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Redshirt freshman has the legs of one FSU Heisman winner and the work ethic and poise of another.
By BRIAN LANDMAN
© St. Petersburg Times, published August 19, 2001
TALLAHASSEE -- Chris Rix had barely gotten through the door at the end of one of the biggest nights of his life, certainly of his football life, when the phone rang.
Hello, dad.
In his Orange County (Calif.) home, Chris Rix Sr. had gone online and read the news that Florida State coach Bobby Bowden had switched Anquan Boldin back to receiver, ending any question about who the Seminoles' starting quarterback would be.
Hello, son.
"My dad wasn't too thrilled," Rix said. "When I signed with Florida State, all I got was a handshake. He always stresses to stay humble, stay modest and do my job. Most of the time it's good, but sometimes it'd be nice for him to get a little excited and congratulate me on something, but I never really get that. That's not my dad."
"They don't give out medals when you get your marching orders," his father said. "Only when you're under fire and you've gone above and beyond the call of duty. We'll hold off on the medals and parades until we see what happens by Nov. 18."
You don't have to spend much time around Rix to know he's truly his father's son.
Rix, who turned 20 in May, comes off low-key and remarkably even-keeled. Upon learning Wednesday night that his battle with Boldin had ended, he neither cracked a smile nor let his tone jump an octave or three.
"I'm just going to keep doing what I've been doing: work hard and try to get better," he said.
That demeanor should serve him and his teammates well. He's poised to become the first redshirt freshman to start the season opener at the most crucial of positions for FSU during the Bowden era.
"He is not an accomplished quarterback; how could he possibly be? He's never even played in a college game," Bowden said. "But right now he's the best quarterback we have with the potential to be a great quarterback. How quickly he develops, we have to play it out. So far, he's done everything we've asked and he's been able to grasp everything we're trying to do. He's just moving right along."
Rix couldn't have expected to be in this position so soon. Not at FSU, where a quarterback normally has had to wait until his redshirt junior season to start.
These aren't normal times.
Jared Jones, who would have been a redshirt junior and the logical heir to Heisman Trophy winner Chris Weinke, was dismissed from the team shortly after the Orange Bowl loss to Oklahoma. Without throwing a single pass or playing a single down, Rix suddenly was it.
He competed almost evenly throughout the spring with Boldin, a former high school quarterback who moved to receiver a few days into his freshman season. Bowden said he may play both, at least initially, even though Rix began separating himself from Boldin as the more "consistent" passer.
Then senior Robert Morgan had a season-ending knee injury and with senior Atrews Bell and junior Talman Gardner sidelined with hamstring strains, Bowden felt forced to switch Boldin to shore up the receiver position.
"Sometimes, it's hard to believe, but I just feel real fortunate and blessed to be put in this position so early," Rix said. "I hope I can take full advantage of the opportunity I have."
Before he left for the NFL, Weinke expressed confidence in the youngster.
"He has unbelievable ability," he said. "It's how much does he want to dedicate himself, how much he really wants to be successful. It's up to the individual. ... By no means are things going to come easy for anybody at this position at this university."
Chip Ferguson can relate. He's the only other freshman to start at quarterback here under Bowden. Ferguson, 18 and a freshman, did that on Nov. 2, 1985, against -- oh, boy -- No. 11 Miami.
"I was the type of person who was very calm under pressure," said Ferguson, who owns a corrugated box company in Charlotte, N.C. (He completed 14 of 28 passes for 158 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions in a 35-27 loss to the Hurricanes at Doak Campbell Stadium.) "If a person does get excited, then mentally he may start making mistakes. That's the biggest thing, that he keep his cool."
If the 6-foot-4, 205-pound Rix does that, then look out Duke.
And UAB. And ...
Don't be misled by Rix's modest statistics as a high school senior at Santa Margarita. He threw for only about 1,000 yards in coach Jim Hartigan's wide-open offense.
But Hartigan is the first to tell you that Rix didn't have many experienced, skilled playmakers around him. Rix also transferred to the school in late July 1999 when his family moved to Orange County and had virtually no time to learn the voluminous playbook.
"Chris came from a running system and we had a system that had just graduated (USC star) Carson Palmer," Hartigan said. "We didn't know a whole lot about him when he came here, but we threw the entire package at him."
It didn't take long to see that Rix was a quick study, had the arm strength at least as strong as Palmer's (he has thrown the ball 70 yards on a tight spiral) and can run. Fast.
About a 4.45 in the 40. That's not Michael Vick-like, but it gives FSU a dimension it hasn't had since Charlie Ward. Santa Margarita also took advantage of Rix's legs. He rushed for about 550 yards that season.
In the final regular-season game against Servite, Hartigan surprisingly moved him to receiver to capitalize on his athleticism. Rix merely had five catches for 186 yards, including touchdowns of 69- and 40-yards, in a hard-fought 31-27 loss. Oh, and he had a separated shoulder at the time.
"Chris is just a phenomenal athlete and competitor," Hartigan said. "He's a guy who's young in college experience, but he's been exposed to a lot of things."
On and off the field.
Rix's mother, Theda, died of cancer in 1989. She was 42.
He was 7.
"I remember being at her side in the hospital when she was going through the rough times," he said calmly. "Even though my family tried to shield me from it. The best thing about it was a week before she passed, she got saved."
From an early age, Rix's father read passages from the Bible to his son in the hopes of instilling a "real foundation" spiritually and "something he could carry with him every day" to feel more confident, more at peace with himself and his surroundings.
His son knows it has.
Just as important, his father tried to give him an emotionally stable foundation.
His son knows he did. "He sacrificed a lot; he put his life on hold," Rix said appreciatively.
"Enduring that tragedy put me in a situation where we spent a lot of time together," said his father, a stockbroker. "I couldn't say to him, "I'm busy. Let your mother take care of this.' It was really great. We did a lot of things together. We played sports together a lot. It was a very special time in our lives and, as a byproduct, I think it helped him develop an affinity for sports. That playing sports is fun."
Even in a practice, you can see he approaches the game with a joie de vivre.
"He's a high-energy guy; he's an explosive energy out there," Bell said, adding that Rix doesn't get too high or too low.
"He's a hard worker and he's real poised," echoed Boldin.
Those were traits that made Weinke so special. Of course, he was 26 when he took over the starting job as a sophomore. He'd also spent six years playing professional baseball. In addition to studying the offense and film last season, Rix studied the way Weinke prepared for practice and games, marveling at his elder's command of the schemes and his unflappability.
"Whether he threw an interception or a touchdown, he came back to the bench and reacted the same way," Rix said. "He didn't dwell on a mistake he made or celebrate and get out of control if he threw a 98-yard touchdown.
"Hopefully, I can get to the stage, or even close to it, where Chris was. ... I know I've got a ways to go before I get to the Chris Weinke level, but I'm working hard in practice so I can carry on what he did here because he did a lot of great things."
Dad would be proud.
Heck, he might show it. When the time is right.
POSITION: Quarterback.
HEIGHT/WEIGHT: 6-4; 205 pounds.
AGE: 20.
HIGH SCHOOL: Rancho High, Santa Margarita, Calif.
HONORS: One of the top prep quarterbacks in the nation as a senior, earning a Blue Chip ranking from Street & Smith, Tom Lemming, Gridiron Classic, Border Wars and CouchScout. MVP at the Nike Combine at USC in 1999. Starting quarterback in the inaugural CaliFlorida Bowl, leading the California all-stars to a 20-11 win at the Rose Bowl. The Seminoles' football representative on the student-advisory council. Turned down major-league baseball offers in June 2000 to come to FSU.