TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Fisher Can Relate To Hard Hit

ADVERTISEMENT

By Scott Carter, The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 14, 2007

TALLAHASSEE - As soon as he saw how wobbly Drew Weatherford was when he tried to get to his feet following the helmet-to-helmet hit, Florida State offensive coordinator Jimbo Fisher knew Weatherford's day was probably done because of a concussion Saturday at Virginia Tech.

"I've had a couple of them," Fisher said.

Weatherford's unsteadiness on the sideline after the hit reminded Fisher of a game during his high school career in Clarksburg, W.Va., in the early 1980s. A 5-foot-10, 165-pound quarterback at the time, Fisher was crushed by a 225-pound linebacker on a running play.

Somehow, Fisher made it back to the huddle for the next play. What he later saw on film still makes Fisher chuckle. Fisher, dropping back to pass, had a receiver break wide open down the field. As he tried to throw the ball to the receiver, the blooper took place.

"It goes straight up in the air," Fisher said. "It landed about 5 feet from me. I threw it as high as I could. I'm jogging off the field, and the coach is screaming, 'What kind of pass is that?' I said, 'What pass.' They looked, and I had to have 13 stitches in my chin.

"That was the beginning of third quarter, and I don't remember anything until about 11 that night."

So when Weatherford had to leave Saturday's game, forcing Fisher to rely on untested freshman Christian Ponder the rest of the game, Fisher had no urge to see if Weatherford could play.

"It's too dangerous," he said. "I'm not going to do that to any young man. That was a shot."

PRAYERS ANSWERED: Seven-foot-1 freshman center Solomon Alabi made his college debut in FSU's 92-67 win against Georgia Southern on Monday night, a day after asking his teammates to join him at church.

The entire team attended services with Alabi on Sunday morning at Heritage Christian Church, saying a prayer for him. Alabi, who had been unable to jump or play at full speed since suffering a stress fracture in his right shin during the summer, evidently has some divine powers on his side. He entered Monday's game with six minutes left and scored four points - highlighted by a dunk that pleased the fans - and grabbed a rebound.

"It was so exciting to see him out there," FSU senior guard Isaiah Swann said. "It's been a hard road for him."

"I was ready," said the soft-spoken Alabi, who grew up in Nigeria and played at Montverde Academy near Orlando. "I was just praying maybe coach would ask me to go in."

FSU Shorts

HONOR ROLL: Senior Summer Weissing set a school record for career digs with 14 in Friday's win against Boston College, breaking a 13-year-old record held by Luiza Ramos. Weissing finished the match with 1,775 digs, surpassing Ramos' 1,771.

SOUNDBITE CENTRAL: "If his daddy hadn't gone to Florida State and been raised about 25 miles up the road where his grandmother lives now, we probably wouldn't have gotten Christian Ponder." — FSU coach Bobby Bowden on recruiting Ponder, who played his first game Saturday at Virginia Tech.

LOOK OUT FOR: The FSU women's soccer team opens its bid to return to the College Cup — soccer's version of the Final Four — on Friday. The No.3 seed Noles (14-5-3) host Kennesaw State (17-3-0) at 4:30 p.m.

QUESTION OF THE WEEK: Will FSU upset Florida in The Swamp on Nov. 24, or will the Gators win their fourth consecutive game against the Noles? To vote or monitor results, see TBO.com's Seminole coverage.

TBO.COM POLL: Do you think basketball coach Leonard Hamilton should be fired if the Noles fail to make the NCAA Tournament? Yes (25.5 percent); No (74.5 percent).

BLOG BONUS: With two games left and a 26th consecutive bowl bid on the horizon, FSU has more to play for than its record suggests.

Reporter Scott Carter can be reached at (850) 294-3088 or scarter@tampatrib.com.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT