Countdown to 2010 - #23 Travis Minor

Minor was a four-year letterman for the Florida State Seminoles where he started 33 of the 43 games in which he played during his career, including 30 starts over his final three years. He finished his career with 3,218 yards rushing and 28 touchdowns on 664 attempts, while also catching 106 passes for 831 yards and three scores and is the school's third all-time leading rusher, trailing only Warrick Dunn (3,959) and Greg Allen (3,769). He led team in rushing all four years and was a second-team All-Atlantic Coast Conference selection as a senior when he rushed for a career-high 923 yards and five touchdowns on 181 carries, and tallied a career-best 42 receptions for 333 yards. He played in the Senior Bowl following his senior season. Coincidentally, Travis Minor and Warrick Dunn also attended the same high school. (Catholic High, Baton Rouge)

Captain's Memories: Travis Minor was a highly touted back coming into Florida State and had a very good career with the Seminoles. Regardless, Minor never really gets the credit he deserves and I think it's because of the ties to Warrick Dunn. WD is a god in Tallahassee and had just ended his college career when Minor came in. With Minor coming from the same high school many Noles fans expected another Dunn and instead they are completely different runners. Minor didn't have quite the shiftiness that Dunn did (who did though?) but he was a much tougher runner and could really lay a lick to the defense.

Minor was also hurt for much of his college career but played through it. Although no one ever knew all the injuries he battled Minor just continued to trot out there every Saturday and give his all.

The play I remember Minor for most was a run against UVA in his first start of his career. The hype machine was at its highest ever for Minor, unfortunately he'll never be remembered as fondly as he should be by Seminole Nation.

Countdown to 2010 - #25 Fred Biletnikoff

Years: 1962-64

Position: Wide receiver

The Buzz: Biletnikoff could put on shows catching passes before offenses relied on the passing game. The Pro Football Hall of Famer played 14 seasons with the Oakland Raiders, catching 589 passes for 8,974 yards and 76 touchdowns.

Stats: He caught 57 passes and 11 touchdowns during his senior season. Biletnikoff had 87 receptions for 1,463 yards and 16 touchdowns in his FSU career.

Honors: He became Florida State's first NCAA consensus All-American in 1964. The Biletnikoff Award is given annually to the top receiver in college football.

Great moment: Biletnikoff caught 13 passes for 192 yards and four touchdowns in a 36-19 victory against Oklahoma in the 1964 Gator Bowl.

Quote: "Every time I looked downfield, he was open, and every time I threw him the ball, he caught it. He caught the ball like he had glue on his hands." — quarterback Steve Tensi, quoted in the book Seminoles! The First Forty Years

Captain's Memories: None, duh... Although every receiver in history will be compared to Frederick because of the Fred Biletnikoff Award that honors the great receiver and his abilities.

No FSU video that I could find but this is a great video showing some amazing catches but also some very good football minds speaking his praises. BONUS: Al Davis is still alive and talking in this video!

Countdown to 2010 - #26 Willie Reid

Reid's 210 all-purpose yards (79 rec., 98 punt ret., 33 kick ret.) and 83-yard punt return for a touchdown earned him Most Valuable Player honors in the first-ever ACC Championship Game, a 27-22 victory over Virginia Tech.

Out of Warner Robins High School in Kathleen, Georgia Willie Reid will be remembered for the play in the picture above against Virginia Tech in the ACC's Inaugural Championship Game. After a 3-3 halftime score FSU would get a stop early in the 3rd quarter and then Reid would take over. The Punt Return TD would spur a 24 point 3rd Qtr that allowed FSU to take control and win the game.

I looked far and wide but unfortunately couldn't find any video of that play but it was amazing, take my word for it.

Countdown to 2010 - #27 Terrell Buckley

Cornerback Terrell Buckley owned most of FSU's interception records following his terrific three-year career from 1989-91. Buckley earned consensus All-America honors as a junior after setting a Seminole record with 12 interceptions in 1991. He became FSU's second Jim Thorpe winner following his junior campaign. He held the FSU career record for pass interceptions with 21 when he was inducted and was also one of the Seminoles' all-time great punt returners. He scored seven career touchdowns, four on interceptions and three on punts. His interception return for a touchdown on the second play of the 1991 game at Michigan was quintessential FSU football. He was the fifth pick in the 1992 NFL draft after his junior year and played over 15 years in the NFL.

