SB Nation - Matt Dunham

What is an H-Back? How will Florida State use its H-Back?

FSUncensored — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 18:19:25 -0000

Recently, Florida State Offensive Coordinator (and Head Coach in Waiting and ACC Offensive Coordinator of the Year) Jimbo Fisher discussed his preference for using an extra tight end instead of a fullback. He'll get his wish this year because Florida State doesn't have a fullback on its roster, due to a pair of off-season departures as a result of laziness and unrealistic expectations. Instead of a fullback, Fisher prefers to use multiple tight ends. The second tight end used in the way Fisher prefers, is commonly referred to as an H-Back. It's come to our attention that many here do not understand what an H-Back does, where he aligns, or why he is called an H-Back. Here's an explanation.

First, I want to clear up a misconception.

An H-Back is just a big running back. FALSE. An H-Back does not run with the ball (except in the rarest of instances).

Now that we have that out of the way, we can stop saying that Debrale Smiley is coming to FSU to play H-Back. He is a big running back, not an H-Back. But if an H-Back isn't just a big running back, what is it?

Typically, the H-back is used on teams which employ a one-back, two tight end offense, and will be largely indistinguishable to the casual fan from the tight end. This is consistent with what Fisher's philosophy.

The tight end will line up in the traditional spots a tight end does, along the line of scrimmage. The h-back does not line up along the line, but further from the line, often in the backfield. The h-back can provide interior blocking much like a traditional fullback would, but will be sent in motion more often, and sent into pass routes more often than a fullback would.

Here's some background on the position:

The modern two-tight end set was developed by Joe Gibbs and his Redskins staff in the early 1980s. It was created as a countermeasure against 3-4 defenses in general and Lawrence Taylor in particular. Gibbs discovered that an extra tight end on the line of scrimmage was in better position than a fullback to stop Taylor and other elite blitzers. It also forced Taylor to align wider, thus lengthening the distance between him and the quarterback. Gibbs soon learned to use the second tight end as an all-purpose blocker: that extra tight end (usually Don Warren, back in the day) might go in motion before the snap to unbalance the offensive line, or he might slip into the backfield as a fullback or sneak into pass patterns. The modern H-back was born. Portions from: Tanier.

Here's more from the impressive Denver Bronco's Blog, the Mile High Report

The term H-back basically means, "motion TE." The Skins would typically use 1 RB, 1 TE, 2 WR, and this H-back as their base offensive personnel grouping. The in-line TE would be a bigger, more blocking-focused player. The H-back would be a somewhat more maneuverable type, but still a blocking-focused guy. He would usually line up 1 step behind the line of scrimmage, either outside the in-line TE (double wing,) or outside the weakside Tackle (balanced,) depending on the particular play. He'd frequently go in motion, either taking the offense from the double wing look to a balanced look, or from a balanced look to a double wing look. The famous Redskins Counter Trey usually began from a balanced Ace set, and featured the H-back motioning to the strong side, and sealing the backside edge along with the in-line TE, with the backside Guard & Tackle pulling to the playside to lead the running play.

Offenses need the versatility that the tight ends provide, and multi-tight end sets allow them to mass as many as four eligible receivers near the line of scrimmage. Those extra tight ends give coaches plenty of options in the passing game. But as we'll see, two-tight end sets can also be very efficient when running the ball.

Two-tight end sets place seven blockers on the line of scrimmage. Most defenses operate on a base 4-3 scheme. A seven-on-four battle in the trenches puts the defense at a severe disadvantage. The two-tight end set not only allows teams to mass blockers at the line of scrimmage, but it allows them to disguise the direction of a play. When possible, defensive coordinators move one or more linebackers down to the line of scrimmage to create a 50 front when facing a multi-tight end formation. The seven-on-five matchup gives the defense a fighting chance against the run but it also pigeonholes them into a set look and sometimes makes it difficult to defense the pass. On that note, expect FSU to actually throw the ball to their tight ends (err, sorry, tight end and H-Back).

Let's look at that problem from another angle. Here is the typical offensive line with one tight end.

| LT | LG | C | RG | RT | TE |

The "|'s" are the gaps the defense must defend. There are 7 gaps for the defense to defend against the typical I formation.

But in an alignment with a TE and an H-Back (no fullback)...

| H-Back | LT | LG | C | RG | RT | TE |

We see there is an extra gap to defend. This presents problems for defenses because they have to show their hand much earlier, as discussed above.

