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Smith Just Wants To Stay Healthy

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By SCOTT CARTER | The Tampa Tribune

Published: December 15, 2007

TALLAHASSEE - TALLAHASSEE - At the start of the season, junior RB Antone Smith envisioned snapping Florida State's decade-long streak without a 1,000-yard rusher. At the end, he simply wants to be healthy enough to play a significant role in FSU's trip to the Music City Bowl on Dec. 31.

Smith walked off the practice field Saturday saying the three-week break since he played sparingly at Florida helped his recovery from a shoulder injury suffered at Virginia Tech, an injury that forced him to miss the Maryland game.

"I'm not back to 100 percent. I feel very close,'' Smith said Saturday. "The shoulder is still bothering me a little bit, but not as much as it was before. The bone is still bruised a great deal. When I get contact to it, it really hurts. It's not really bearable.''

Smith finished the regular season with 663 yards, well short of becoming the first Noles runner to eclipse 1,000 yards since Warrick Dunn in 1996. With the emergence of WR Preston Parker in the backfield — Parker started in Smith's place against Maryland and Florida — even if Smith is fully healthy to face Kentucky, his playing time remains uncertain.

"He's working both ways, at wideout and running back,'' FSU coach Bobby Bowden said of Parker. "We need him there at both places. The other team has to account for it; they want to know where he is.''

BOWDEN BACKS WELDON: In a rare occurrence, Florida Gov. Charlie Crist and Bowden got trumped in the local headlines this week by former FSU and Bucs QB Casey Weldon, who was fired by North Florida Christian less than a week after leading his team to the Class 1A state championship game for the second consecutive season.

Rev. Randy Ray, North Florida Christian's president, said it was "God's will'' that Weldon was fired despite Weldon's 23-5 record in two seasons. Weldon uprooted his wife and four kids from Tampa two years ago to return to Tallahassee and take over at NFC, the school he attended before becoming a star at FSU in the early 1990s.

"I think I'm like everybody else, I hated to see it,'' Bowden said Saturday. "He's a good football coach. There was no doubt in my mind that he would be a good football coach. I think his record speaks for itself. I think if he stays with it, he could work his way all the way up to the top. I think he's got that kind of quality.''

TEAM AWARDS: FSU held its annual football awards banquet Saturday night. Parker was named the offense's most valuable player, leading the Noles with 54 catches and rushing for 269 yards. On defense, LB Geno Hayes was named most valuable player for leading the team with 17.5 tackles for losses, including five sacks. Former Land O' Lakes High standout Drew Weatherford won the offense's leadership award.

NOLE NUGGETS: Bowden said he expects to hear by Monday or Tuesday which players won't be available for the Music City Bowl due to their involvement in an academic misconduct case the school has been investigating for months … QB Xavier Lee was not at practice Saturday due to taking care of some academic responsibilities. Lee's status for the Music City Bowl remains uncertain … FSU is off today and returns to practice Monday.

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