recruits at No. 23 and that was probably being generous. Even Lindy's had

Florida's 2002 class all the way down at No. 24.

Next there's a big story on all the Manning quarterbacks - Eli, Peyton and Archie. A few pages later there's a big story on Steve Spurrier's departure from Florida to the NFL. Yes, we did purchase the ACC edition, I promise. The only feature not focusing exclusively on the SEC is the "Florida Draft Party" article found on page F-3. With only two Seminoles selected in the 2002 draft the story is primarily about the players drafted from Miami and Florida.

If you look real hard you can find a half page story on Brett Williams under the offensive linemen player rankings. It is written by Pensacola News-Journal beat writer (and part-time Osceola columnist) Bill Vilona. Even though there have probably been a hundred stories written about the All-American tackle there are some interesting tidbits about Williams' growth spurt in the seventh grade. Finally, there's a short blurb on Anquan Boldin in the FSU preview section recounting his knee injury from last year (nothing earth-shattering here). If you are looking for in-depth stories on the Florida State football team, or the ACC, I was stay away from Lindy's.

Rankings and Predictions

src="http://www.ezboard.com/images/posticons/pi_thumbsup.gif" border=0>Even

though there is a dearth of compelling stories, which Lindy's isn't known

for, the rankings and predictions are very interesting. Everybody has a

Preseason Top 25 but no one takes preseason rakings to the level of the guys in

Birmingham.

All-American Team
Three Seminoles show up on the preseason All-American team. Brett Williams makes it as a first team offensive

lineman while Montrae Holland and Darnell Dockett come in at

second team. Although you could make an argument for the inclusion for a couple

more Seminoles there aren't any glaring omissions. It's difficult seeing

Florida's Rex Grossman named as the offensive player of the year but that's

probably a pretty good choice.

Player Rakings
This is where it gets interesting. There's nothing more subjective than comparing players from different teams and debating which ones are better. At quarterback the aforementioned Rex Grossman tops the list with Miami's Ken Dorsey coming in at No. 3. The Seminoles' Chris Rix shows up at a respectable No. 10. Not bad for only being a sophomore. At running back Maryland's Bruce Perry is rated as the top player but Greg Jones shows up all the way down at No. 25. I have a hard time believing there are 24 running backs better than Jones.

Shame on Lindy's for not ranking a single Seminole among the top 20 wide receivers. They give themselves and excuse on Robert Morgan and Anquan Boldin saying they "aren't rated due to injury". That's fine but where is Talman Gardner? Even with a freshman QB throwing the passes he racked up 11 TDs and 649 yards (19.7 average per catch) in 2001. Georgia's Terrance Edwards, the No. 20 player on the list, had only six TDs last season with 613 yards (15.7 per catch average). Even Stanford's Teyo Edwards, who came in at No. 19, playing in the pass happy PAC-10 had only seven scores for 565 yards (14.9 per catch average).

On the offensive line Brett Williams is the nation's top tackle and Montrae Holland is No. 2 at the guard spot. That's pretty good but what about Antoine Mirambeau? The 'Noles' two-year starter is strangely absent from the top 10 list of centers.

On the defensive side of the ball Darnell Dockett is the 4th rated defensive tackle. At the end spot Alonzo Jackson comes in at No. 13. This seems a little high considering FSU's inability to rush the passer last year. However, if Lindy's is taking into account Jackson's outstanding performance in spring practice his high ranking is understandable. If they actually looked that deep to come up with their list I'm impressed.

At linebacker both Kendyll Pope (No. 6) and Michael Boulware (No. 9) are among the top rated outside linebackers. With Bradley Jennings no longer in the lineup it's understandable that no Seminoles made the top 20 list for inside linebackers. In the secondary only one FSU player makes the list and it's not who you might expect. Despite being demoted to second team at the end of last season, and saying there this spring, Malcolm Tatum sneaks in as the No. 20 rated

cornerback. If Lindy's was doing their homework evaluating defensive ends

they missed the boat at defensive back. Finally, sophomore kicker Xavier

Beitia is ranked as the No. 7 kicker in the nation.

Unit Rankings
Florida State has some competition in the Sunshine

State for top offensive backfields. Florida (Grossman and Graham) has

the top backfield with Miami (Dorsey and McGahee) right behind the Gators.

The Seminoles (Rix, Jones and Maddox) sneak in at No. 9. At wide receiver FSU

has the No. 3 rated group behind Texas and Marshall. Miami comes in at No. 6.