Captain's Memories: T-Buck as he's officially known amongst Florida State fans was my generations Deion Sanders. I remember being completely sure no one would ever throw to Buckley's side because he would take everything in his vicinity back to the house. Hell, he was likely to pick-6 a throw to the other side of the field too. He was also electric on punt returns.

No interception was more important in his career than in the 1991 game against Michigan in the Big House. All the talk was about Desmond Howard (1991 was the season he flashed the Heisman pose) and Buckley was assigned to cover Howard all over the field.

Right out of the gate Michigan wanted to set a tone for the game and get Howard the ball. Well T-Buck knew this too and jumped the curl route and took it to the house. A tone was set alright as the Noles went on to win 51-31 in what some call the Greatest Game In FSU's History.

Two Bonuses in this game:

1 - If you're a football fan of any kind you'll recognize Gene Deckerhoff's voice as the play-by-play man on this video. Gene has been calling FSU games for about 30 years so I obviously grew up with him calling every FSU game I ever watched. However Gene also does basketball, baseball and Tampa Bay Bucs football.

Gene is one of the best play-by-play men ever in sports and just hearing his voice gives me goose bumps and gets me ready for the season. Don't ever retire Gene, FSU Football wouldn't be the same without you.

2 - We get to see a forlorn Elvis Grbac after he throws the pick to Buckley. We would all grow to know that Grbac look well as he stunk in the NFL and threw plenty of picks. That also brings back memories.

Countdown to 2010 - #28 Warrick Dunn

Isn't that photo great? Go to hell Gaytors!

Captain's Memories: Warrick Dunn is on the short list of best athletes, and people, ever at Florida State University. he was the starting running back for the 1993 Championship team that also featured Heisman winner Charlie Ward, and he would go down in Florida State lore for a play early in his Seminole career.

Early on the game looked to be a blowout as the Seminoles built a 27-7 lead in the fourth quarter.

The Gators would make a comeback behind freshman Danny Wuerffel, who would lead Florida to two quick scores to cut the Florida State lead to 27-21.

Charlie Ward would win the Heisman trophy on what happened next.

With six minutes remaining in the game and the Seminoles facing a third down and 21, the Swamp was shaking so hard it registered as an earthquake.

Ward would not be fazed by the noise or the shaking. He would find the other talented freshman Warrick Dunn, who raced down the sideline for the 79-yard touchdown.

I remember absolutely losing my mind when Dunn broke free down the sidelines and I was convinced he was never gonna make the endzone, it seemed the field was 200 yards long. I'm pretty sure I peed just a little I was so happy.

I searched high and far for video of this play as it's possibly the best play he ever had at Florida State but it was deleted from YouTube for some reason. In the end I think this deletion may be a good thing though as I ended up finding a video that I think works better.

For as good a player Warrick Dunn was on the field he's an even better person off the field.

Dunn is from Louisiana, and according to Wikipedia:

"In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, Dunn challenged all NFL players, except for those who play for the New Orleans Saints, to donate at least $5,000 to the effort. The effort received over $5 million in contributions."

Warrick's long been known for his Warrick Dunn Foundation, started when he played for the home state Tampa Bay Buccaneers. However it's in small circles that he gets the praise he really should. If you're interested in finding out more about Warrick Dunn and his charities please google "Warrick Dunn Foundation" and donate to the cause; I make sure to do it every year.

In closing I want to say that Warrick Dunn is one of my favorite athletes I have ever had the pleasure of cheering for. I could have posted a list of his statistics at FSU, gone on about his role in bringing championships to Seminole fans, sang his praises for his generosity in giving back to the school or detailed the numerous athletic awards and achievements Dunn has been given for his prowess on the football field. However, I feel proud to root for Warrick Dunn the man, and that makes him one of the truly elite athletes of his era and a True Seminole.

GO NOLES!

Countdown to 2010 - #30 Keith Henderson

For the next 30 days The Captain and The Coach will be counting down the days to the start of college football season. For each day we will look at a former UGA or FSU player that wore the jersey of the corresponding days left to kickoff on September 4th. Enjoy and come back daily.

