Thursday, December 30 Reason for Warrick's senior year is near
Associated Press
NEW ORLEANS -- Peter Warrick missed out on a few trophies,
so he sure doesn't want to miss out on the most important one of
all in his final game for No. 1 Florida State.
Peter Warrick is one game away from his goal of winning a national title.
The All-American wide receiver lost his chance at winning the
Heisman Trophy, and was even passed over for the Biletnikoff Award,
after his arrest in a shopping mall scam at midseason. But on
Tuesday night, the national championship trophy is the prize when
the Seminoles (11-0) play No. 2 Virginia Tech (11-0) in the Sugar
Bowl.
"This is the reason I came back, to win a national
championship," Warrick said before practice at the Louisiana
Superdome. "There's nothing else in the world that I want more
than this right now."
Florida State feels the same way. Coach Bobby Bowden's Seminoles
are in the title game for the third time in four years, having lost
to Florida in the '97 Sugar Bowl and Tennessee in the '99 Fiesta
Bowl. Florida State won the title in 1993.
Ever since the 23-16 loss to the Volunteers, a game in which
Warrick caught just one pass, the wide receiver has made big news
for good and bad decisions.
A week after the defeat, Warrick surprised everyone -- even
Bowden -- when he chose to return to Florida State despite being a
projected top-round NFL draft pick.
Then, on Oct. 7, he and teammate Laveranues Coles were arrested
on a charge of felony grand theft for paying $21.40 for $412.38
worth of clothing at a department store in Tallahassee. Warrick was
suspended two games and reinstated after he pleaded guilty to a
misdemeanor, which required that he spend 30 hours in a work
program.
And when it came time to invite the Heisman finalists to New
York, Warrick wasn't one of them. Several players, including
Virginia Tech's Corey Moore and Michael Vick, who finished third in
the Heisman, still said Warrick was the top player. When Penn
State's LaVar Arrington won the Butkus Award, he paid tribute to
Warrick, saying "This one's for Peter."
"I've been through a lot," Warrick said. "Getting through the
trouble, I bounced back from it and it takes a real man to do that.
Now I can stand up in front of a crowd and tell kids to learn from
my mistake. Trouble is easy to get into but hard to get out of."
In the nine games he did play, Warrick caught 71 passes for 934
yards and eight touchdowns. He also ran for three TDs and returned
a punt for a score. Oh, and he threw a touchdown pass, too.
"He's the best I've ever seen when the ball is in his hands,"
Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer said. "He's the most elusive guy
and his first step is as fast as his last."
Andre Davis, Tech's sophomore wide receiver who caught 35 passes
for 962 yards and nine TDs, is a fan, too.
"It's really amazing how he's able to run with the ball after
he catches it," said Davis, who averaged 27.5 yards a catch. "I
haven't seen him have the most explosive speed like some other
people out there, but if he gets the ball in his hands, he could
score a touchdown at any time -- and that's something I'm trying to
work on."
Warrick became the Atlantic Coast Conference's leading receiver
with 3,517 yards, passing North Carolina State's Torry Holt, who
had 3,379 yards.
Bowden still marvels at Warrick's ability to turn short passes
into big gainers.
"When you look at his ability to break away after he catches
the ball, I don't think I've had anybody who can match that,"
Bowden said. "Deion Sanders -- if we put him on offense -- might
have come close. ... But this kid is the most evasive kid we've
ever had. He's got all the moves and they seem to come
instinctively."
His teammates showed their support by electing him a Sugar Bowl
captain, but there are others who aren't as quick to forgive.
Warrick says he won't live in the past, although he's still unhappy
about the Heisman snub. He couldn't even bring himself to watch the
Heisman show on television.
"I think about that a lot," said Warrick, who was sixth in the
Heisman balloting. "It was disappointing. I thought at least I
would be invited. I know the mistake I made cost it. But that was
not my goal. I've always said my goal was to graduate and to win
the national championship."
He received his degree in political science two weeks ago, and
now that he's back in a national title game, he understands how
important a win could mean to his future.
"It would help me out a lot," he said. "It's something I came
back for. I've got a chance to accomplish that goal. The Heisman
and the Biletnikoff, all those things are good, but they can't take
away the national championship. That's something I'm looking
forward to."
