Young QBs will make Weatherford work to keep job
Despite his huge advantage in experience, you can bet Weatherford will have to battle for the fourth straight offseason to hold on to his starting position.
By BRIAN LANDMAN
Published January 3, 2008
It has been the offseason question for Florida State football for years: Who's going to be the quarterback?
That, of course, is the byproduct of when a team's offense continues to be average. Fair or unfair, the quarterback soaks up the glory or shoulders the blame.
So what do we make of Drew Weatherford? Well, the redshirt junior from Land O'Lakes, the predominant starter the past three years, was efficient in 2007. He completed 181 of 318 passes 57 percent with just three interceptions, two of which came in the final minutes of the Music City Bowl loss against Kentucky. But he also threw a career-low nine touchdowns.
"I think he's coming on," coach Bobby Bowden said. "You've finally got him to the place where he can produce. A guy has to struggle as he gains experience. He struggles and struggles, and all of a sudden he can produce."
He was solid Monday, hitting 22 of 48 passes for 276 yards and a touchdown. He also showed some elusiveness, taking only one sack, and some determination running the ball, with 48 yards and two touchdowns.
"I haven't really had a lot of opportunities to run the ball this year," he said. "They had some called runs for me, which got me a little more comfortable and confident tucking the ball down and running with it, and I was fortunate to make a couple big plays to help my team out."
But a dearth of big plays overall is something FSU has suffered in recent years and needs to change if it is to reclaim its position among the national elite.
So, despite his huge advantage in experience, you can bet Weatherford will have to battle for the fourth straight offseason to hold on to his starting position. The coaches are high on redshirt freshmen Christian Ponder, who showed glimpses of brilliance when he relieved an injured Weatherford at Virginia Tech, and D'Vontrey Richardson.
"They'll have to overcome it with some great plays because of his experience," Bowden said.
A wild card could be touted dual-threat quarterback E.J. Manuel, who's expected to sign in February and be a cornerstone of a Top 5 recruiting class.
Offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Jimbo Fisher promises that the position, all of the positions for that matter, will be open come the spring and summer.
"That's not because I'm unhappy" with Weatherford, he said. "We have to learn to compete. ... That's when you become a good football team, when you have guys pushing each other every day for jobs, and those guys who want to keep them get better and those guys who don't want to keep them (will) let somebody pass them."
WHAT ABOUT LEE? Bowden said he's unsure what redshirt junior quarterback Xavier Lee is thinking.
"I expect him back, but I don't know," Bowden said. "There are variables I don't have control over. I don't know how he's going to play it."
Lee won the starting job this year only to lose it, then fell to No.3 when he was suspended for missing classes. He was left off the bowl roster. If he were to leave, he would have to transfer to an NAIA school to be able to play his final season.
SEEKING OPINIONS: Third-year sophomore defensive end Everette Brown said he has asked the NFL draft advisory board for its appraisal of his projected status, not that he's thinking of bolting early.
"I just want to see what areas I have to improve on," he said.
AWARD NOMINEES: Ohio State senior fullback Dionte Johnson, Ilinois senior linebacker J Lehman and Kentucky senior tight end Jacob Tamme are the finalists for the fifth annual Bobby Bowden Award, which recognizes the Division I-A student-athlete who conducts himself as a faith model in the community. The nominees have to have at least a 3.0 GPA and receive the backing of their coach and athletic director. The winner will be announced at the Fellowship of Christian Athletes banquet on Friday in New Orleans.
Brian Landman can be reached at landman@sptimes.com or (813) 226-3347.