For Florida State, the job's always well Dunn

Sporting News, The, March 25, 1996 by Ivan Maisel

You know spring practice is upon us when senior-to-be stars express an interest in track. So it is with Florida State tailback Warrick Dunn, who, after three outstanding seasons, doesn't need to show Bobby Bowden or anyone else what he can do. Given the scarcity of four-year stars these days, Dunn could express an interest in keeping score for women's softball and be excused from the drills.

It has been a good spring for Bowden. Son Terry called from Auburn earlier this month with the news that a fifth daughter arrived. Terry wanted to name her Bobbie for his dad, but Terry and his wife, Shyrl, compromised by naming her Jamie Taylor Bowden after their favorite singer (good thing it wasn't The Artist Formerly Known as Prince).

Bobby doesn't have a lot of decisions to make, which doesn't bode well for ending the competitive imbalance in the Atlantic Coast Conference. His biggest hole is at quarterback, where Thad Busby has waited patiently for his turn behind Danny Kanell. Busby will thrive in Bowden's offense. He has a live arm and, unlike Kanell, live feet, too. That means the Seminoles can do more Charlie Ward-style rollouts than they have been able to the past two seasons. Not that Busby is Ward -- Busby can neither play basketball nor be elected mayor of Tallahassee.

Behind Busby is redshirt freshman Dan Kendra, the hotly recruited Pennsylvanian who surprised everyone by signing with the Seminoles at the last hour. Kendra has become the stuff of legend for his work ethic. During Orange Bowl week, when Bowden gave the team a night off, several teammates invited Kendra to accompany them to a strip joint. Kendra said no, he wanted to work out.

The team record for the leg press had been 1,200 pounds, set by former center Robbie Baker in 1990. But Kendra decided to break the record. Neither the machine nor Kendra's body was prepared for what happened next.

The strength coaches had to tape the weights onto the leg press. When they finished filling every available spot, Kendra prepared to attempt 1,335 pounds. He did it, but not before putting so much stress on his body that he popped blood vessels in both eyes. Walking to class last week, a fellow student looked at Kendra and said, "What happened to you?"

"I saw the devil," Kendra replied.

With Busby's excellent mobility, the offense shouldn't sputter as it did against aggressive defenses at the end of last season. Florida shut down Florida State for four quarters, and Notre Dame did so for three. The Seminoles will have the added boost of red-shirt freshman wide receiver Randy Moss, whose advance notice would be the envy of any Hollywood studio. And, of course, there's Dunn, provided he doesn't pull a hamstring sprinting -- or get hit by an errant softball.