#30 Keith Henderson

                                   Henderson against the Clemson Tigers (Ht to DawgBone.net)

Coming to the University of Georgia from Cartersville High School Henderson played between the hedges from 1985-1988. While his primary position was fullback and he blocked for the likes of Tim Worley and Rodney Hampton, Henderson is best known for his performance against the University of Florida in 1985. Florida came into the game ranked number 1 for the first time in school history only to see Henderson rush for 145 yards on nine carries. He had two touchdown runs of 76 and 32 yards. As a team UGA ran for 344 yards on that glorious Saturday afternoon . In fact the writers at Gator Country called this loss the 5th most bitter in Florida history. Let's have Coach Vince Dooley give us the highlights.

 

Henderson ranks third all time in UGA history in average rush per career at 6.04 yards.  His average of 6.77 yards gained per rush in 1985 ranks 5th. After his playing career days at the University of Georgia were finished he was drafted in the third round of the 1989 draft by the San Fransico 49ers. While with the 49ers Henderson played in Super Bowl XXIV which the 49ers pummeled the Broncos 55-10. His NFL career totaled four seasons 755 total yards rushing and 4 touchdowns.

Other greats who wore #30 include co-worker and fullback Scott Williams.

Countdown to 2010 - #29 Lawrence Dawsey

Captain's Memories:

Dawsey was part of the "Fabulous Four" WR group at FSU in the late 80's and early 90's along with receivers Bruce Lasane, Terry Anthony and Ronald Lewis. All four guys made a visit back to FSU for the 2010 spring game in which they appeared in a flag football game featuring former Nole stars at halftime.

This was a joy because I was only about 9 years old when they all exhausted their eligibility and I didn't have much of a recollection of them. Dawsey looked like he could still suit up and be affective even at 42. He never really relied on his athleticism and was more known as a posession receive although he could turn on the jets when needed as evidenced below:



After being drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Dawsey won the Rookie Of The Year award in 1991. Dawsey would stick in the NFL till 1999, last playing for the New Orleans Saints before moving on to WR coach at The University of South Florida.

Dawsey has now entered into this 4th season with the Noles as the WR Coach at his alma mater and is an integral part in a fantastic recruiting class last year, especially at WR. He is officially credited with being the key recruiter for the four 4-star WR's FSU received a commitment from in February 2010 (Kenny Shaw, Christian Green, DeJohsua Johnson, Greg Dent).

If he continues down this successful path with the current FSU coaching staff then I suspect Lawrence Dawsey will be more remembered for his coaching exploits for FSU than his playing career, but he will be remembered.

Finally, a bit more perspective on Mr. Dawsey courtesy of NoleFan.Org: After the 1990 season, Lawrence Dawsey was awarded the Crenshaw award. In 1989 he had been a member of the famous FSU "Fabulous Four" group of wide receivers. After the others had exhausted their eligibility, Dawsey came back for another year. Throughout his senior season, he was not only the team's leading receiver but maintained a major leadership role as well. He was regarded as a "blue-collar receiver" who was not particularly fast but who "got the job done." As a result, at the end of the season, he was an Associated Press and Football Writers Association first team All-American selection and made a number of other all star lists as well in addition to being designated as the Seminole that year "with the biggest heart."

Dawsey went on to play eight years in the NFL, the first five of which were with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. In 1997, he was inducted into FSU's Athletics Hall of Fame.

Top 10 Coaching Jobs in College Football

This morning my Brother-in-Law sent me an email about a discussion his local sports radio hosts were having concerning college football (he lives in Norman, Oklahoma and is a University of Oklahoma graduate). This discussion centered around the best jobs in College Football right now. We ended up talking about this for a very long time finally ending with an extremely long email chain and some very well thought out rankings. Since this subject is so compelling (I seem to discuss this every year with someone) I figured it would make for an entertaining read.

There are numerous subjective ways to discuss this topic but for the sake of this post this is the one thought I kept in mind while forming my rankings: "What job would I want if I was taking the job today and moving forward?"

Inherent within that question is a devaluing of the usual items put into play when discussing these jobs; namely, tradition. As you will see when I describe the 5 main criteria I used to rank these teams the storied history of some teams does not make them a candidate for this discussion. In my opinion a championship or Heisman trophy that happened in 1948 has no bearing on today's "internet age" culture. Only the last 5-10 years are relevant, anything earlier than that is ancient history.

With that in mind, here are the rankings.

The areas I looked at in order, because they would be most important to me as a coach:

1. Recruiting base - I am a basketball coach here in Tallahassee, FL. I've been told I'm a good basketball coach that knows the game and really relates to his players well. I've been told that I would be considered for a head coaching job at numerous places all around the city (a good basketball city). That being said I was winless, 0-13, as the head coach of my JV team. Coaches don't mean shit if you don't have the players. Recruiting is factor #1.

