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© St. Petersburg Times, published October 9, 2001
Powell pays visit to FSU's practice
TALLAHASSEE -- Florida State senior defensive end Eric Powell, who was shot in the back during an attempted robbery last month in Orlando, visited practice Monday. He walked around and received a warm welcome from teammates.
"I feel like that's the best thing for me," he said. "I feel a lot better being around the team. I'm happy to be back in Tallahassee basically."
Powell, who has lost 20-25 pounds since the shooting, will return to classes today and plans to appeal to the NCAA for a medical hardship so he can play next season.
"I'm glad he's able to come back and go to school," coach Bobby Bowden said.
"He'll have to shorten his load a little bit, but at least he can get back in school and try to get back into the flow of things."
INJURIES: Several players returned to practice. Starting fullback William McCray (sprained ankle), defensive lineman Travis Johnson (sprained left ankle) and cornerback Malcolm Tatum (fractured right hand) participated in practice. Starting noseguard Jeff Womble continued to nurse a sprained ligament in his left elbow. He is questionable for Saturday's game against Miami, though he insists he will play.
CLASSIC GAMES: ESPN Classic will show two thrilling FSU-Miami games on Friday. The 2000 game will air at 1 p.m. and the 1991 game, also known as Wide Right I, at 9 p.m. -- ALEX ABRAMS, BRIAN LANDMAN
GAINESVILLE -- Florida quarterback Rex Grossman's 462-yard passing game drew most of the attention on Saturday, but it was the performance of Alex Brown that earned conference honors.
The senior defensive end was named the SEC's Defensive Player of the Week for his play at Auburn on Saturday. Brown had seven tackles, including four solo, and two sacks for minus-14 yards in the top-ranked Gators' 44-15 victory at LSU on Saturday.
Brown added two blocked kicks and had five quarterback pressures. He also broke UF's career sack record with his 28th.
INJURIES: Coach Steve Spurrier on Grossman's injured ankle: "It's banged up a little bit, but he was decent today. He'll be all right." Several players are nursing injuries: running back Earnest Graham (sprained ankle) and defensive end Bobby McCray (sprained ankle, out for Saturday). Linebacker Andra Davis has a broken right hand but practiced. -- ANTONYA ENGLISH
TAMPA -- For about 30 minutes after practice, South Florida's players ran sprints.
Afterward, a weary coach Jim Leavitt looked like he had been dunked in a pool of sweat -- he had been doing the punitive extra work alongside his players. "I owed that to the team," Leavitt said.
Leavitt was as disappointed in himself as the team for USF's dismal performance in Saturday's 52-21 loss at Utah, in which the Utes bolted to a 38-0 lead and never were challenged.
Leavitt got the response he was looking for: "That was probably the best Monday night practice we've had. The guys were serious and focused. I'd expect nothing less."
CHARGES DROPPED: USF redshirt freshman defensive back Antonio Warren returned to practice after missing five weeks following his arrest on charges of possession of a weapon -- box cutter -- on school grounds, a third-degree felony. Charges against Warren were dropped Thursday. -- PETE YOUNG