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Printers looks to leave imprint on FAMU
ROSCOE NANCE
Hundreds and hundreds of college football players transfer each year. But none has ever generated the kind of buzz around the black college circuit that has accompanied quarterback Casey Printer's arrival at Florida A&M. The 6-3, 205-pound senior guided Texas Christian University to three consecutive bowl games and was 23-8 as a three-year starter for the Horned Frogs. He departed Corpus Christi, Texas, No.3 on TCU's all-time passing list with 4,621 yards and 37 touchdowns and No.1 in completion percentage (324 of 578, 56%). ESPN Magazine has touted him as one of three Heisman Trophy candidates in the state of Florida, along with Miami's Ken Dorsey and Florida's Rex Grossman. Printers' presence at Florida A&M makes expectations of the Rattlers, always high to begin with even higher. They are 14th in the ESPN/USA TODAY I-AA poll released Monday and 16th in the Sports Network I-AA poll. They are odds on favorites to win their third consecutive Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference title and given a chance of challenging for the I-AA crown.
All of that is fine with Printers. "The expectations are going to be high,'' he says. "I would have it no other way. I'm feeling great stepping into a situation where everybody is thinking, 'It's time to do it. It's time to do it,' because that's the way I'm thinking. We (FAMU) haven't been to the national championship since 1978. I want to go all the way. There's no reason we shouldn't win.'' Rattler coach Billy Joe, who has a history of having success with transfer quarterback (Oteman Sampson, Patrick Bonner and JaJuan Seider were others), cautions that Printers, even as talented as he is, can't carry the team on his shoulders. "We're hopeful that he will have a tremendous impact,'' Joe says. "He brings a wealth of experience and talent. He's a triple threat. He can beat you with his hands, head and feet. He's fast and smart and can throw. "But as we know, one man doesn't stop a show. Also one man doesn't make the show. He needs a supporting cast. The offensive line has to block; receivers have to catch, and the running game has to keep pressure off him. He's just 1/ 11th. We hope we get more than 1/11th production from him, but the offensive unit must work together.'' The stage is set for Printers to have a big season. Florida A&M's pass-happy Gulf Coast Offense is ideally suited for his multi-dimensional game. Four of the Rattlers' top five receivers are back. However, only three projected starters on the offensive line got extensive playing time last season and the top two running backs graduated. However, one of Printers' strong suits is his mobility -- he runs a 4.5 second 40-yard dash. He doesn't have to play behind an offensive line that provides fortress-like protection, and he is the equivalent of an extra running back. But it is his ability to throw the football, not run with it, that gets people excited. He was one of the top 100 high school players in Texas a prep All-American at DeSoto High after passing for 3,859 yards and 29 touchdowns his junior and senior seasons. Notre Dame, Syracuse, Oklahoma, Arizona State, Texas A&M, Baylor and Mississippi State all recruited him heavily, but he chose TCU. However, he grew disenchanted with the Horned Frogs following a coaching change that saw them switch their offensive philosophy from passing the ball to running it. "They wanted to pound the ball and run the ball all the time, which is great,'' he says. "I wanted to grow as a quarterback and explore my options. It wasn't a tough decision. After the frustration builds up after two or three years, it's time to go.'' When Printers decided to transfer, he wanted to go to a I-AA program because he would be able to play immediately, and he wanted to go to a program that threw the ball. He considered Grambling State, Alabama State, Southern and Florida A&M. He contacted Grambling, but head coach Doug Williams, unaware of Printers' credentials, referred him to Florida A&M. Printers' took Williams up on his suggestion after visiting Alabama State, and that just may have been the beginning of a historic relationship. "I realized this is where I wanted to be,'' says Printers, a dean's list journalism major."The football is pretty much the same but academics were better here. I wanted to have the best of worlds.'' He never got around to visiting Southern. Printers enrolled at Florida A&M for the second semester and went through offseason workouts and spring drills. That has helped him become acclimated to the Rattlers' offense and develop a rapport with his teammates, particularly his receiving corps, many of which remained on campus during the summer and worked out with Printers. Printers says he is comfortable with the Rattlers offense, and he was calling his own plays in preseason scrimmages. "If he had some (game) experience in our offense, he'd be much farther along,'' Joe says. "He knows the offense on paper, but he hasn't executed against the opposition. Once he does that, he will get better and better.'' Printers says his new teammates have embraced them as their leader, and it's a role he takes seriously. "This is my senior year,'' he says. "This is it for me. Of course I'm going to step up and have my say. If people don't listen that's fine. I'm the quarterback of this team, and I'm taking a pretty aggressive role. Everybody has responded to me great. Guys have taken me in. They feel at ease. I think I've earned everybody's trust. "He's definitely our leader by far,'' senior receiver Charlie Allen told the Tallahassee Democrat recently. Even though Printers is stepping down a level in competition from Division I-A to I-AA, he says he sees little difference in the quality of athletes and the way Florida A&M's program and TCU's are run. "The difference to me is hype,'' he says. "There you're getting publicity all the time. You're getting TV time all the time. That's pretty much the only difference besides the front 7s. The offensive linemen and defensive linemen are shorter, not in terms of athletic ability, but in height. We have a lot of guys who run 4.5 and 4.6 on the defensive line. They can really move.'' But the fact remains that Florida A&M is a I-AA program, albeit a very good one, and remains off the beaten path when it comes to big-time college football. But Printers says he doesn't fear becoming the forgotten man in terms of individual awards and an opportunity to play in the NFL. "I have all the support I need here at Florida A&M,'' he says. "I don't feel I will be forgotten unless I go out there and stink the joint up every game. It's on me. I have to stay focused and stay within myself, play within myself and my teammates, and everything will be fine.'' Printers and Florida A&M won't have to wait long for an opportunity to show if expectations of them are unrealistic. They play defending national champion Miami Aug. 31 in the season opener at the Orange Bowl. "If we can play with Miami our players will see we can play and beat anybody,'' Printers says. "It's a confidence game. Hopefully we can go in and showcase we're a very good team and pull out a win.'' © 2002 Azeez Communications, Inc.
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