College Football
Thursday, December 30
Reason for Warrick's senior year is near
Associated Press

NEW ORLEANS -- Peter Warrick missed out on a few trophies, so he sure doesn't want to miss out on the most important one of all in his final game for No. 1 Florida State.

Peter Warrick
Peter Warrick is one game away from his goal of winning a national title.

The All-American wide receiver lost his chance at winning the Heisman Trophy, and was even passed over for the Biletnikoff Award, after his arrest in a shopping mall scam at midseason. But on Tuesday night, the national championship trophy is the prize when the Seminoles (11-0) play No. 2 Virginia Tech (11-0) in the Sugar Bowl.

"This is the reason I came back, to win a national championship," Warrick said before practice at the Louisiana Superdome. "There's nothing else in the world that I want more than this right now."

Florida State feels the same way. Coach Bobby Bowden's Seminoles are in the title game for the third time in four years, having lost to Florida in the '97 Sugar Bowl and Tennessee in the '99 Fiesta Bowl. Florida State won the title in 1993.

Ever since the 23-16 loss to the Volunteers, a game in which Warrick caught just one pass, the wide receiver has made big news for good and bad decisions.

A week after the defeat, Warrick surprised everyone -- even Bowden -- when he chose to return to Florida State despite being a projected top-round NFL draft pick.

Then, on Oct. 7, he and teammate Laveranues Coles were arrested on a charge of felony grand theft for paying $21.40 for $412.38 worth of clothing at a department store in Tallahassee. Warrick was suspended two games and reinstated after he pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor, which required that he spend 30 hours in a work program.

And when it came time to invite the Heisman finalists to New York, Warrick wasn't one of them. Several players, including Virginia Tech's Corey Moore and Michael Vick, who finished third in the Heisman, still said Warrick was the top player. When Penn State's LaVar Arrington won the Butkus Award, he paid tribute to Warrick, saying "This one's for Peter."

"I've been through a lot," Warrick said. "Getting through the trouble, I bounced back from it and it takes a real man to do that. Now I can stand up in front of a crowd and tell kids to learn from my mistake. Trouble is easy to get into but hard to get out of."

In the nine games he did play, Warrick caught 71 passes for 934 yards and eight touchdowns. He also ran for three TDs and returned a punt for a score. Oh, and he threw a touchdown pass, too.

"He's the best I've ever seen when the ball is in his hands," Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer said. "He's the most elusive guy and his first step is as fast as his last."

Andre Davis, Tech's sophomore wide receiver who caught 35 passes for 962 yards and nine TDs, is a fan, too.

"It's really amazing how he's able to run with the ball after he catches it," said Davis, who averaged 27.5 yards a catch. "I haven't seen him have the most explosive speed like some other people out there, but if he gets the ball in his hands, he could score a touchdown at any time -- and that's something I'm trying to work on."

Warrick became the Atlantic Coast Conference's leading receiver with 3,517 yards, passing North Carolina State's Torry Holt, who had 3,379 yards.

Bowden still marvels at Warrick's ability to turn short passes into big gainers.

"When you look at his ability to break away after he catches the ball, I don't think I've had anybody who can match that," Bowden said. "Deion Sanders -- if we put him on offense -- might have come close. ... But this kid is the most evasive kid we've ever had. He's got all the moves and they seem to come instinctively."

His teammates showed their support by electing him a Sugar Bowl captain, but there are others who aren't as quick to forgive. Warrick says he won't live in the past, although he's still unhappy about the Heisman snub. He couldn't even bring himself to watch the Heisman show on television.

"I think about that a lot," said Warrick, who was sixth in the Heisman balloting. "It was disappointing. I thought at least I would be invited. I know the mistake I made cost it. But that was not my goal. I've always said my goal was to graduate and to win the national championship."

He received his degree in political science two weeks ago, and now that he's back in a national title game, he understands how important a win could mean to his future.

"It would help me out a lot," he said. "It's something I came back for. I've got a chance to accomplish that goal. The Heisman and the Biletnikoff, all those things are good, but they can't take away the national championship. That's something I'm looking forward to."

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