There are hundreds of ways to exploit the presence of an extra tight end. They can give the offense a numbers advantage at the line of scrimmage, force a defense to guess the direction of the play, go in motion to mass blockers at the point of attack, extend the offensive line to allow play-side tackles to pull, or loop inside to block inside on delays or draws.

To learn more about how the H-Back is used in the pass game, check out this link. I want to highlight a few things Tanier shows that I have seen FSU do and can see FSU using this year.

via www.footballoutsiders.com

FSU actually used this formation a good bit last year, typically using one of its fullbacks at the 2nd tight end position. Mike said (edited by me):

These "tight" receivers are in great position to attack the weaknesses in two-deep coverage schemes. One receiver's route options are shown in the diagram. A cornerback aligned head-up on the receiver is vulnerable to a corner route, while a cornerback with a wider split (one who may have zone responsibilities) is vulnerable to a hitch. The tight formation gives the receiver extra room to run after he makes his break on the corner route or other sideline routes. The Patriots, Chargers, Bucs (under Gruden), and Colts all do a great job of using multiple tight end formations.

Defenses frequently use two-deep coverage schemes to combat two-tight end formations. The threat of a deep seam route forces defensive coordinators to play it safe against tight ends who can run. The threat of the seamer opens up other options for the multi-tight end offense.

Mike doesn't mention this, because it's not an FSU article, but FSU destroyed two-deep defenses last year with the run game (except a few which just ragdolled the youngest offensive line in the country). Any alignment that allows FSU to face a two-deep defense while using Non-Spread personnel is a good thing.

I strongly encourage you to visit the link and read about the play titled "Cowboys Double Cross." You will see something like that this year from the 'Noles.

Finally, I want to highlight one other thing from Tanier's piece:

via www.footballoutsiders.com

This is something that FSU fans could see this year. This is a formation with 2 WR, 2 TE (1 TE & 1 H-Back), and one running back. Teams will want to defend this with standard 4-3 personnel. The wideouts on the left represent an excellent opportunity to run the smash concept. This personnel is quite balanced and the defense doesn't know whether to expect run or pass. Watch what happens, however, when FSU shifts a running back with great hands (Jermaine Thomas or Chris Thompson) out wide (see squiggly lines in diagram above). The defense is now in quite the bind. They really wish that they were in Nickel Personnel (extra defensive back). Add the running dimension of Ponder, and most college defenses are not set up to defend this. Of course, being able to put 4 and 5 guys out into the pass pattern is predicated on being able to pass protect without help from tight ends or running backs. College football fans will remember USC abusing Virginia Tech with this play at 4:21 of this clip:

Who are some well known H-Backs?

Chris Cooley, of the Washington Redskins is a very good example, as is Dallas Clark of the Indianapolis Colts, and whoever the Patriots are using at the moment.

Who Will Be FSU's H-Back?

Jabarris Little, Beau Reliford, and maybe Matt Dunham. That's not to say the first two won't also play tight end. They are just more suited for the H-Back role than say, Caz Piurowski.

How can I tell my friends about this? Easy. Just say an H-Back is a smaller tight end who blocks more based on quickness and angles than a normal in-line tight end. He can quickly change the strength of the formation and affords the offense more versatility than a fullback. Remember though, that the H-Back does not run with the ball.

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Progression, Continuation, or Regression? Noles Offensive Backfield

FrankDNole — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 20:13:48 -0000

Every day while catching up on my daily Nole must reads, I very often wonder to myself, "Are my 2009 Noles going to be better than last year’s team?"

So far we have analyzed, discussed, and you have voted on whether the Defensive Line, the Receivers/Tight End, and the Secondary will be better, the same, or worse than last years equivalent unit. Today we will take a look at the Offensive Backfield, to determine if this unit has progressed, expected to continue at the same level, or regressed, in comparison to last years backfield unit.

First the obvious. Florida State’s offense will only go as far as it’s backfield takes them because everything rest on that units shoulders. Speaking of the offense, here are some tidbits you may find interesting, uplifting, and/or depressing.

A) With eight starters returning, the offense returns the most starters since the 2004 season when nine returned. That was the last season the Seminoles won 10 games.

2) Players responsible for 71% of Florida State’s points in 2008 will not be back in 2009. That is the lowest number of returning points in the conference.

D) The ACC’s top two scorers in 2008 were both Seminoles, Antone Smithe and Graham Gano, and neither is back this season.

