Fitzgerald battling to become one of NCAA's best
The Pittsburgh sophomore
has excelled on the field
despite recent losses of
a friend and family member
By Norm Wood
Daily Press (KRT)
BLACKSBURG, Va. — The best
wide receiver in college football is
obsessed. Every night, Pittsburgh's
Larry Fitzgerald can't get to sleep un
til he's sure he's tucked in with his
two favorite footballs.
They represent links to his past
and the unbelievably bright future
that lies ahead.
One is a ball he has had since high
school. It used to be the only ball
that shared the bed with him, but
just before he arrived at Pittsburgh, a
friend gave him an official National
Football League ball. The old beat-up
high school ball had to make room.
"1 kind of put that one in there to
keep me motivated," said Fitzgerald
of the NFL ball.
Motivation doesn't seem to be an is
sue with Fitzgerald. But if bunking with
footballs doesn't work, he has drawn
enough inspiration and motivation
from last spring to fuel him for years.
In April, Fitzgerald's mother, Car
ol, died after a seven-year struggle
with cancer. It was the start of a
spring that ended with Billy Gaines,
a Panthers wide receiver and friend,
died when he fell 25 feet through a
church ceiling while intoxicated.
Fitzgerald withdrew into the
sport that has always been there for
him. The sport his mother allowed
him to play football as a grade
school kid, even when Larry Sr., the
sports editor at the Minnesota
Spokesman-Recorder newspaper,
told him he couldn't.
"Football throughout the season
and the offseason last year, when
everything was kind of happening, it
was kind of like my outlet," the
younger Fitzgerald said. "It was my
safe haven from everything. It kind of
deflected the pain and suffering I was
going through at the time. I could go
out here and work out. I was over
there lifting weights five or six hours
a day. The coaches had to run me out
of there. That was where I felt com
fortable, and I had people around me
that really cared about me.*
When preseason workouts began,
Fitzgerald was ready to improve on
the 69 catches for 1,005 yards and
12 touchdowns he amassed with the
Panthers last season as a freshman.
Mis weight-room diligence had giv
en him an additional 15 pounds for
his 6-foot-3 frame, which now car
ries 225.
Fitzgerald, a 1 leisman Trophy can
didate, has 60 catches for 1,174 yards
and 16 touchdowns in eight games.
He leads the nation in receiving yards
per game and scoring (12 points per
game). He has set two NCAA records
this season, one of them 14 consecu
tive games with a touchdown catch.
"He is as good a football player as
I've ever been around," Pittsburgh
coach Walt Harris said. "The one
that's probably closest to him is
when 1 was at Tennessee when Reggie
White was there; and I was at Ohio
State when Eddie George was there
his senior year, when he won the
Heisman. (Fitzgerald) is that domi
nant and that valuable, and he has
helped us in ways that only a coach
would know. He's a threat, and it
forces people to do certain things in
order to give them the best chance
(of defending against him)."
Even receivers of comparable size
and stature marvel at Fitzgerald's
abilities. Virginia Tech's Ernest Wil
ford, a 6-foot-4, 220-pounder, does
n't watch video of offensive players of
other teams the Hokies play against.
But he had to watch Fitzgerald.
"He's really good," said Wilford.
"He's got good body control. He's got
good footwork off the line of scrim
mage, and he's got great hands. That's
all you can ask for from a receiver."
That body control has been appar
ent since Fitzgerald was a youngster.
"Ever since 1 was a little kid, that's
been the play," Fitzgerald said. "It's
been 'just throw it up to Larry in the
end zone,' or 'just throw it up to Larry
downfield.' That's pretty much been
my trademark play."
The Hokies learned about Fitzger
ald's ability to make acrobatic catch
es when he burned Vincent Fuller
and Ronyell Whitaker for five catch
es, 105 yards and three touchdowns
last season. Two of the touchdowns
came on fade routes, when Fitzger
ald used his 39-inch vertical leap to
pick the ball out of the air.
"Larry Fitzgerald is just the best I've
ever seen at going up and getting the
ball," Hokies coach Frank Beamer
said. "He's got a big body, and it's a
fast body, too. I think he has got a
great knack of positioning his body
against yours and going up and com
ing down with it. He's the best I've
ever seen. We've played against a lot
of great receivers over the years, but
this guy is the best I've ever seen."
Larry Sr. can look back now and re
alize his wife Carol was right. Their
son belongs in the game, and his ob
session with it has been well-earned.
"He's always been a competitor,
and he just wanted to play," Larry Sr.
said. "When I first saw him play at
(grade school) level, it was almost
like there was a glow around him. He
always stood out. He always seemed
to be relaxed and had fun. I had a lot
of fun watching him, even though I
disagreed with his mother.
"Larry's a natural."
(c) 2003, Daily Press (Newport News,
Va.). Distributed by Knight
Ridder/Tribune Information Services.
LSU’s Saban maintains he’s not interested in NFL
Nick Saban said he is happy
at LSU and does not have
plans to jump to the NFL
despite rumors he would
By David Haugh
Chicago Tribune (KRT)
CHICAGO — In NFL cities such as
Chicago, where the head coach's seat
couldn't get much hotter without set
ting off a smoke alarm, many fans
like the idea of Louisiana State Uni
versity coach Nick Saban taking over
next season.
Apparently more than Saban likes
the idea — at least for now.
During a speaking engagement
Tuesday night in Mobile, Ala., the LSU
coach tried to distance himself from
speculation linking him to the Bears,
Falcons, Giants or any other NFL team
to which rumors will link him from
now until the end of the season.
Asked about his interest in jumping
to the NFL, Saban answered: "It
comes down to this. Do you want to
deal with a bunch of immature peo
ple or a bunch of college kids?"
LSU has an 8-1 record and is
ranked No. 4 in the nation. Saban's
associates in the coaching profession
have said he enjoys the lifestyle of
college coaching and making a differ
ence to young men. The university
locked up Saban with a long-term
contract that pays him $1.6 million a
year after Notre Dame rumors sur
faced in 2001.
"The most difficult thing for hu
man beings to do is to have the ability
to sustain," Saban said in the Baton
Rouge Advocate. "Most people's great
est regret in life is that they didn't get
to finish something that was really
important to them. If we have the de
sire and commitment to stay focused,
we can have a good football team
every year."
It was the second time this season
that Saban, 52, felt compelled to ad
dress rumors, the first coming last
month after Bears general manager
Jerry Angelo visited LSU's practice be
fore the Bears played the Saints at the
Superdome. Angelo coached the de
fensive line at Syracuse from 1975-79
and Saban coached linebackers there
in 1977. The two have been good
friends since, sparking the speculation
that Angelo's campus visit frieled.
"The guy was doing his job," Saban
told the paper. "He always has been a
personnel guy. He always has come to
watch us practice every year since I've
been here and every year that I was at
Michigan State. He was looking at
football players. It would be unfair to
our players if I didn't allow every team
to come in, and most teams come
when they're playing the Saints."
Saban stressed he and Angelo have
discussed only LSU players and that
front-office personnel from other
teams also have visited practice.
(c) 2003, Chicago Tribune. Distributed
by Knight Ridder/
Tribune Information Services.
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