Lees absence - Much ado about nothing
When quarterback Xavier Lee missed Tuesday's practice and Bobby Bowden wasn't available to address the situation the speculation on the Internet and sports radio stations ran wild.
There was one newspaper report that Lee's absence was likely "unexcused" and there was even some radio chatter that redshirt freshman Christian Ponder would get the start.
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According to Florida State head coach Bobby Bowden, that's not the case.
"Yesterday we had to go without our first team quarterback who was tied up with academic issues," Bowden said during Wednesday's weekly ACC teleconference. "We hoped he would get back out there in time but he didn't. We knew where he was."
Even though Lee missed a practice, he will start Thursday night's game at Wake Forest.
"There is no change in his situation," Bowden said. "He had an appointment with a professor making up some work. We were hoping and praying he would get out early but he didn't. There is no issue there... We'll try to give him more reps today to be sure he knows what he's doing."
Florida State will hold a short practice early this afternoon before boarding a plane for Winston-Salem, NC. But with this being a short week anyway, having your starting quarterback miss one of the two main practices is a concern.
"When you only have two days of practice missing one day scares you," Bowden said.
Gene Williams is the founder and administrator of Warchant.com and writes stories and features covering all of FSU's sports with an emphasis on football and football recruiting. During football season, he hosts a weekly sports radio show in Tallahassee on NewsRadio 1270 WFLA, and appears as a weekly guest on 1460 ESPN Radio in Jacksonville. Williams is also a former ACC correspondent for College Football News (weekly national newspaper), and contributes to The Osceola. Story about Gene Williams & Warchant.comClick So far this season, Lee has completed 28-of-47 pass attempts for 481 yards, 3 touchdowns and 1 interception. He will be making his fifth career start on Thursday.Here to view this Link..
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