5) The Seminoles finished the year ranked first in scoring offense and second in total offense and rushing offense in the ACC.

L) FSU’s rushing offense improved from 91st in the nation in 2007 to 33rd last season. That was the ninth best improvement of any BSC school.

Here are some of my biggest question regarding the backfield as we get ready to start the 2-a-days this Friday.

Will Christian Ponder throw crisp and accurate spirals, proving he's gotten better this year with the experience he gained by starting every game last year?

Will he follow up with a more consistent performance?

Or will he be hearing the crowd chanting "EJ, EJ", which will surely come if he fails to deliver?

Will Jermaine Thomas be able to maintain the incredible 7.0 yard average from last year as the feature back, and stay healthy while taking the pounding that comes with being a feature back?

Will he put together a breakout season where he establishes himself as one of the ACC’s elite workhorse backs?

Or will Jimbo Fisher decide to make the tailback position a position by committee, and split playing time between Thomas, Ty Jones, and Tavares Pressley?

Before we get into the specifics of the positions in the backfield unit, if you haven’t already read these two very interesting perspectives by missourinole, I encourage you to do so. In both of his stories, What So Great About Ponder? and Jermaine Thomas: The Next Warrick Dunn? he presents some very good analytical comparisons with past FSU greats, and you the TN members told him how you felt. Some of the issues addressed in his stories might seem redundant here today, but the performance of these two positions will dictate what kind of season we will have, and how we will be talking about it come January.

QUARTERBACKS, TAILBACKS & FULLBACKS

2008 QUARTERBACK=Christian Ponder started all 13 games. His stats for last year were: EFF=115.0, PA=318, PC=177, YDS=2006, PCT=.557, TD=14, INT=13, LNG=54, AVG/GM=154.3, RA=119, YDS=597, LOSS=174, NET=423, AVG=3.6, TD=4, LNG=45, AVG/GM=32.5 (Total Offense=423R + 2006P = 2429 or 186.8 AVG/GM).

Ponder was backed up by D’Vontrey Richardson and Drew Weatherford who are both gone.

Christian Ponder had one of the best seasons in school history for a quarterback when it came to the ground game. The sophomore rushed for 423 yards finishing with the fourth-highest single season rushing total by a QB in school history. However in recent history since 1950, only Heisman Trophy winner Charlie Ward rushed for more yards in one season than Ponder did in 2008 and he is just the fourth FSU QB to ever score a rushing touchdown in four consecutive games. Ponder completed passes to seven or more receivers in seven of 13 games in 2008, and he hit eight or more receivers with a pass four times.

2009 PROJECTED QUARTERBACK=Christian Ponder. Redshirt freshman E.J. Manuel will back up Ponder but has not thrown a pass in a collegiate game up to this point. Even though Manuel did not see any action in 2008, he was instrumental to the team’s success earning scout team MVP for the offense.

2008 TAILBACK=Antone Smith started all 13 games. His stats for last year were: RA=177, YDS=868, LOSS=76, NET=792, AVG=4.5, TD=15, LNG=60, AVG/GM=60.9

Replacing Antone Smith’s 177 carries and 15 rushing touchdown’s is the top priority for the Seminoles this season. If you remove quarterbacks from the equation, Smith’s 117 carries accounted for almost 55% of all the running plays by the Seminoles in 2008.

2009 PROJECTED TAILBACK=Jermaine Thomas is the projected starter with Ty Jones and Tavares Pressley expected to give him breathers.

Jermaine Thomas had a breakout season as a true freshman averaging 7.0 yards per carry on 69 attempts. Thomas finished behind only Sean Jackson and Warrick Dunn in Seminole history for yards per carry by a true freshman. He also had the sixth-best true freshman season in school history for rushing yards. One of Thomas’ greatest strengths in 2008 was his ability to make positive yards on almost every touch. The freshman lost only 10 yards rushing all year.

Carlton "Ty" Jones, a true freshman running back showed flashes of brilliance throughout the 2008 season but was slowed by an ankle injury most of the year. He showed what he was capable of in the Champs Sports Bowl when he rushed four times for 55 yards including a TD. His average of almost 14 yards per carry was more than six times better than any other FSU running back in that game. That final game of the 2008 season illustrated just how good he can be in a backfield with fellow freshman standout Jermaine Thomas. He also had a career high run of 30 yards in the first game of his collegiate career against Western Carolina.

