Re: Florida State Seminoles
Posted: Tue Jun 21, 2011 5:24 pm
Prospects raving about FSU
'Noles draw high marks from committed, uncommitted players
By Ira Schoffel• Democrat sports editor• Published: June 21. 2011 2:00AM
It took awhile, but blue-chip tight end Christo Kourtzidis might have finally found something he doesn't love about Tallahassee and the Florida State football program.
The brutal summer heat.
"In California right now, it's about 70 degrees with a nice breeze," Kourtzidis said with a laugh.
That clearly was the only negative impression for Kourtzidis, an Orange County, Calif., native who is widely regarded as one of the nation's top tight ends in the class of 2012. He committed to the Seminoles this past weekend, and he felt right at home Monday at Jimbo Fisher's Football Camp.
"We really liked it on the first visit out here, but we had a couple other places to see," Kourtzidis said. "Everything seemed to fit here — the system, the city, the facilities — just the whole program that the coaches have in place. It just all seemed like a good fit."
Even with the blistering heat.
With precious little cloud cover and temperatures hovering around 100 degrees, a couple hundred high school football players wore helmets, shirts and shorts Monday while running through a variety of tasks — from individual skills work to one-on-one competitions to 7-on-7 passing drills.
And while many of the campers were there to receive expert guidance from Fisher's staff and to possibly get noticed for opportunities on the college level, others like Kourtzidis were simply hoping to get a better feel for the Seminoles' program.
Kourtzidis, who brings impressive size at 6-4 and 230 pounds, said he is excited about the quality of players Florida State is attracting. He is especially eager to line up with 2011 signee Nick O'Leary, who is rated the No. 1 tight end in this year's class.
"I'm not a picky guy," Kourtzidis said. "If I catch 20 balls or if I catch 75, it's no big deal. I just want to win some games."
Dozens of other top prospects are participating in Fisher's camp, which will conclude today, but the biggest buzz on Monday might have circled around a player who barely broke a sweat.
Barry Sanders Jr., a highly touted running back prospect from Oklahoma City, mostly just stood to the side and watched FSU running backs coach Eddie Gran put the other players through an assortment of drills.
"He's a very passionate coach," said Sanders, whose father was a perennial Pro Bowler with the Detroit Lions. "He enjoys what he does. He definitely emphasizes technique, and he just wants to make his running backs better."
Sanders Jr. is regarded as one of the nation's top running backs by virtually every major recruiting service, and his name causes a stir just about everywhere he goes. But the rising senior said he takes the attention in stride.
"I try to keep it as normal as possible," he said. "Not think too much of it. This is just the beginning. I've got a long way to go to be considered a great player."
This marked Sanders' second trip to the FSU campus, and he said the Seminoles likely will be among his finalists in the recruiting process. The 5-9, 180-pounder said he has hit it off with Fisher and FSU's other coaches, and he plans to make a decision after taking his five official campus visits.
First, though, he has to decide where those other four visits will be.
"This will be one of the places," Sanders said. "Then we'll decide about the other four."
'Noles draw high marks from committed, uncommitted players
By Ira Schoffel• Democrat sports editor• Published: June 21. 2011 2:00AM
It took awhile, but blue-chip tight end Christo Kourtzidis might have finally found something he doesn't love about Tallahassee and the Florida State football program.
The brutal summer heat.
"In California right now, it's about 70 degrees with a nice breeze," Kourtzidis said with a laugh.
That clearly was the only negative impression for Kourtzidis, an Orange County, Calif., native who is widely regarded as one of the nation's top tight ends in the class of 2012. He committed to the Seminoles this past weekend, and he felt right at home Monday at Jimbo Fisher's Football Camp.
"We really liked it on the first visit out here, but we had a couple other places to see," Kourtzidis said. "Everything seemed to fit here — the system, the city, the facilities — just the whole program that the coaches have in place. It just all seemed like a good fit."
Even with the blistering heat.
With precious little cloud cover and temperatures hovering around 100 degrees, a couple hundred high school football players wore helmets, shirts and shorts Monday while running through a variety of tasks — from individual skills work to one-on-one competitions to 7-on-7 passing drills.
And while many of the campers were there to receive expert guidance from Fisher's staff and to possibly get noticed for opportunities on the college level, others like Kourtzidis were simply hoping to get a better feel for the Seminoles' program.
Kourtzidis, who brings impressive size at 6-4 and 230 pounds, said he is excited about the quality of players Florida State is attracting. He is especially eager to line up with 2011 signee Nick O'Leary, who is rated the No. 1 tight end in this year's class.
"I'm not a picky guy," Kourtzidis said. "If I catch 20 balls or if I catch 75, it's no big deal. I just want to win some games."
Dozens of other top prospects are participating in Fisher's camp, which will conclude today, but the biggest buzz on Monday might have circled around a player who barely broke a sweat.
Barry Sanders Jr., a highly touted running back prospect from Oklahoma City, mostly just stood to the side and watched FSU running backs coach Eddie Gran put the other players through an assortment of drills.
"He's a very passionate coach," said Sanders, whose father was a perennial Pro Bowler with the Detroit Lions. "He enjoys what he does. He definitely emphasizes technique, and he just wants to make his running backs better."
Sanders Jr. is regarded as one of the nation's top running backs by virtually every major recruiting service, and his name causes a stir just about everywhere he goes. But the rising senior said he takes the attention in stride.
"I try to keep it as normal as possible," he said. "Not think too much of it. This is just the beginning. I've got a long way to go to be considered a great player."
This marked Sanders' second trip to the FSU campus, and he said the Seminoles likely will be among his finalists in the recruiting process. The 5-9, 180-pounder said he has hit it off with Fisher and FSU's other coaches, and he plans to make a decision after taking his five official campus visits.
First, though, he has to decide where those other four visits will be.
"This will be one of the places," Sanders said. "Then we'll decide about the other four."
