Rix ineligible for Sugar Bowl

I don't blame him, though I don't think he's that good nor does he have much chance of success anywhere else.

 

So where Larry? Back to California, UCLA, SoCal?

Was he a redshirt? If so, he'd only have one season of eligibility left. Don't see many takers with his "average" credentials.

 

FSU gets Chris Leak, UNC gets Chris Rix...Sounds like a fair trade.

 

You hit it right on the head, Mags. I missed an exam while I was playing baseball and was allowed to make it up. Of course Rix's advisor SHOULD have had Rix in classes where the professor was cool with ahtletes. Every school advisor has a list of professors that do not like athletes and most of the time they try to avoid those professors.

 

I disagree, probably he was in one of those classes and abused even that. It's not called the Deion rule for nothing. It's a shame the next game involved was a month away instead of 3 or 4 days. How ever what rules the school administration enacts, the administration may relax.

 

You are probably right VOR. Didnt think of that for some reason.

 

Personally I just think it's more a matter of being BMOC has gone to his head, and he just got a brutal awakening that he still has to cross his t's and dot his i's. Might could be like larry said the other guy was gonna be a starter next year any way and this is kind of a chance to free up a scholarship. Coach B is not one to look a gift horse in the mouth.

 

Rix out for Sugar Bowl

By Steve Ellis
DEMOCRAT STAFF WRITER

In another disappointment for a team stunned by setbacks this season, Florida State University quarterback Chris Rix was bounced out of the Sugar Bowl on Tuesday after failing to take two final exams last week.

FSU Provost Larry Abele ruled Rix ineligible to play in the New Year's Day bowl game against fourth-ranked Georgia. Rix's one-game suspension follows the November dismissal and arrest of then-starting quarterback Adrian McPherson, who faces criminal charges in connection with a check stolen from a Tallahassee business.

Sophomore backup Fabian Walker, whose topsy-turvy collegiate career reflects the Seminoles' 2002 season, will make his first start for FSU. He has thrown just eight passes in three games since joining the team two seasons ago.

Rix issued a prepared statement in which he said he overslept and missed one exam, but FSU sources said he also missed a second. He was given permission to make up one of the exams but not the second, sources said. He could not be reached for comment about the second exam or the circumstances surrounding any makeup exams.

"I know we, as players, are aware of the rule about not missing an exam," Rix said in his statement. "Due to a personal family issue, which was weighing heavily on me, I slept through an early final exam. I'm in good academic standing and am on track to graduate on time. I simply slept through an exam. I talked to the university about my circumstances, but the decision had already been made."

Between quarterback problems, bizarre losses and a rash of injuries to key players, FSU head coach Bobby Bowden said he's not seen a season like this in 50 years of coaching.

"Naturally, I'm disappointed, but I know a lot about Chris that people do not know," Bowden said. "I know some things and how frustrating things have been for him. But still, he didn't do what he was supposed to have done."

Rix was in violation of a university policy that has its roots in the so-called "Deion rule" instituted by the Board of Regents after the 1989 season. That rule, in which a student athlete failing to take a final would be automatically suspended, was enacted after Deion Sanders participated in that season's Sugar Bowl although he reportedly did not attend final exams.

FSU adopted its policy after the "Deion rule" was repealed by the Legislature. Abele said FSU's policy provides more flexibility about imposing penalties.

"I decided it was serious enough he would be ineligible for the bowl game," said Abele, who made the final decision Tuesday before noon. "It came down to assessing the issue and making a decision based on our stated and published policies and past practices."

It's not unusual for makeup exams to be given at FSU.

"Many faculty members are quite forgiving to many students," Abele said. "I don't think that any student athletes were treated any differently than any other student would have been treated."

Walker recruited by Bulldogs

Walker will lead the Seminoles against a Georgia program that heavily recruited him out of high school and then Jones (Miss.) Junior College prior to his enrolling at FSU for a second time in 2001. Walker signed with FSU in 1999 out of Americus (Ga.) High but did not earn the required standardized test score to be initially eligible. He made the necessary test score and participated in the 2000 spring practice at FSU. But the NCAA dismissed the test score, which forced Walker to transfer. This season, he has been hampered by a torn labrum - the soft tissue around the shoulder joint. Walker said the injury has healed.

"It's been a long road this season for the whole team," Walker said. "Things have worked out in mysterious ways for everyone on the team. For me personally, the situation I was thrown in is tough.

"I never really gave up hope. I am prepared for this role. This couldn't have come at a better time for me - a chance to play Georgia."

Without Rix, FSU is down to two quarterbacks. Matt Henshaw, who was moved to tight end before the season, will be Walker's backup. Wide receiver Anquan Boldin, an All-American quarterback in high school, also will get an opportunity to play at the spot in practice.

The quarterback situation is just one part of FSU's bizarre season. FSU lost its leading rusher, Greg Jones, to torn knee ligaments in early November. The Seminoles also have been without two key starting offensive linemen for part of the season.

On the field, the Seminoles lost to No. 1 Miami on a wide left field goal and were upset by Louisville in the midst of a torrential downpour, but Rix led FSU to a 31-14 victory over Florida when he regained his starting job following McPherson's arrest.