Finishing out the offensive units the Seminole offensive line, and all five

returning starters, are No. 2 just behind Wisconsin.

Despite returning all four starters the defensive line FSU does not crack Lindy's top 10 while Miami chimes in at No. 2. On the strength of Kendyll Pope and Michael Boulware returning the linebacker corps come in at No. 5. Lindy's says Miami has the top group of linebackers. Finally, none of the

teams in Florida have a secondary ranked in the top 10.

Biggest games of the year
On page 61 Lindy's runs down the biggest game for each weekend of the season. Florida State shows up three times but the biggest game of the year is missing. The Maryland, Louisville and Florida games are mentioned but where is the FSU-Miami showdown? Answer, that's the same

weekend as the Texas-Oklahoma game. That should be a great weekend for college

football. Let's hope the games are on TV at different times.

Top Award Candidates
Everything is fair game with Lindy's. That's

what makes it an interesting magazine to read and discuss. Miami's Ken Dorsey is

the early pick for the Heisman Trophy. Seminole quarterback Chris Rix comes in

at No. 7 for the prestigious individual award. He's only a sophomore so there's

still plenty of time for him to win the big one. FSU is also mentioned for the

Outland Trophy (Brett Williams No. 3) and Lombardi Award (Brett Williams No. 5).

2003 Draft
Finally, Lindy's takes a shot at next

year's NFL draft by listing the top 50 pro prospects. Quarterbacks Byron

Leftwich (Marshall) and Dave Ragone (Louisville) are rated as the top two

players. For Florida State Brett Williams comes in at No. 13 overall, second for

offensive linemen behind Stanford's Kwame Harris (No. 8). Also on the list is

defensive tackle Darnell Dockett (No. 25) and defensive end Alonzo

Jackson (No. 40). It is interesting that Lindy's predicts that two

Seminole defensive linemen will be picked in the top 40 of next year's draft but

yet the unit doesn't crack the top 10.

Cheerleaders

src="http://www.ezboard.com/images/posticons/pi_thumbsup.gif" border=0> Now a

days most preseason football magazines devote a section of their publication to

college cheerleaders. And that's fine with us. Lindy's has six

pages of photos devoted to several impressive young ladies. Sorry we

didn't see any Seminole cheerleaders.

Picking the ACC

No surprise here but Lindy's picks Florida State to

reclaim its rightful place as the top school in the conference followed by NC

State, Georgia Tech, Virginia and Maryland. However, only four Seminoles cracked

the All-ACC first team, Brett Williams, Montrae Holland, Alonzo Jackson and

Darnell Dockett. Georgia Tech had five selections. The second team looks much

better with nine Seminoles on the list.

Lindy's rates Virginia's schedule as the toughest (Colorado State, FSU, Penn State, Va Tech, South

Carolina). Right behind the Cavs are the Seminoles (Miami, Notre Dame, Florida,

Louisville, Iowa State).

Florida State also dominates the conference

unit rankings. Lindy's says the 'Noles have the top wide receivers,

offensive line and linebackers in the ACC. Also, the quarterbacks (No. 2),

running backs (No. 4), and secondary (No. 3) rate highly. But come on

Lindy's how can you rank FSU's running backs behind Wake Forest and Duke? Even worse the Tribe's defensive line comes in at No. 5. Remember this is the same line that Lindy's

predicts will have two players selected in the top 40 of next year's NFL draft.

Florida State Preview

Lindy's

devotes six pages to previewing the Seminoles in 2002. The story that

accompanies the preview looks back at last year's disappointing season with an

explanation of why 2002 should be different with a brief analysis at each

position. Also included in the six-page preview is a look back at spring

practice, a breakdown of FSU's recruiting class, roster, schedule, stats and a

depth chart. Other than listing Malcolm Tatum as a starter at cornerback, and

having Greg Tony as the starting fullback (he left the team), the depth chart

looks pretty good. Well, they did neglect to list Travis Johnson anywhere

but that was probably because he's recovering from a foot injury.

To buy or not to buy?

Overall

Lindy's 2002 preview magazine is a good product but it depends on what

you are looking for. If you like lots of rankings, lists and predictions

Lindy's is well worth the $5.99 price tag. However, if you prefer to read

a lot of in-depth and compelling articles you are probably better off with

Athlon. Since this was the ACC edition we were a little disappointed

there was so much material on the SEC and so little coverage of Florida State.

You can pick up Lindy's in most grocery, drug or bookstores. Or you can

order on-line or call 205-871-1182.

Talk about it on the

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