Wish upon the stars

Sporting News, The, August 19, 1996 by Ivan Maisel

Moss, meanwhile, is a redshirt freshman at his third school. He originally signed with. Notre Dame in February 1995, but the school withdrew its scholarship offer that May, citing a late application from Moss; coincidentally, the school's action came after Moss was charged in the beating of a high school classmate in Belle, W.Va. Moss then signed with Florida State, where he sat out last season as a redshirt. In mid-May of this year, while he was finishing his 30-day jail sentence for his role in the beating, Moss failed a drug test. A few days later, FSU kicked him out of school. He decided he would attend Marshall two weeks ago. Moss is big (6-4, 210), fast (4.3-seconds in the 40-yard dash) and athletic (39-inch vertical leap) and would have played a huge role at Florida State this season.

The Thundering Herd, ranked third in the nation in THE SPORTING NEWS' preseason I-AA poll, already had a potent duo in sophomore quarterback Chad Pennington and senior receiver Tim Martin. Frankly, though, Kresser-Moss is a combo that one day could star in the NFL, not just in the Southern Conference.

You can count on me

Here's a group of players who have some big shoes to fill this fall:

Thad Busby, QB, Florida State. Busby, a junior, should be the next in the long line of productive Seminole quarterbacks, following the likes of Casey Weldon, Charlie Ward and Danny Kanell. Busby should make FSU fans forget Kanell rather quickly. Although Kanell had a strong arm and usually made the right decisions, he was a ... uh, well, he was a statue in the pocket. Busby is mobile and has a cannon arm. His athletic abilities should allow FSU to return to a form of the offense it ran under Ward.

Cikai Champion, SE, Notre Dame. As usual, the Fighting Irish will have a strong running game. But the receiving corps looks to be a disaster area with the loss of Derrick Mayes, the Fighting Irish's career leader in receiving yards and touchdowns. Champion is expected to start at Mayes' vacated split-end slot. Mayes finished his career with 129 receptions; Champion, a senior, has one.

Kris Farris, OT, UCLA. Farris, a redshirt freshman, is expected to be the Bruins' starting left tackle this season. He has to replace Jonathan Ogden, a consensus All-American who was the fourth pick in the draft. Farris certainly has the size to do the job: He's 6-9 1/2 and 288 pounds. He'll be one of four new starters on UCLA's line. The Bruins also have to replace leading rusher Karim Abdul-Jabbar.

Scott Frost, QB, Nebraska. How's this for pressure--Frost is considered the weak link as the Huskers go for their third consecutive national title. Frost, a junior, sat out last season after transferring from Stanford. A superb athlete who played some in the secondary for Stanford, Frost is a better passer than Frazier but can't possibly match Frazier's acumen in running the option. Frost's performance may determine the Huskers' title hopes.

Billy Miller, WR, USC. All he must do is replace Keyshawn Johnson, who was the No. 1 pick in the draft. Miller, a sophomore, is a big (6-3, 210) target who has great speed and is expected to become the Trojans' go-to receiver. Miller had three receptions for 27 yards and no touchdowns last season. He has some big numbers to shoot for: Johnson had 90 catches for 1,218 yards and six touchdowns last year.