Some may say that Paul Piurowski was one of the best linebackers to ever wear the Garnet and Gold. In 1979, Piurowski had 123 tackles and six sacks as the 'Noles finished the regular season 11-0. From there, he went on to play for the USFL's Tampa Bay Bandits and in 1989 was inducted into the Florida State Hall of Fame. But his road to success didn't exactly start off well.

"I was recruited by FSU as a safety but was moved to LB after two to three days. I was told they wanted me closer to the ball - not sure to this day if that was a complement or not. Having never played LB before I was completely lost. We were doing a drill that I kept screwing up on and our LB coach (No name intended) yelled to me in the sweetest voice that I was uncoachable and would never play for him," said Piurowski, "I went back to my room and cried for hours. I was ready to leave but my mom wouldn't let me come home (all of the beds were taken).

"So I thought this was not a good situation, coach doesn't want me and mom doesn't either, at least I had a bed if I stayed. So I decided to prove someone wrong, either coach or me. Four years later I'm flagging a cab after the Orange Bowl and the door opens with coach sitting inside. I get in and asked him if he remembered telling me fours years ago that I would never play for him? He said he did and that was a sign of a good coach. Which I replied no, that was a sign of a full house. Thank God for the wisdom of moms!"

Piurowski came to Florida State after deciding between FSU, Florida, and Alabama. After hitting the recruiting trail, it was clear to him that Florida State was far superior to the other schools. Even Alabama using Bear Bryant as bait wasn't enough to say him from becoming a Seminole.

"My official visit can be summed up in three words 'Fred The Head'," Piurowski said. "For those of you that didn't get to meet 'FTH' you missed out!

"Towards the end of the recruiting process it came down to FSU, Florida and Alabama. Florida had me locked up in a hotel room watching film and told me we weren't leaving until I committed. I asked them how much money they had set aside for hotel expenses because we would be there for at least four years.

"Alabama sent Coach Bryant to the house. As he walked in he took his infamous Hounds-Tooth hat off and threw it towards the back of the sofa. My mother must of thought it was Moses dropping the Tablets as she made her best attempt to catch the fallen Crown before it broke into pieces. In a voice that seemed like it came from a burning bush we heard 'Oh just leave it lay'. With the floor below still shacking my mother bowed her head in reverence and returned the Crown/Hat to its' rightful owner. To this day my mother and I can't remember if anything else was said during the appearance and vision of "The Bear"."

But not even Bear Bryant's impression on Mrs. Piurowski could make Paul change his mind about FSU. Nick Kish recruited young Paul, but it was Bobby Bowden who closed the deal.

"Coach Bowden is the man," said Piurowski. "As a song goes 'you had me from hello!' My father had passed away going into my senior year and I was looking for that fatherly figure. He not only filled the void in my life but he filled a void in my mother's life. She had raised 10 kids and needed help. Coach Bowden assured her he would do all he could to keep me on the right path and that he treated all of 'his boys' as his own. She slept well for four years. My mother still loves to recall those four wonderful years she had while I was being raised by Coach Bowden."

Piurowski played with and against some of the all-time greats. And like most former 'Noles, the stories go on forever. Some are good memories, some not so great, and some are memorable because of a sight or smell that you just can't get out of your head.

"My memory is shorter than my hair but I'll give it a shot. The nasty smell of fresh cut grass in 95 degree heat at 7:00 a.m. during two-a-days and wishing I could puke just so I had something wet in my mouth, The city of Tally closing down all of Tennessee Street after we beat Nebraska. The Nebraska fans giving us a standing ovation as we walked off of their field. Coach Bowden and his ability to get you to dream of great things and all of the coaches and their ability to get you to play beyond your dreams," said Piurowski.

"I could write a book. We were at a hotel in Blacksburg Virginia Six hours before the game I called one of the freshman's rooms and explained that I was Harold Zimmerman with Sports Illustrated and wanted to do a feature article on him. I explained that I only had a few minutes before I had to send the story in and could he run down to the lobby ASAP! He told me he had just gotten out of the shower and wasn't dressed and had to go to a team meeting. I told him to wrap a towel around himself and to come now or we couldn't do the story. It was extremely funny to see a young freshman wrapped in a towel, standing in the lobby waiting forever for Harold Zimmerman as the entire team and staff came walking by."

These days, Piurowski works for United States Warranty Corporation under former FSU great Mark (Puff) Macek.

"I thought nothing could be tougher than playing for Gene McDowell, wrong! Two-a-days were a piece of cake compared to working for Mark," said Piurowski. "At least at FSU we got some water at the end of every third practice. Playing at FSU certainly did prepare me for the real world. If you can survive two-a-days, matt-drills... you can do anything you put your mind to."

As good as his playing days were, nothing is more important to the former FSU great than watching his son Caz play for Bobby Bowden. And that's two generations of players, playing for the all-time winningest coach in college football history.

"Like many fathers, I just wanted my son to have the experience of playing college football let alone the same college. I would have been pleased no matter where he went. I thought he was headed to Auburn but was excited when he selected FSU (easy to get to all of the games)," said Piurowski.

"It is a true pleasure to see my son in the Garnet and Gold. The first game he played in his freshman year was in Miami. Thank God it was raining as no one was able to tell the difference between the rain drops and the tears. He has really matured as a man during the first two years and to me that is important.

"When Bobby came to our house to recruit Caz he reminded me that it was almost 30 years ago he was standing in my mother's house recruiting me, pretty neat huh? What's really cool is comparing my old stories with his current stories. Yes, times have changed and many of us feel that today's athletes are different. Well they are! But even though they may be different there are similarities that will never change, They all were once little rug-rates who had a dream of playing college football. They bust their butts in the weight room and endure matt drills. They make mistakes. They grow into fine young men and they one day will be able to tell their kids and grand kids they played for the greatest coach of all time."

No doubt, the elder Piurowski has his opinions about the future of the program. There will come a time that Bobby Bowden decides to step aside, and when that happens, it seems that the alumni are more than ready to roll out the red carpet for Jimbo Fisher.

"I believe it is a great situation," Piurowski said. "When I first met Jimbo I turned to my wife and said 'There's the next head coach.' There's not too many schools that are faced with this type of situation. No matter how things turn out we are going through a very unique phase at FSU. These are uncharted waters and while the storm seems to be never-ending it to shall pass. I remember my father telling me before he passed away that what seems to be troubling today will be your strength tomorrow. We will prevail! We will be victorious! We will continue to be Seminoles!"

And even better than all of that, Piurowski wanted to let the Seminole nation know that his daughter Lizzy will be going to FSU this fall. It was a decision between the Gators and 'Noles, but after being treated badly during last years FSU-Florida game, Lizzy turned to her father and said she was going to Florida State. Another Piurowski at FSU, unfortunately, this one won't be playing for Bobby Bowden.

Lee Gordon is an Anchor/Reporter at WCTV in Tallahassee. Prior to his return to the Capital City, Lee spent three years as a Sports Anchor/Reporter at WTEV-WAWS in Jacksonville and prior to that was Sports Director at WCTV from 2000-2004. Lee has worked for Warchant.com for 5 years and brings over a decade of experience to our staff.