively. Tebow was pretty much held in check on the ground and seeing him suffer makes me happy. Heisman winners often tend to do poorly in their bowl games, but Tebow's performance was up and down at worst. I've seen other winners do far worse in their games (Troy Smith, Chris Weinke) so he probably shouldn't be too disappointed.

Michigan's offense was simply too much, even when they were fumbling twice inside the 5. In hindsight, the game probably shouldn't have been too close. Instead, Michigan struggled to contain Percy Harvin on defense and had to hold on to win the Capital One Bowl, 41-35.

What I took from this game was a potential blueprint for Miami to beat the Gators next season. Get pressure on Tebow. Make sure you hit the guy and force him to throw bad passes. He is a great player but not the best passing quarterback just yet. Maybe we will spy Allen Bailey on him. As for Harvin, I think his conditioning has to be in question. He was hurt this year and was tired today in the 4th. If you can rough him up and force him to expend lots of energy, you can eliminate him from the game.

In the end though, you still have to outscore Florida. They'll get their points on the board. We need Marve to be effective in getting the ball down the field and scoring touchdowns. Not field goals. Touchdowns. Randy Shannon has almost 9 months to prepare for the biggest game of his coaching career. A loss is unacceptable.

By the way, please don't hesitate to help me out on a quick poll on the right side of the page.

C.J. Holton Switches his Commitment

In the wake of the academic scandal, one of FSU's prized recruits has decommitted and pledged to sign with the Canes in February. C.J. Holton is a 4 star safety from Florida and had been rumored to make this move for some time. After watching the Canes beat the Noles up in Tally this season, he seemed to have been swayed some and finally pulled the trigger this weekend.

His decommitment is likely out of interest in Miami more so than the scandal affecting the FSU football team. However, he was not the only one to leave, as they lost stud DE Moses McCray to LSU. It will be interesting to see if the violations will have any further effect on what was a top 5 class heading into January.

Otherwise, all quiet on the recruiting front. Miami still plans on having several DBs visiting despite the commitment from Holton. Nobody around here is confident about signing Patrick Johnson. It's been suggested that if we sign UCLA interim coach Dewayne Walker as our DC, he might bring CB Aaron Hester along with him. For now, thats just speculation though. Matt Patchan's announcement is now only a couple of days away (supposedly) and the Army AA game is in a week or so. We'll know for sure about Patrick then.

FSU Down 36 Players for Bowl

An update has been released on the Florida State academic scandal, and now the Seminoles will be down 36 players for their bowl against Kentucky late next week. Some missing players of note are backup QB Xavier Lee, starting corner Patrick Robinson, and several defensive tackles. However, it should be noted that not all of the 34 will be missing the game due to the scandal. Several players are supposedly missing the bowl game for other, unidentified reasons.

This doesn't really mean much. I'm sure the FSU fanbase isn't really concerned with the outcome of the Music City Bowl. What it does mean is that FSU is potentially without some key players for the beginning of next season, which I'm sure is what Seminole fans are looking forward to at this point.

Noles Suspended; Coach News

UPDATE #2: Apparently now it is 25 players facing suspensions.
(5:39PM)

UPDATE: ESPN does the right thing and posts this on the front page after initially letting it sit elsewhere for most of the morning. (1:08PM)

Despite my allegiance to UM, there is an undeniable Seminole fan base down here in Miami, so I feel obliged to report some updates and news for them. Particularly if it's bad news.

Apparently, there is a scandal surfacing in Tallahassee involving 20 football players cheating on some online course. Suspensions have been handed out and these kids will not be able to participate in the bowl game vs Kentucky, nor will they be on the field for the first 3 games of 2008. Sadly for Miami, our game won't be included, though I must say I would take more pleasure in beating FSU with each team at their best. This latest scandal proves that every school in the country is dirty on some level, but if Miami were the one facing it, this would be front and center on ESPN.com, not stashed away on the CFB home page. To be fair, ESPN does give FSU a hard time as well. A better example would probably be Michigan or Ohio State, who would be treated with kid gloves over at Bristol.

In addition, Bobby Bowden's contract has been extended for another year at just under 2 million dollars. His eventual successor Jimbo Fisher is slated to take over in 3 years and would receive a hefty bonus if this does not happen. However, recent rumors have Fisher willing to pay his 2.5 million dollar buyout to take the now vacant position at WVU. It presents a nice opportunity for Fisher to take over a good program, but I don't think it would cripple FSU all that much. As long as Bowden is in charge, they will continue to be down. However, it's FSU and they could likely get a top coaching candidate in there without much delay.

Bowden Hanging Around

Good ol' Bobby Bowden is coming back to FSU for his 33rd year. Over the years I grew to hate the old man, but he's become a perfectly harmless (potentially senile) figurehead for the FSU program thats been in the toilet with the Canes for quite some time now. I suppose he's earned the right to retire when he wishes. I certainly do hope we have another Wide Right in store for him before he decides to hang up the straw hat.