Fitzgerald Jr. enters NFL Draft

By: Larry Fitzgerald
Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder
Originally posted 2/11/2004

Pittsburgh, Pa. -- University of Pittsburgh wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald Jr. has officially declared his intention to enter the 2004 National Football League Draft. 
"The University of Pittsburgh has been a special place to me, and I will be forever indebted to the many people who helped me as both a person and a player," Fitzgerald said. "It has been an honor and privilege to be a Panther. I will always work to represent this school as best I can in whatever I do in life."
Fitzgerald, who recently was named the draft's top prospect by ESPN's Mel Kiper, leaves Pittsburgh as one of the most decorated players in school history despite playing only two seasons. He was named the winner of the Walter Camp Player of the Year Award, becoming the first sophomore to earn that prestigious honor. 
Fitzgerald additionally won the Biletnikoff Award as the country's top receiver, and was named a unanimous All-American. Pittsburgh Head Coach Walt Harris said, "Larry Fitzgerald set new standards of excellence on and off the football field.
"We all have been blessed to be around such a special person and outstanding athlete in Larry Fitzgerald," Harris said. "Not only was he an unbelievable receiver, but he also set a great example of how players should respect the game. We wish him well in his next challenge and know he will be a special player on the next level."
Fitzgerald finished a strong second to Oklahoma quarterback Jason White for the Heisman Trophy, losing by 128 points. Fitzgerald carried three voting regions, an unprecedented achievement for a sophomore. 
Fitzgerald set three NCAA receiving records and tied another this season, including consecutive games with a touchdown catch (18), touchdown catches as a freshman and sophomore (34), receiving yards as a sophomore (1,672), and most games catching a TD in a season (tied Marshall's Randy Moss with 12).
He additionally set eight Big East Conference receiving records: single-season receiving yards (1,672), single-season receptions (92), single-season TD catches (22), career TD catches (34), career 1,000-yard receiving seasons (two), career 100-yard receiving games (14), single-season 100-yard receiving games (10), and catches per game (7.1).

Randy Moss: Vikings could lose cash cow! 
Did you know that Vikings Pro Bowl, record-setting receiver Randy Moss has not spoken to Head Coach Mike Tice in two months? After six seasons with the Vikings, Moss is hot about a few issues that are important to him. In his Vikings career, Moss has 525 receptions for 8,375 yards and has scored 78 touchdowns in six years.
Last season, Moss became the first player in NFL history with 1,000 yards receiving in each of his first six seasons in the NFL. He also set the team single-season record for receiving yards in one season with 1,632.
Moss also set an NFL record for most catches (525) and yards (8,375) in his first six NFL seasons. Moss is the first receiver in NFL history to average 100 yards and at least one touchdown over a 16-game NFL season.
I talked with Moss at halftime of the Cleveland vs. Minnesota Timberwolves basketball game last week at Target Center. Moss was sitting courtside supporting his friend, Timberwolves star Kevin Garnett, and getting a first-hand look at rookie sensation LeBron James. 
Moss told me he's not happy about missing the playoffs for the third straight year, and that Tice upset him with some unfair comments directed at him. Who will ever forget how Tice cozied up to Moss in the latter part of the 2001 season, Dennis Green's last as head coach?
It was the same year that Korey Stringer died tragically in August in training camp. Tice became head coach primarily because he convinced tight team owner Red McCombs that he understood Moss and could control him.
Since Moss has been with the Vikings, the team has shattered attendance records every year. Six straight years the team has drawn an average of 512,500 fans for the first time in franchise history, despite the fact that McCombs has raised ticket prices every year. I know -- I'm a season ticket holder.
The team has sold more number 84 jerseys around the world in six years than any jersey in franchise history. Moss feels that Tice shattered their relationship after the season when Tice, after being critical of a column written by this reporter, characterized Moss as a "nut."
***Star Tribune*** columnist C.J. did a follow-up column titled "Big Fitz's review ticks off Tice." Tice was quoted as saying, "I was talking to Red last week, and I held my hands in a circle. I said if Randy's a nut, I really believe in my heart I have cracked 70 percent of it.
"I don't believe in my heart I'll ever crack 100 percent of it," Tice said, "but if I can get it between 85 and 88 percent cracked -- getting him to play better against crummy teams, getting him to play with more energy on the road and stuff like that -- than we'll win a championship because he's one of the best players in the league. And if he would deal with the media better and be more friendly, I would have about 88 percent of that nut cracked."
Moss is steamed about it, and well he should be. Again, Tice makes the cardinal mistake of a young coach criticizing his best player through the media and calling a man a nut. Last year, remember, Tice said, "Daunte Culpepper needs to be a better student of the game." 
Moss may force the Vikings to trade him; he's had it with Tice calling him out personally and in a demeaning way. "He's putting the whole damn season on me?" Moss said. "That's bulls--t. I don't call the plays. I play every game, even with painful injuries. I've had enough." 
Moss did not like the fact that the Vikings did not attempt to throw the ball to him deep, not once, in either the Chicago or Arizona games, both road losses to inferior teams. Moss felt the Vikings played into the hands of their opponents by playing conservative offensively. 
Randy Moss to Atlanta? Moss and Michael Vick -- now that would be a tough ticket in hot Atlanta. With the April draft coming soon, who knows? One thing is certain: Moss has issues with Tice, and that means problems for the Vikings.