2. Conference - I want a BCS conference but an easy road. That road can be easy based on my teams talent (Texas) and/or based on the other teams in my division/conference (FSU/Miami). This makes the Pac-10 a better conference to take a job in than the SEC in my opinion.

Also, for teams in the same conference the conference rating can differ. Texas is easily the #1 Institution in the #1 recruiting state in their Conference making the Big 12 a better fit for Texas than it is for Oklahoma.

example: if I'm comparing taking a job at Texas or Miami I'd take Texas in the Big 12 because they own the Big 12 in every facet; but if I'm comparing taking Oklahoma or Miami I'd take Miami in the ACC because they'll dominate the conference more easily.

Finally, for you SEC homers that still don't understand this: LSU might be a great job, but I'd give Michigan a higher Conference rank because it's easier to get through the Big 10 than the SEC. Yes, the SEC's overall conference strength hurts them in my eyes. Why go slog through a dog fight every week when I get to play Indiana and Illinois sometimes?

3. Fan Base/Facilities - as much as we don't want to admit it, these two are tied together. A wealthy fan base/alumni will increase the level of facilities and experiences of a recruit tenfold (Okie St. wouldn't be shit without T. Boone Pickens...).

4. Brand Recognition/Cool factor/Influence - All 3 of these are very similar to each other and really matter to recruits. These are high school kids who just want to play football, get looked at/drafted by the NFL and impress chicks. Playing for Oklahoma doesn't impress the chicks or attract the NFL as much as playing for Florida does.

5. Recent Success/Tradition - This is a "what have you done for me lately" society. Young or old we move on so quick that even 10 years ago is a distant memory and considered "old school". It's still a factor, but it's not as major as people want to claim it to be,and RECENT tradition has more of an impact (UF, Bama, Texas).

With that in mind, here's how I would rank each team in my top 10 on each of those factors:

Recruiting Base
1. Texas - no competition in their own state which happens to be one of the best recruiting grounds in football
2. UF - Crazy amount of reach in best recruiting state
3. USC - Dominates California, also one of the best
4. Bama - Hits about 5 great states at the same time, quite possibly the most reach
5. Ohio State - Ohio/Michigan underrated for recruits, Wisconsin produces great Linemen
6. FSU - 2nd best recruiting team in Florida, recruits South Florida better than Miami
7. LSU - Completely owns a fertile Louisiana and taps into Texas some
8. Oklahoma - very strong in Texas and does well all over South/Mid West
9. Miami - Gotta lock down hometown to climb this ranking
10. Michigan - OSU gets most of the recruits, Wolverines get left overs like FSU, however Florida's leftovers are much better than Ohio, Wisconsin, Michigan leftovers

Conference
1. Texas - Beat OU in October and they win the Conference Championship and more times than not go to the BCS Championship game
2. Ohio State - They have a bunch of 2's in their league, but no 1b to their 1a.
3. USC - Sanctions/loss of scholly's weaken their team, allowing Pac-10 to gain ground
4. FSU - Have you seen our division? It's terrible, how are we not in the ACC Champ. Game every year?
5. Miami - Coastal division not as terrible as FSU's, but beat Va. Tech and their in the Champ. Game every year.
6. Michigan - Iowa/Penn State better in conference right now, but they didn't make my top 10
7. Oklahoma - Tough task to beat UT every year, but nice to know if they win one game the Big 12 championship is theirs for the taking.
8. Bama - Have to go through UF
9. UF - Have to go through Bama
10. LSU - Have to go through both Bama/UF making them #3 in their conference at best and on the outside looking in every year.

