Marcus Outzen grew up a Florida State fan, idolizing former Seminoles quarterback Casey Weldon. He attended Florida State Coach Bobby Bowden's summer camps. What he wanted to do most in life was quarterback Florida State in a big game. But after enrolling at Florida State in the fall of 1996, Outzen got stuck in traffic on the depth chart behind a procession of three Parade high school all-Americans.
It looked like he was headed for a career as a backup.
Then Dan Kendra, who was slated to be the Seminoles' number one quarterback this season, tore his right anterior cruciate ligament during spring practice. And two weeks ago against Virginia, Chris Weinke -- who had done a marvelous job since throwing six interceptions in a loss to N.C. State on Sept. 12 -- suffered a season-ending neck injury.
Advertisement
Jared Jones, a freshman who was one of the nation's top high school quarterbacks last fall, got a chance to show whether he was ready for major college football last weekend against Wake Forest, but he didn't fare well in a fourth-quarter appearance that will cost him a season of eligibility.
Outzen, who replaced Weinke against Virginia and made his first career start against Wake Forest, suddenly was in the role he has always wanted. He will be Florida State's starter today when the fifth-ranked Seminoles (10-1) host No. 4 Florida (9-1) in a game that likely will eliminate the loser from national championship contention.
"Basically, it's my dream come true," Outzen told reporters in Tallahassee earlier this week.
The 6-foot-1, 218-pound redshirt sophomore couldn't have a much sterner test in his dream game. Having thrown 38 career passes, he has to face a Florida defense that is among the nation's top 10 in total defense, scoring defense, rushing defense and pass efficiency defense. And the Gators already have declared that their first goal will be shutting down Florida State's running game so Outzen will have to beat them with the pass.
Advertisement
Outzen, however, sounds like a quarterback who wants to be held responsible for whatever happens today.
"I can throw any pass Weinke can throw," he said.
He also said: "We still have the same stars catching the ball. I'm capable of getting the ball to them."
Outzen certainly looked capable against Virginia. After replacing Weinke at the start of the second half, he closed a 45-14 rout by completing 5 of 6 passes and leading Florida State to 17 second-half points.
But last week against Wake Forest, Outzen was not as impressive in a humdrum 24-7 victory in the rain in Winston-Salem, N.C. He completed 11 of 19 passes for 164 yards, and offensive coordinator Mark Richt labeled Outzen's performance a "C-plus." Richt told the Miami Herald, "We had our worst offensive performance of the year."
Bowden wasn't impressed, either. He told reporters this week he sent Jones into the game against Wake Forest so he could find out whether Jones would be a better alternative than Outzen.
Advertisement
"That's what I was looking at," Bowden said. Jones is "not ready. Outzen will be the starter."
Outzen has wanted a chance to play quarterback for the Seminoles since he was 9 and had his picture taken with Bowden during a booster meeting in Outzen's home town of Fort Walton Beach, Fla. When he was 10, Outzen started wearing a No. 11 jersey, the same number that Weldon wore. Outzen kept No. 11 throughout his career at Fort Walton Beach High -- the same school that produced Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Danny Wuerffel of Florida and Seminoles star wide receiver E.G. Green. Outzen led Fort Walton Beach to the Class 5A state championship as a senior, although he was an option quarterback who ran for 18 touchdowns and passed for 10 that season.
He arrived at Florida State a year after Kendra, a high school all-American from Pennsylvania. But in early 1997, in came Weinke, who had signed a letter-of-intent with Florida State in 1990 as a high school all-American but then decided to play pro baseball.
Advertisement
Outzen said this week he considered transferring when Weinke, who was about to turn 25, returned in time for 1997 spring practice, dropping Outzen to number three on the depth chart. For his loyalty, he got even more competition -- the 6-5, 220-pound Jones, who signed a letter-of-intent in February 1998.
Now with his big day just ahead of him, Outzen said this week he wants to enjoy the moment rather than ruminating on the past or the future. "I hope it's going to be fun {today}," he said. "It's definitely going to be a stressful week. This {attention} is all new to me."
Florida State has tried to make Outzen's week as easy as possible. He appeared at a news conference Monday and then was declared off limits to the media for the rest of the week.
Last week, he was given the entire offensive package to run against Wake Forest -- the shotgun, and the no-huddle, four-wide-receiver sets. Given the mixed results, it's not certain how much, if anything, Florida State will trim from its usually varied offense to enhance Outzen's chances of success today.
Advertisement
Outzen is more mobile than Weinke, but he likes to run so much that Bowden had to tell him in practice this week to work on sliding to the ground so the Gators don't get a chance to knock him out of the game.
Meanwhile, his teammates appear to have rallied to his side. "Marcus has to be our leader," wide receiver Peter Warrick said. "His number has been called. He has to do what he has to do to help this team win." CAPTION: Seminoles QB Marcus Outzen, who has thrown 38 career passes, faces one of nation's best defenses in Florida. ec
ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7uK3SoaCnn6Sku7G70q1lnKedZK6zr8eirZ5no6W8s8DSaGhycWhkfnJ7kWpmsJmZqbavs4yiqmanppq%2FbrLOq2Sfq6WoerDB07Ocp2doboWjrphya2ZwZG2BboCVappmmmGWgW6Dk5tqbZ1pbLJ1gZJo