Where was this story about Nicholson last week. Florida State's leading tackler gets thrown out of a bar, and is zapped with a stun gun due to his resisting arrest, and the story doesn't seem to appear for a whole week. And even then it's buried in the middle of an article. Something's not equal in the press coverage. I bolded the part on Nicholson.
si.com
FSU losing players in many ways
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) -- In just more than two months, Florida State opens its season against archrival Miami -- without its top defensive tackle from spring practice, possibly its two best linebackers and only experienced quarterback.
June has been a rough month for coach Bobby Bowden's team, which suddenly heads into the 2005 campaign with a growing number of distractions.
Xavier Lee, a redshirt freshman from Daytona Beach, is the only healthy scholarship quarterback at the school. He could be looking at taking his first collegiate snap Sept. 5 when the Hurricanes visit on Labor Day night.
Lee has been the lone quarterback participating with teammates during informal daily workouts.
Another redshirt freshman, Drew Weatherford, is trying to get back into playing shape after ankle surgery following spring practice. He took one snap last year and was hurt on the play -- an ill-advised rollout that ended disastrously. Still unable to drop back, Weatherford only began throwing this week.
Wyatt Sexton, who started seven games last year while sharing assignments with the graduated Chris Rix, was committed by police this week for psychiatric evaluation. Sexton, who was under a team suspension at the time of his breakdown on a city street, remains under a physician's care for what authorities described erratic behavior.
Sexton's father, running backs coach Billy Sexton, said the problems did not result from drug abuse.
And that's only part of the latest troubles.
The Seminoles lost their leading interior lineman earlier this month and may also be without star linebacker A.J. Nicholson as well against the Hurricanes, who have won the last six meetings between the two rivals.
Nicholson had a second run-in with authorities on June 9 -- just two days after the school announced the dismissal of defensive tackle Clifton Dickson for academic reasons.
Nicholson, already facing a drunken driving charge from earlier in the year, tried to run away from police June 9 when he was shocked with a stun gun and charged with resisting arrest. Police said Nicholson had been thrown out of a local bar for unruly conduct.
Nicholson, who led the team in tackles in 2004, starred in the defense's 20-10 victory over the offense in the spring game with an 84-yard touchdown run on a fumble recovery.
The other outside linebacker, junior Ernie Sims, is coming off a broken leg suffered in spring practice. Sims -- arguably Florida State's best player on either side of the ball -- is hopeful he'll be nearing 100 percent by the opener.
When Dickson was declared academically ineligible for the 2005 season, it robbed the Seminoles of perhaps their most dominant interior lineman. Dickson, who is studying at neighboring Tallahassee Community College, must earn his associates degree before regaining his eligibility to enroll at Florida State.
Bowden was away vacationing this week and unavailable to comment while other university spokesmen deferred from specific comments on the status of Sexton or Nicholson.
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