College football

FSU scrimmage elicits little praise

By Times Staff Writers Times Wires
Published August 18, 2005

TALLAHASSEE - It was the defense's night under the lights at Doak Campbell Stadium in Florida State's first full scrimmage Wednesday, holding the offense scoreless until red zone and goal line sets.

"You hope your defense is way superior," coach Bobby Bowden said. "If your offense can run up and down the field, I can tell you right now, your team is fixin' to have a bad year."

The defensive line for both the first and second units spent plenty of time in the backfield, either disrupting the passing rhythm or a run before it started.

Defensive coordinator Mickey Andrews, however, wasn't totally pleased: "We had way too many missed tackles.We weren't as good as we need to be today."

Linebacker A.J. Nicholson led with five tackles for losses.

QBs CHIDED: In the battle for starting quarterback, Drew Weatherford of Land O'Lakes had the better day statistically, but neither he nor Xavier Lee earned praise.

"Looks like our running game is way ahead of the passing game," Bowden said. "We've got a lot of work to do with our quarterbacks; you can see why we need to scrimmage. We had people open and we missed them badly. Once we started throwing, a lot of times it was a wasted down."

Lee was 2-for-17 for minus-1 yard and Weatherford went 12-for-20 for 91 yards.

FOOT FAULTS: Gary Cismesia, the only kicker on the roster with game experience, was a subpar 5-for-9 during a morning kicking scrimmage. During the full scrimmage, he missed a pair of 37-yard field goals from both the left and right hash marks. Freshman Graham Gano pushed a 38-yard attempt wide right.

"Boy, we've got some work to do there," Bowden said.

- D.C. REEVES, Times correspondent

GAINESVILLE - Offensive lineman Eddie Haupt will redshirt, coach Urban Meyer said. He had not been practicing because of a bulging disc in his back that isn't healing.

"I met with him and his family today and they're going to try everything before surgery," Meyer said. "Surgery is a last resort."

Haupt graduated early from Merritt Island High and joined the Gators in January.

Walk-on receiver John Curtis will miss the season after tearing his ACL during Monday's practice. He had drawn praise from coaches after making numerous catches in practice.

Safety Reggie Nelson and offensive lineman Jim Tartt didn't practice and defensive tackle Marcus Thomas, who has been hampered with a sore back, participated in individual drills but not during contact.

FRESHMEN LEARNING: First-year players are not quite where offensive coordinator Dan Mullen would like them to be, but he said there is an explanation.

"Freshmen, Day 1, look pretty sharp," Mullen said. "Freshmen, when you put in an entire offense, they start to scramble and try to figure out, "Where am I even supposed to line up on this play?' "

- IAN FISHER, Times correspondent

TAMPA - Hot weather, which pushed the Bulls' second practice to an evening workout, isn't the only thing affecting them. A flu bug first struck senior defensive back D'Juan Brown, then freshman quarterback Carlton Hill, and now coach Jim Leavitt, who wore a sweat shirt even in the intense heat.

INJURY UPDATE: Defensive end Jarriett Buie, a sophomore from Armwood who Tuesday broke his left fibula where it connects with the ankle, had surgery and will miss at least five games.

"It's difficult (losing Buie)," said Leavitt, who also has safety Danny Verpaele (foot) and running back Ricky Ponton (shoulder) sidelined. "He's a great player and it just breaks your heart. He was going to play a lot of football for us."

- MIKE CAMUNAS, Times correspondent

CORAL GABLES - After 11 days of players facing the same teammates in practice, coach Larry Coker has done some shuffling.

"Sometimes you like to change around and see different people work against different people," he said. "You don't want to go against the same person everyday. You get used to their moves. We want to change that around some."

The defensive line seemed to excel no matter who was in. Baraka Atkins, Orien Harris, Dwayne Hendricks and Joe Joseph were all in on sacks during two-minute and pressurized drills in the last 15 minutes of practice.

ORLANDO - The first preseason scrimmage ended on a sobering note: Senior defensive end Paul Carrington was injured in the head/neck area and was airlifted to a hospital. He had some movement when he left the field.

The Golden Knights scored three touchdowns and a field goal in the scrimmage. Junior quarterback Steven Moffett earned praise, going 11-of-14 for 174 yards with one touchdown (a 55-yarder to Mike Walker against the first-team defense) and one interception.

[Last modified August 18, 2005, 01:05:19]