Colleges

FSU leaves 36 off travel roster

Seven starters among those to miss bowl; 'Noles warn not all involved in cheating scandal.

By Brian Landman
Published December 23, 2007

ADVERTISEMENT [Willie J. Allen, Jr. | Times] Caz Piurowski, who played at Land O'Lakes High, admitted involvement in the academic scandal, his father said.

Florida State will be without seven projected starters when it heads to Nashville to meet Kentucky in the Music City Bowl on Dec. 31, according to the travel roster that the school released Saturday.

In all, 36 players - 25 scholarship players and 11 walk-ons - listed in the FSU bowl guide aren't on the list of 85 for varied but unspecified reasons, which include the academic misconduct scandal involving dozens of student-athletes in at least nine sports.

The seven missing first-teamers: tackle Daron Rose Jefferson High, guard Jacky Claude, tight end Charlie Graham, defensive end Neefy Moffett, defensive tackle Budd Thacker, linebacker Dekoda Watson and cornerback Patrick Robinson.

Others with starting experience in 2007 not going: tight end Caz Piurowski (Land O'Lakes), defensive tackle Letroy Guion, quarterback Xavier Lee, defensive end Justin Mincey, receiver Richard Goodman and running back Marcus Sims. Goodman and Sims are out injured and wouldn't have played.

"We are releasing our travel roster for the Music City Bowl as we do prior to all road games," associate athletic director Rob Wilson said in a statement. "It is very important that the media make clear that those missing the bowl trip are not included because of either injury or for a violation of team policy. We cannot, due to student records laws, provide more specific information with respect to each student-athlete. It would be irresponsible to imply or state that any or all of the student-athletes will miss the trip for one particular reason."

Wilson says a majority of the walk-ons would not have traveled regardless.

FSU is, however, in the midst of an academic misconduct scandal that in large part involves a tutor who gave student-athletes answers to online tests for a Music and Western Culture class.

Piurowski's father, Paul, a former FSU linebacker, said his son has admitted wrongdoing in the scandal and will miss the bowl and the first three games of the 2008 season.

"This is not easy for anybody," the elder Piurowski said. "It's not easy for Caz, for his teammates, for his coaches, for his parents. It has tentacles that spread farther, to people at church, to people in the malls. But it's happened and he's going to serve his punishment, learn from it and move forward."

Receiver Joslin Shaw (Plant City High) is not on the travel list, and his sister Kenyatta told the Times that it has nothing to do with the scandal. Shaw was one of two players (defensive end Kevin McNeil is the other) linked to the scandal at the outset, but he sat out the first four games, was reinstated and had his best performance in the regular-season finale against Florida. He missed a couple of practices earlier this week and coach Bobby Bowden said he had "papers to finish."

"He's waiting on a grade," Kenyatta Shaw said, adding her brother got behind in a class when he was dejected about his suspension earlier in the season. "He's turned in all the work."

Whatever the reasons for the players being left off the travel list - the scandal, other violations of team rules or injuries - the result is the Seminoles will have a patchwork lineup, especially along both lines and at linebacker.

Rose had started 11 of 12 games at left tackle and was graded by coaches as one of the best blockers down the stretch. He confirmed days ago he was working with the second team but wouldn't comment about his status beyond that.

Claude also started 11 games, had the versatility to play both guard positions, and was just named the permanent offensive captain at the team's awards dinner earlier this month. Senior David Overmyer, who has started 26 games in his career, eight this season, will fill one of those spots. Tight end is more problematic with Graham and Piurowski out; they were 1-2 on the depth chart. Converted center John Frady figures to play there.

Along the defensive front, tackle Andre Fluellen, healthier now than he has been all season, and ends Everette Brown and Alex Boston will have to be the mainstays and stay on the field longer than FSU typically asks of its players. The linebacking corps still has standout Geno Hayes and Derek Nicholson, but Watson and Marcus Ball have big-play capability and will be missed. In the secondary, Patrick Robinson started five games and had a team-leading six interceptions (second in the ACC and tied for 10th nationally). Michael Ray Garvin started five games, and he figures to take over for Robinson.

"I've never had to shuffle like this," Bowden said earlier this week. "I think we'll be competitive.

"Where it hurts you is depth. You've got to stay healthy."

Brian Landman can be reached at landman@tampabay.com or (813) 226-3347.

Who's not going?

Those not traveling,in alphabetical order:

Scholarship players (25)
Player Yr. Pos.
Marcus Ball So. LB
Russell Ball R-So. RB
Bernard Brinson Fr. CB
J.R. Bryant Sr. CB
Jacky Claude* Sr. G
Brandon Davis R-Fr. C
Rodney Gallon R-Jr. LB
Richard Goodman*Jr. WR
Charlie Graham* R-So. TE
Tyler Graves R-Fr. TE
Paul Griffin R-Jr. DT
Letroy Guion* Jr. DT
Anthony Kelly R-Sr. LB
Xavier Lee* R-Jr. QB
Kevin McNeil So. DE
Justin Mincey* So. DE
Neefy Moffett* Jr. DE
Caz Piurowski* So. TE
Patrick Robinson* So. CB
Daron Rose * So. T
Joslin Shaw R-Sr. WR
Marcus Sims* So. FB
Joe Surratt Sr. FB
Budd Thacker* So. DT
Dekoda Watson* So. LB

Walk-ons (11)
Phillip Browning R-So. T
Eli Charles R-So. DE
Randall Cox R-So. G |
Marcus Ford R-Sr. OL
John McKnight Sr. P
Antoine Seay So. DE
Jacob Stanley Fr. T
Jeremiah ThompsonR-So. LS
Dustin Tremellen Fr. DT
Antonio White R-Sr. FB
Craig Yarborough Fr. DE
* Started at least once in 2007. R - Redshirt

Note: List compiled by comparing FSU's travel list with team's roster in Music City Bowl media guide.

[Last modified December 22, 2007, 23:40:06]