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Football is in full bloom

It took a while, but Caz Piurowski of Land O'Lakes followed his dad into the sport - all the way to Florida State.

By IZZY GOULD
Published October 30, 2005

LAND O'LAKES - Paul Piurowski often tries to catch his son's daily football practice.

This day he sits on a chair beneath a tree at Land O'Lakes and peers through a chainlink fence at the practice field.

Caz Piurowski isn't hard to spot. He's the 6-foot-7, 250-pound monster towering over his Gators teammates.

"When you see him out there it's like, "Gee, whiz,' " Paul said. "Fortunately he stopped shooting up because otherwise it would have to have been basketball. I don't know if that would have gotten him anywhere."

For years, Caz believed it was baseball.

But football raced through his heart. He is the son of a former Florida State All-America linebacker. His mother, Coletta Piurowski, was a Tampa Bay Buccaneers cheerleader.

Caz and football clashed in the early years. Now there's no better fit.

Paul sees potential through that fence. His legacy. An athlete waiting to discover a fifth gear. A friend a few months shy of graduation.

A boy - who turns 18 today - growing into a man.

A son following his father's path to Florida State.

"He still calls me daddy," Paul said. "I love it. He better not stop calling me that."

"Daddy" has coached Caz on many levels since Oct. 30, 1987.

No surprise, Caz' first word was "ball."

Dad's early rants involved lessons in walking, talking and why we don't suck our thumbs.

Caz learned the tomahawk chop, about Chief Osceola, and that it's okay to not to play football.

So at age 4, Caz stepped into the batters box for what would result in a 14-year commitment to baseball.

Shelves in his room still hold enough trophies to make a small fortune on eBay. Caz wanted to reach Cooperstown blessed with a swing that could crush a ball out of Yankee Stadium.

Paul coached his son. Coletta cheered them both.

There was summer ball, winter ball, spring ball and travel ball. Baseball was year-round, and to the Piurowskis, it was everything from working the concession stand to pressing Caz' uniform.

"That was his dream," Paul said, "to play pro baseball. Once he got the taste in his mouth for (football), I knew he'd never go back."

Other than tossing the football around, Paul said he never encouraged Caz to play football.

Youth football leagues scared Paul. He questioned the coaching and atmosphere.

"If anything, I probably shied away from it because of the injury factors and seeing some of these youth leagues, the coaching and all," Paul said. "I heard a lot about it, witnessed it and said, "You know, they push those kids too much.' There's certain things that are good about it, no question. But a lot of these coaches have no idea what they're doing. I didn't want him to be a part of that."

Coaches still pursued Caz. He was a giant among his peers. When his head first scraped the ceiling at Pine View Middle, then Land O'Lakes High two years later, coaches from both schools tossed shoulder pads at his feet.

But Caz had been turned off by his first taste at age 9. He played with older kids who wanted nothing to do with the younger Piurowski. Because of his height, he constantly had to monitor his weight to comply with the league's rules.

That bothered his parents.

"If you're a pound over they wouldn't let you play," Coletta said. "He would eat dinner early and not eat breakfast. When they finished weighing in and he was okay they headed off to Burger King to get a big breakfast.

"Paul didn't want him going through that again, worrying about his weight at such a young age."

Caz joined Pine View's team for two lackluster seasons. He entered ninth-grade determined to ignore football so he could focus on baseball and basketball.

A Sunday car ride home from church and a conversation with former teammate Bobby Castillo changed that.

"Caz kept listening," Coletta said. "On the way home, he said "Okay, I'm going to play.'

"It amazes me that it was only three years ago he was that undecided. In the three years he's played he fell in love with it enough that he wants to continue."

Paul missed just one of his son's games in 18 years.

The date was Oct. 16, 2003. Paul drove himself to a local hospital with chest pains.

He was in big trouble.

Paul, who had lost a brother to a heart attack and his father to a stroke, needed emergency double bypass surgery.

"It could have been five minutes, five hours, five days. We don't know," Paul said. "The one that was getting ready to blow was 99 percent blocked and it was what they call a Widow Maker. They say they can stand right next to you with a scalpel in hand. If it goes there's nothing they can do for you."

Caz was anxious. He couldn't visit before surgery. His mother convinced him to play.

Hours before kickoff, Caz learned his dad had made it through surgery just fine.

Coletta brought Caz and his sister, Elizabeth, to the hospital soon after Land O'Lakes' 13-6 win against Mitchell for a district championship.

Paul was still groggy as his family stood around his bed, tears in everyone's eyes.

The kids were scared.

"To see their dad lying there, the pillar of strength in the family, is a different way to look at somebody," Coletta said.

Caz told his dad about the win, his two quarterback sacks, a forced fumble.

"It was tougher on him than it was me, no question," Paul said. "If I'm not home at 5:30 he wants to know, "Where's dad?' Or, if I don't show up to watch the end of practice he wants to know why.

"He's realizing life is what it is today, and it might not be here tomorrow."

Caz always looks for his dad - after practice, after games - for some constructive criticism.

Most of Paul critiques next year will be by phone. He won't make as many practices in Tallahassee. But dad couldn't be happier with his son's decision to commit to Florida State. Caz made up his mind in July, tired of all the recruiting games.

The Seminoles had the inside track on Caz since he was in diapers.

Mom and dad started taking Caz to games when he was 2. He was one of those captivated toddlers consumed by the pageantry of garnet and gold.

"Football was just so exciting," Coletta said. "All the hoopla before games. ... I have pictures of him, 2 years old, at his first Florida State game wearing his little jersey and his little hat."

Paul's membership in the Seminoles' football fraternity granted Caz an all-access pass to the program.

Father and son drove to Tallahassee for games. Caz learned the art of tailgating and met former players.

Sometimes father and son stopped by practice.

Caz fondly recalled his first one-on-one meeting with Seminoles coach Bobby Bowden - at age 11 or 12.

"I was pretty nervous," Caz said. "I didn't know what to do. It was me, him and my dad. Then my dad stepped out and it was me and him in his office. It was cool for a young kid like me to meet a legend like that. It was awesome."

Caz started going to games with friends and teammates his sophomore year.

They know at least one big man on campus - Florida State quarterback Drew Weatherford, who doesn't forget his former Land O'Lakes teammates, often offering them a place to sleep.

Weatherford has shared tales of what Caz can expect his first game as a freshman in the Orange Bowl against rival Miami.

"He said he was nervous even though he was redshirting," Caz said of Weatherford. "I don't know what to think about that. ... I might have to change my pants when I hear 80,000 screaming fans."

But he'll still have his old coach with him somewhere in the stands.

Dad doesn't plan on missing any more games.

"As I told my wife, she might have to come visit us," Paul said. "I may move."

- Contact Izzy Gould at 727 580-5315 or igould@sptimes.com

[Last modified October 30, 2005, 01:13:18]