Tavares Pressley was redshirted in 2008 after suffering an ACL injury in his left knee, but most recent reports indicate he will be ready to go this season. After a few days of practice, we should have a better idea of his prognosis.

2008 FULLBACK=Marcus Sims started 4 games and Sederick Holloway started 2. Sims has transferred and apparently Holloway is no longer on the team.

2009 PROJECTED FULLBACK=NONE. Apparently we will not be using a true fullback this year. Matt Dunham has rejoined the team but is expected to be used more in a H-Back role, similar to a smaller pass catching tight end.

OTHERS WHO CONTRIBUTED IN THE 2008 BACKFIELD AND ARE NOW GONE=D’Vo Richardson (RA=35, YDS=288, LOSS=34, NET=254, AVG=7.3, TD=3, LNG=55, AVG/GM=25.4, PASS EFF=121.27, PA=44, PC=23, YDS=315, PCT=.523, TD=3, INT=3, LNG=39, AVG/GM=31.5).

Drew Weatherford and Preston Parker also contributed and are also gone.

OTHERS WHO MAY CONTRIBUTE IN 2009=Lonnie Pryor (RB), Chris Thompson (RB), Corey Eddinger (QB), Will Secord (QB)

So there you have it. Considering this will be Ponder's second season running the Seminole's offense, it's likely we could see improvements made considering he'll have a better understanding of Jimbo Fisher’s offense, and his available weaponry. Manuel should also be better considering he too has had a full season in this offense under his belt.

The running game should have a much improved offensive line, so maybe that will improve their deceiving production of 4.8 yards per carry in 2008. I say deceiving because many of the long runs which inflated this average, were runs by the QB’s, which hopefully will not come down to that again this year.

Again, a lot rests on this groups shoulders. If the Seminoles receive favorable answers to those questions I posed above, Florida State will win the ACC’s Atlantic Division, will be playing in the ACC Championship Game come December while continuing the nations longest streak of Bowl appearances with 28 consecutive bowls, in what hopefully will be the Orange Bowl, at least.

MY BOTTOM LINE FOR THE OFFENSIVE BACKFIELD=PROGRESSION

What is your bottom line? Please vote now.

Poll

2009 FSU OFFENSIVE BACKFIELD-PROGRESSION, CONTINUATION, OR REGRESSION? Please read the story before voting. Poll closes Thursday August 6 at 11:55 PM.

PROGRESSION

189 votes

CONTINUATION

3 votes

REGRESSION

4 votes

196 votes | Poll has closed

Progression, Stagnation, or Regression? Wide Receivers and Tight End

FrankDNole — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 15:11:11 -0000

Every day while catching up on my daily Nole must reads, I very often wonder to myself, "Are my 2009 Noles going to be better than last year’s team?"

In the first part of this series, we analyzed the Defensive Line. Today we will take a look at the Wide Receivers and Tight Ends to determine if this unit has progressed, is stagnant, or has regressed in comparison to last years group.

Even though Jimbo Fisher and WR Coach Lawrence Dawsey have already released the preliminary and projected depth chart, I am willing to bet that if you were to talk to either one privately and off the record, neither one really knows who our top receivers will be this season.

I will not, and I do not think any of us need to beat a dead horse any longer by rehashing the fiasco that was our WR corps last season. Therefore, I will ignore the logistic nightmares that this group caused the coaches and their teammates with their "issues", and only present what they accomplished when they were actually allowed to be on the field and allowed to participate.

While it seems that the coaches have a laundry list of players available to put into game situations this year, none of those players have yet earned a reputation or can be considered a pass catching weapon that will really scare any of the opposing defenses. Will this be a problem that could affect the running game?

Last seasons lack of a deep passing game (other than the occasional jump ball downfield) along with the poor pass blocking have been very well documented here, and is something most of our regular TN readers are all too familiar with. While these two factors did contribute to an inadequate passing game, much of the blame also lies with the receivers running lazy and sloppy routes, they lacked clean and crisp cuts, and had a high number of dropped passes during the ‘08 campaign. Relying only on my memory and without any research to back this up, I believe our passing game’s bread and butter consisted of the WR or bubble screen. Fortunately we had above average down field blocking that created some very nice gains and kept us competitive in many close games.

Here are a couple of interesting (sad?) tidbits.