Fan Base
1. Bama - they have old money, new money, big corporations and mom and pops. Plus NO ONE travels better than Bama. They turn their bowl game into a home game every year.
2. Texas - Bama Jr. with a bit more national reach as far as reaching fans IMO
3. UF - Money, hot chicks, tons of fans (arrogant prick fans, but fans none-the-less)
4. LSU - Fanatics that travel extremely well and are proud to wear purple, that counts for something.
5. Oklahoma - long standing fan base that are rabid with deep pockets
6. Ohio State - Dominate the North East fandom with lots of Boosters
7. Michigan - The Big House ALWAYS sells out and their facilities are funded from plenty of willing boosters.
8. FSU - 60K in attendance for this past spring game with a varied demographic because we're a public school. The money is newer than most programs so we're building.
9. USC - Too bandwagon and don't really show up even when they're good. Their true fan base is smaller than you think.
10. Miami - so fair-weather, Only game they sell out is the Noles, most of the time the stadium is half full


Cool Factor/Brand
1. Texas - I see people flashing the Hook Em Horns sign even here in Florida and the clamoring for LongHorn Network is deafening. Their Cheerleader outfits are legendary.
2. UF - Gator Chomp/Swamp are known everywhere. Dance team, Erin Andrews, Anyone?
3. Miami - "we invented swag" and the Bad Boy Canes live on, coolest entrance in College Football
4. Bama - The simple helmets, the Roll Tide chants and of course the Houndstooth hats
5. USC - Trojans are a Hollywood tradition. Rappers and Actors alike tout them, instantly making them cool. Plus they have smoking chicks.
6.Ohio State - everyone knows "THE Ohio State University". It can't be stated enough how much OSU dominates the North/North East
7. LSU - Death Valley is a great name plus they have the whole New Orleans party vibe for every game
8. FSU - everyone knows the Chop and we're famous for our hot girls (Jenn Sterger to name one especially "blessed" fan) and cool Helmets. Our recent struggles have quieted our thunder
9. Oklahoma - Boomer Sooner instantly recognizable and great helmets
10. Michigan - The Big House and the best helmets in college football. Appalachian State didn't help.


Recent Success/Tradition
1. Bama - tons of national championships including the most recent National/SEC Championships and Heisman
2. Florida - National and SEC Championship appearances and wins, Heisman winners (Tebow)
3. Texas - Ditto (Vince Young)
4. Ohio State - other than the fact they lost all their really big games they're one of the top 5 most successful programs recently
5. USC - scratching Reggie Bush from the Media Guide doesn't erase him from the minds of fans and recruits
6. Oklahoma - Recent championship winner with top draft picks, also boasts Heisman winner but not as clean a bowl record
7. LSU - Recent championship and top draft picks, as disgraceful as Jamarcus Russell has been (he should send Jimbo a Christmas card every year).
8 (tie). FSU/Miami - both have been down but played in epic games against each other and are remembered for their more recent glory days than Michigan.
10. Michigan - easily the worst performing group on the list recently.

Totals (lower score is better):


1. Texas - 8

2. Alabama - 18

2. Florida - 18

4. Ohio State - 23

5. USC - 25

6. FSU - 34

7. Miami - 35

7. LSU - 35

9. Oklahoma - 36

10. Michigan - 41

Honorable Mention:

Georgia - Decent recent tradition although they did flame out the year they started #1. They have a GREAT fan base but get out recruited in their own state by UF/FSU. I think the fan expectations are tad unrealistic sometimes as well (are they really wanting Richt fired? Maybe not anymore but for the past 5 years I would have welcomed him back in a second)

Penn State - great stadium and tradition, just missed the cut because of their relatively poor recruiting area. I switched between the Nittany Lions and the Woverlines for #10 about 4 times, they're that close.


Virginia Tech - one of the best 10 programs in the nation as far as results, just don't get the recognition and their area puts out one great football player every 10 years.

Clemson - ACC doesn't have a truly dominant team so the path is open for anyone to take. South Carolina is a very underrated recruiting area, good talent to choose from. Tons of money and great fans, although extremely unrealistic about the teams chances

Tennessee/Auburn - If they were in the ACC they'd be somewhere from #1-#4, instead they're somewhere from #5-#8 in the SEC.

West Virginia - really good fans but the opinion on the Big East hurts plus Virginia area just isn't great for recruiting.



**This is a disclaimer for anyone over 50 years of age - Please put down whatever it is you're drinking so you don't spit it all over the computer screen**



Notre Dame - face it guys, it's just not a good job anymore because:

1. Academics are ridiculously tough, making getting recruits extremely hard
2. Not located in a good recruiting area and any recruit in the area would rather go to Ohio State
3. Their success isn't recent at all, these kids have no idea about Notre Dame's tradition, it just doesn't factor in
4. Astronomical expectations, you immediately come in the door with nowhere to go but down. That's simply a recipe for failure and a firing.

So what do you think? Let's hear some feedback!