McPherson Hopes To Give Seminoles Offensive Spark

TALLAHASSEE -- By naming Adrian McPherson his starting quarterback for Saturday's game at Wake Forest, Florida State coach Bobby Bowden hopes to give his sagging team a spark.

If the players' initial reaction to McPherson's promotion -- and Chris Rix's subsequent demotion -- is any indication, the move is already paying dividends.

"Let's start a fire," FSU defensive end Alonzo Jackson said when he learned the news. "I have all my faith in coach Bowden."

Jackson actually had to be physically calmed down in the locker room after FSU's 34-24 loss to Notre Dame. His frustration from losing a third game in eight outings this season boiled over into a tantrum.

And Jackson wasn't the only Seminole fed up with losing.

Clearly, it was time for a change and Rix, who committed two gargantuan turnovers in the third quarter against Notre Dame, was the fall guy.

"Somebody has to give us a spark out there," said FSU center Antoine Mirambeau, who has been publicly critical of Rix's impatience in the pocket this fall. "And it's mainly the quarterback who has to do that.

"He's supposed to be the leader of the team. Adrian could spark it up by making plays. We'll see on Saturday what he does with it."

Bowden insists the decision to make McPherson the starter was not made by the players.

"I wouldn't dare let the kids decide something like that," he said.

But if a team vote were taken, there's little doubt that McPherson would be a landslide winner.

The true sophomore has endeared himself to teammates since stepping on campus last fall with his soft-spoken demeanor. In many ways -- in terms of personality and athletic ability -- McPherson reminds observers of former Heisman Trophy winner Charlie Ward.

McPherson has gone 21-for-37 (56.8) for 283 yards and thrown four touchdowns this season. He's also gone his last 74 attempts without an interception.

The 6-foot-4, 180-pound product of Bradenton Southeast High was named Mr. Football and Mr. Basketball for the state of Florida as a prep senior. McPherson briefly played basketball at FSU last winter, but turned his full attention back to football, saying he wanted to overtake Rix for the starting quarterback job.

His time has now arrived.

It was prompted by Rix's failures on Saturday and McPherson's late-game success, when he completed 8 of 11 passes for 118 yards and two touchdowns.

Anyone who saw McPherson play in high school probably figured such a change was only a matter of time. While Rix posted some average high school passing numbers, McPherson passed for 3,727 yards and 42 touchdowns as a senior at Bradenton. He also rushed for 765 yards and eight more TDs.

When McPherson first practiced with the 'Noles last fall, Bowden continually referred to him as "something special." He also repeatedly made notice of McPherson's poise under pressure.

Yet until last Saturday, Bowden apparently hadn't seen enough good from McPherson -- coupled with enough bad from Rix -- to make a change.

"There wasn't any question about it," Bowden said of the change. "I don't think of it as a gamble. I think of it as the thing to do, the thing we must do.

"We couldn't move the ball against Notre Dame and then he came in there and took us in there twice. He really used his pocket good, and he rolled out and still threw. And he ran at the right time. He just did some things that impressed us."

McPherson, who has never wavered on his desire to be FSU's starting quarterback, welcomes the change and the challenge.

"I think I'm ready to show everybody I'm prepared to take over the team," McPherson said.

Bowden announced some other positions changes for Saturday's game, as well. Starting split end Robert Morgan has been benched after dropping three passes against Notre Dame. Anquan Boldin, who was sharing time with Talman Gardner at flanker, will now move into Morgan's starting split end spot.

Furthermore, sophomore Craphonso Thorpe will now backup Gardner.

But the spark that Bowden is looking for will have to start with McPherson.

Although he looked great against Notre Dame, McPherson went 0-for-6 on pass attempts against Clemson during the heat of the game.

"I was rushing myself and put too much pressure on myself in the Clemson game," McPherson said.

This marks the first time since 1990 that Bowden has changed quarterbacks in mid-season for reasons other than an injury. That year, Casey Weldon replaced a struggling Brad Johnson.

Rix was just 13-7 as a starter at FSU and although he has thrown for over 4,000 yards, he has been intercepted 19 times. And his three turnovers against Notre Dame were enough to lower him to No. 2 on the depth chart.