A) Three out of the top five wide outs from last season, Greg Carr, Preston Parker, and Corey Surrency are no longer on the team and the third most productive receiver, Taiwan Easterling missed all of the spring drills with a ruptured Achilles. He is apparently recovering nicely and ahead of schedule and may be ready by the first game. The first few weeks of practice will be very telling as to his recovery and his potential to play. Of the 174 passes caught by receivers in 2008, players responsible for 91 of those receptions are gone, and 30 (Easterling) are questionable.

2) Outside of Bert Reed’s 23 catches, not a single receiver on the roster caught more than 20 passes in 2008 and only one (Rod Owens) caught 10 or more.

D) FSU should get a boost with the return of redshirt senior Richard Goodman who caught 20 passes as a junior in 2007, and now has his legal problems behind him, but who must still serve his music suspension.

Last year the tight ends were once again not a factor in the passing game since they had to stay at home to help with the pass protection, thus eliminating another receiving threat and allowing the defense to either double up on a WR, or send another defender to rush and to pressure our QB. When this last scenario occurred the blocking TE, usually Caz, was very often cancelled out by the extra pass rusher and in many cases, the QB did not have time to look at his first, much less his second read.

Caz was basically playing as an extra lineman more than a receiver to help a young and inexperienced offensive line. On top of that, the Seminoles’ other two tight ends were both true freshmen. Despite his decent work as a blocker, Piurowski still established single-season career highs for catches (8), yards (83) and touchdowns (1). For the second time in the last three years, Piurowski averaged over 10 yards a reception in 2008. Bo Reliford and Ja’Baris Little combined for just one catch in their true freshman seasons. The bottom line though, our TE’s only caught a total of 9 passes all season.

Jimbo has said on several occasions during this off season that the tight end WILL be a factor in the passing game this year. If he keeps his word, Ponder will have two different 6'7" targets that can release a few moments after, or at the snap, find a seam in the secondary, and do what opposing teams have been doing to us for longer than I care to remember. Also, if Jimbo keeps his word, our defense will be forced to cover the TE during practices, and maybe this will teach them that the TE is indeed a eligible receiver in football (but I digress and this will be covered at a later date).

Once again just as in the previous story, we realize we lost some very good individual talent. I ask that you please remember that we want to try to look at the unit as a whole when you finally do vote, as to whether this collective unit has progressed, has remained stagnant, or has regressed, compared to last years unit.

OK now we will compare the two groups of Wide Receivers and Tight Ends.

2008 X WR=Greg Carr started 12 games and Jarmon Forston started 1 against Chattanooga. Carr is gone (Rec=39, Yds=542, Avg=13.9, TD=4, Avg/Gm=41.7).

2009 PROJECTED X WR=Bert Reed and Avis Commack

2008 Y WR (Slot)=Taiwan Easterling started 8 games, Ja’Baris Little (TE) started one, and Marcus Sims (FB) started 4 games.

2009 PROJECTED Y WR=Taiwan Easterling and Louis Givens

2008 Z WR=Preston Parker started 8 games, Rod Owens started 3, Corey Surrency started 1, and Bert Reed started 1 game. Parker (Rec=40, Yds=372, Avg=9.3, TD=2, Avg/Gm=37.2) and Surrency (Rec=12, Yds=237, Avg=19.8, TD=4, Avg/Gm=21.5) are both gone.

2009 PROJECTED Z WR=Jarmon Forston, Richard Goodman (Suspended first 3 or 4 games), and Rod Owens

2008 TIGHT END=Caz Piurowski started 9 games, Josh Dobbie started 2, Preston Parker (WR) started 1, and Corey Surrency (WR) started 1.

2009 PROJECTED TIGHT END=Caz Piurowski, Beau Reliford, and Ja’Baris Little.

OTHERS WHO CONTRIBUTED IN 2008 AND ARE NOW GONE=Corey Surrency (probably one of the best downfield blocking WR I have seen since Anquan Boldin).

OTHERS WHO MAY CONTRIBUTE IN 2009=Cameron Wade, Matt Dunham will play more of a H-Back role (think smaller pass catching tight end), Josh Gehres, Timothy Orange, Ashuwa Richardson, Willie Haulstead, Rodney Smith

Well there you have it. I guess the real question is not if Carr, Parker, and Surrency can be replaced, but whether their replacements will be able to make up the 10 TD’s, the 91 Rec’s, and the over 100 yards per game that left with them, and are no longer available to us. The question is whether any of the receivers will be able to provide the down field blocking that Surrency and Parker (sometimes) provided. The question is whether Easterling will return to close to 100% of his former self. The question is whether Fisher will keep his word and finally throw to one of the TE’s as promised, at least 3 or 4 times a game.

