FAMU has that special look again

By Jim Lamar, DEMOCRAT SPORTS EDITOR

For a lot of folks, the best part about football in August is that everyone is right.

The preseason speculation, the championship predictions, the over-analysis of every step on the practice fields - no one's opinions can be dismissed this time of year.

Everyone's undefeated. Everyone's working for a championship ring. Everyone's going to max out on potential. It's the beauty of the preseason, where every team has a fighting chance to be special.

But I look at things a little differently than most football fans.

I don't get caught up in the preseason analysis, the rankings or the over-the-top predictions. I love the preseason because it's the first chance to hear the new voices emerging on the practice fields. It's the first time to see the new leaders taking charge. It's the first chance to see the latest batch of can't-miss prospects arrive on campus.

Mostly, though, I like watching August practices because I like to see how coaches work. I like to see Bobby Bowden standing 20 yards behind his offense during scrimmages and wondering what he's scribbling on that sheet of paper he keeps in his pocket. I like to see Rubin Carter checking in on each position group and offering words of encouragement to his players. I like to see how the assistant coaches break down their groups of players and specialize on one drill - and then see how that drill is incorporated into scrimmage situations.

This August was different for me. It's the first chance I've had in more than 15 years to cover practices at both FAMU and FSU and compare what I saw. Truthfully, I found a lot of similarities. Both football programs appear - to me, anyway - poised to return to past glories.

The Rattlers just seem to walking to a special beat this summer. They have a roster filled with promising young players who are bucking for playing time all over the field and those players just seem to have bought in to Rubin Carter's coaching philosophies. To a man, they speak about a single goal - winning a MEAC championship. And they certainly seem to have the tools to make that a reality.

Fans have every reason to be excited about the future for the Rattlers, mainly because of a core group of young players who are cutting their teeth together on the practice fields.

Another strong recruiting class has added even more quality depth to the FAMU roster and that means the gap between first-team and third-team is shrinking almost by the practice. Quality depth means Carter has a team that can better handle the injuries that will always pop up at the worst possible time.

Spend a few minutes with Carter and you realize he's recruiting more than talented players. He's looking for winners, both on the field and in the classroom.

When you look at the names in FAMU's class of first-year players, you will see a handful of guys from some of the state's most successful high-school programs. There certainly is no guarantee that bringing in top prospects from schools such as Miami Southridge, Orlando Edgewater, Madison County and Palm Bay will generate MEAC championships, but it can't hurt to sign players who know what it means to play for state titles every year.

The Seminoles have their fans thinking big again because of a bunch of new faces, too. Of course, FSU's fresh voices are coming from five new assistant coaches who were hired in the offseason.

Not a day goes by on those practice fields when FSU players aren't asked by the media about the new coaches or the new offense or the new attitude.

If you've spent even a few minutes watching Chuck Amato, Dexter Carter, Lawrence Dawsey, Jimbo Fisher and Rick Trickett inject their brand of high-energy coaching into FSU's practices, you will understand exactly why so many people are fired up about what's happening with the Seminoles.

Players are buying into the new look and feel of the program. Truthfully, they have no choice because this new coaching staff has made it clear it will accept nothing less than maximum effort in everything. That's why I think the most significant impact this new coaching staff has made is not in schemes or in coaching strategies, but in convincing a once-proud program that it can be special again.

Of course, that's the beauty of talking football in August.

Everyone feels special this time of the year.