College football

Sticking points

FSU players strive (and lobby) for Tomahawk decals that signify standout play.

By BRIAN LANDMAN
Published October 8, 2005

TALLAHASSEE - Quarterback Drew Weatherford didn't simply want to play like the Florida State Seminoles he so admired as a youngster; he wanted one day to dress like them, too.

That included donning the unmistakably decorated FSU helmet: one with a precisely arranged array of tomahawk decals, each signifying stellar performances on or off the field.

"I've grown up seeing guys like Peter Warrick and Chris Weinke have their whole helmets just full of them," gushed Weatherford, the former Land O'Lakes High star. "They look so good with those tomahawks on them. I've always dreamed of that."

He has some now, and while team goals trump individual accolades, wanting tomahawks shouldn't be seen as selfish or childish.

"It's tradition," said linebacker A.J. Nicholson, who has 12 tomahawks entering today's game against Wake Forest, second on the defense behind Kamerion Wimbley's 13. "You want to go out there with your tomahawks on. You want to show your tomahawks off. It's a sign of you doing something."

"We don't just pass them out," added longtime defensive coordinator Mickey Andrews. "They earn them."

For decades now, the coaching staff has carefully graded the game film each Sunday and awarded points for a laundry list of feats.

For example, if a defensive player intercepts a pass, that's five points. A player can lose points in a variety of ways, such as missing an assignment (one point) or drawing an ill-timed penalty (five points). Every 10 points equal one tomahawk.

Nicholson has the top one-game point total this year (62) for his dominating effort against Boston College: 19 tackles and two interceptions, one of which he returned for a touchdown.

The offensive score sheet works more like fantasy football. A player earns one tomahawk if, for instance, he rushes for 100 yards, tops 100 yards receiving or throws, catches or runs for a touchdown. A player can lose a tomahawk for bad plays such as a fumble, interception, flagrant penalty or academic violation. (Since 1997, FSU also has awarded academic tomahawks. This year, those decals have a garnet A and a feather hanging off of it.)

"It's meaningful," coach Bobby Bowden said. "It's all motivation."

After the coaches record their grades, the list of how many tomahawks each player should receive - or, gulp, lose - is given to the student managers, who must clean and decorate the helmets. To them, that's not a menial task.

"They're going to wear this on national television, and I've got to make it look good," said Eric Sabin, a junior from Palm Beach. "Usually, the first thing they do (when they come into the locker room on game day) is pick up their helmet and see how it looks. It's a really big part of the game uniform."

Nothing is left to chance.

Sabin and other student managers actually work from a demo helmet, one covered with the maximum tomahawks (106), each numbered in the sequence the decals will be added from back to front.

"There's a competition to see who can get the most," fullback James Coleman said. "Me, Leon (Washington) and Lorenzo (Booker) joke around, "Oh, oh, I got more than you got this week.' "

Because there is an element of subjectivity to the grading system (a "big lick" on defense equals 10 points), players will lobby the coaches for extra credit.

"You're not really negotiating, but (you say), "Are you seeing what I'm seeing, coach?' " Nicholson said.

"You're watching three or four guys, and you may miss a tackle or miss an assist," Andrews said. "When we go over it Monday (with the team), they may say, "Coach, wasn't that an assist? Let's go back and take a look at it again.' "

Of course, that might give a coach a chance to see a negative. So sometimes it's more prudent for the player to haggle with the student managers as if he were shopping at a bazaar.

"Probably almost every one of them does that," Sabin said. "They'll be like, "How many tomahawks did I get?' And then they'll say, "How about putting an extra one or two on there?' "

Other players have gone to greater lengths over the years to avoid wearing a barren helmet.

"When I was (a freshman), I'd go up to E.G. Green and Andre Cooper and say, "Man, let me borrow a couple tomahawks,' " said former star receiver Ron Dugans, now a graduate assistant. "Their helmets were full of tomahawks. They wouldn't miss one or two. But the coaches would be like, "Hey, how'd you get that?' "

Borrowing is a no-no. You can actually lose tomahawks for trying that. It's why the decals are kept under lock and key and the student managers keep a running tally of how many each player should have week to week.

Silly? Not to them.

"It's a reflection of what you were able to accomplish," said Weinke, who didn't realize he set the tomahawk record with 106 during his Heisman Trophy-winning season in 2000. "It's all part of the tradition at Florida State."

[Last modified October 8, 2005, 01:26:19]