I believe these are a lot of obstacles to overcome. I also believe that we have heard the last of our WR "issues" and this will provide Ponder with the stability at WR which was so desperately missing last year. Things got so bad that we had TE’s and FB's starting games at WR, and WR's starting at TE, which I believe is something that is now behind us and in the past. I believe Easterling will be close to his old self. And finally, I believe Jimbo will make the TE’s a integral part of the offense like we have not seen in many years, because our OL should be much improved in their pass blocking to where Caz or Beau can finally be utilized as receivers.

MY BOTTOM LINE FOR THE WIDE RECEIVERS AND TIGHT END=PROGRESSION.

What is your bottom line? Please vote now.

Now with the defensive line, receivers and tight ends out of the way, please stay tuned for the linebackers, secondary, backfield, offensive line, and special teams.

Poll

2009 FSU WIDE RECEIVERS AND TIGHT END-PROGRESSION, STAGNATION, OR REGRESSION? Please read the story before voting. Poll closes Sunday August 2 at 7:00 PM

PROGRESSION

181 votes

STAGNATION

73 votes

REGRESSION

52 votes

306 votes | Poll has closed

The rest of the FSU story: The Seminole Defensive Line.

FSUncensored — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 14:36:15 -0000

We often talk about Heather Dinich, ESPN's ACC Blogger. Heather does a good job of grabbing headlines from all over the web. Some people don't believe that a woman can cover football. I am not one of those folks. I'll judge someone on how they write, not how they pee.

She can be a little shallow on the analysis end, though, and that is to be expected since she covers 12 teams.

Today though, she wrote:

The Seminoles lost a few guys from their roster, including defensive tackle Emmanuel Dunbar, who would have been a starter if he had been able to stay healthy. Markus White is still struggling with seizures, although doctors assure him he's safe on the football field as long as he takes his medication.

Is this right?

I'm not sure it tells the whole story.

The first link is from Andrew Carter at the Orlando Sentinel. Carter runs a great blog and I encourage you to read it often. Carter reported that Emmanuel Dunbar had back surgery and might not play again. That is true. Carter also reports that Emmanuel Dunbar would have started the season, if healthy. Carter (as usual) is correct again. Note, however, that Dunbar was only slated to start for the first three games because of "Music Appreciatorgate." Budd Thacker and Paul Griffin are far and away the best defensive tackle options for the Seminoles. Thacker and Griffin are slated to start when they return from their suspension, which ends after the Wake game. Even if Dunbar was healthy, he would only have started one meaningful game, against Wake Forest. I really don't think the 'Noles are missing Emmanuel Dunbar for their game against Tennessee Chattanooga.

Dinich, however, reports that Florida State lost their starter at defensive tackle due to back surgery. Maybe I'm bored because the 'Noles play UTC this week, but when I had a non-FSU friend read Dinich's blurb, they came away thinking that FSU lost a very important player at defensive tackle.

Carter also reported that

TE Charlie Graham and FB Matt Dunham both failed to qualify academically. They'd been enrolled in JUCOs trying to make the grade. As harsh as this sounds, don't expect the Seminoles to miss either one of these guys.

Again, Dinich claimed that the 'Noles lost a few guys from their roster. That would be accurate if this story was posted last spring. Graham and Dunham were having academic issues last spring and haven't been with the team for five months. As Carter accurately reports, and Dinich omits, FSU doesn't miss these guys. Personally, I don't want either of them back. Their probable production is not worth the scholarship, and Graham had a reckless gun issue last spring.

As for the Seizure report, that comes from Tom D'Angelo at the Palm Beach Post.

Dinnich's post annoys me because it implies that Markus is having recurring seizures. Markus has dealt with seizures much of his life. They aren't a daily ocurrence, however, and as we reported yesterday, Florida State defensive coordinator Mickey Andrews indicated that he played very well against Western Carolina. Markus' last seizure ocurred about a month ago. The 'Noles are aware of the situation, but aren't worried about it.

Dinich seems to be bias against teams who are not very media friendly. Right now, those teams appear to be Florida State, Miami, and Virginia.

This is a slow week. People need things to write about, whether they are news or not.