’Noles break for holidays
TALLAHASSEE (AP) – After putting his team through a week of preparation under balmy conditions, Florida State coach Bobby Bowden is confident the Seminoles are on track for their Dec. 27 Champs Sports Bowl date with Wisconsin.
“You can only do so much,” said Bowden, after dismissing his team Friday for an abbreviated holiday break. “We got everything that we wanted to get in and so now it’s a matter of going out there and executing.”
The Seminoles (8-4) will reconvene Monday in Orlando for final bowl preparations. While the game against the Badgers (7-5) will mark the final collegiate contest for 11 seniors on FSU’s two-deep roster, it may also be the last contest for a handful of underclassmen considering NFL careers.
Junior safety Myron Rolle, a third-team All-American who is weighing the Rhodes Scholarship against the NFL, already has told Bowden that he will not return for his senior season. Junior defensive end Everette Brown, a second-team All-American who earned his degree last week, is seriously weighing a draft declaration.
“It is a tough process, but a good process,” said Brown, who led the Atlantic Coast Conference in sacks and tackles for loss. “You do have a lot of things on your plate, a lot of options, but you can’t go wrong with any option.
“The main thing I have to go through is keep my priorities right and not look ahead, take it one day at a time,” Brown said.