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Two FSU starters may miss opener

TALLAHASSEE - The Seminoles returned all five offensive line starters this season but may have to play without two of them Sept. 6 at Miami.

Guard Bobby Meeks has been out more than a week with a sprained ankle, and center David Castillo has missed several practices with unspecified aches.

"(Castillo has) been trying to work, but it's very obvious he can't do what we need done and what he wants to," coach Bobby Bowden said. "So we're just going to leave him out and see if he can't heal that little injury that he's got."

Castillo, a fifth-year junior, has been plagued by injuries. He was granted a sixth year of eligibility after missing the 2001 season because of hand surgery, and he missed last spring practice because of postseason shoulder surgery. He started all but one game last season, playing much of it with a broken foot.

"That boy's beat up like a pin cushion," said trainer Randy Oravetz, who would not list a specific injury for Castillo's absence but called it "preventative medicine."

Sophomore John Frady is in line to start should Castillo, who is optimistic about playing against Miami, not return in time.

Meanwhile, Oravetz said Meeks will be eased into practice beginning today. In the mix is senior Brian Ross, a former walk-on who played defensive lineman before a broken leg in the spring forced him to miss all of last season. He moved to center during the offseason but has spent time at guard this preseason.

INJURY UPDATE: Freshman linebacker Rodney Gallon's knee injury was not as serious as thought. An MRI on Tuesday showed no ligament tear in the left knee he hurt during a scrimmage Monday. Oravetz did not give an estimate for how long the sprain would hold him out.

- ZACHARY SPAIN, Times correspondent

GAINESVILLE - After returning to practice for the first time since a near weeklong hospital stint, wide receiver Reggie Lewis addressed the media for the first time.

"My chest just started burning and it was just downhill from there," Lewis said about the incident in which he complicated an existing illness through overexertion during practice Aug. 18. "It wasn't the heat or anything. It was probably because I didn't eat the right foods that morning or something."

Lewis has returned to practice with a renewed outlook on life and football. "When I was laying up in the hospital, I realized that people take football for granted," he said. "I told myself that once I get back on the field, I will never take anything for granted again. Because there are a lot of people who wish that they can go out there and play, and they just aren't able to."

- BRIAN SHAFFER, Times correspondent

TAMPA - Jim Leavitt said the team didn't have a good practice Tuesday, but Wednesday was a different story. "Everybody was focused," Leavitt said. "We had a good practice."

Running backs coach Carl Franks praised the play of his corps as well. "I thought they moved around well and gave good effort," he said. "They were finishing off the runs and working on making some moves on the defensive backs and the scout teams. They had a pretty good day."

Franks said it is hard to know where the running backs are at this point because he has a number of young players. "We've got so many young guys that are trying to learn what to do," Franks said. "Of course they're going to make some mistakes, but they've been giving good effort and that's the key thing we're looking for, is guys giving great effort."

THIS AND THAT: Redshirt freshman Jerome Springfield has shifted from right tackle to the left side, where he could be the successor to Derrick Sarosi in 2005. ... The Bulls added another walk-on in defensive end Brandon Allen, a 2002 graduate of Tallahassee Godby High who played the past two seasons at Santa Monica College in California.

- GREG AUMAN, Times staff writer, THOMAS SIMONETTI, Times correspondent

ORLANDO - Coach George O'Leary was pleased with what he saw during scrimmage. "I think from a field mechanics standpoint, not having the coaches out there, it went fairly well," O'Leary said. "For the most part there weren't a lot of penalties. I think the big thing is we found out about some of these players. More so we were looking at the seconds, thirds and fourths to see if there's anybody there that can elevate themselves to help us out."

- TIMES WIRES

CORAL GABLES - Miami freshman linebacker Willie Williams will be sidelined at least two months after having surgery to repair a torn ligament in his right knee sustained Tuesday in practice.

Although the 6-foot-2, 230-pound Williams has looked sharp this fall, he wasn't going to be allowed to play for at least the first month of the season while he "proves himself academically."

- TIMES WIRES