TALLAHASSEE - Florida A&M hopes Ben Dougherty, the first white starting quarterback in the history of the historically black school, will help lead the Rattlers out of a morass created by a rash of NCAA infractions and an aborted attempt to move to Division I-A.
With the playing status of several top players still uncertain as FAMU prepares for its Sept. 4 opener at Illinois, Coach Billy Joe is counting on the 24-year-old Dougherty to keep the Rattlers competitive.
''He throws the ball real well, he runs the ball real well,'' Joe said. ''With this offense that's quarterback-oriented, it's great he's our quarterback.''
And a quarterback who knows what's it like to be on a mission.
After a year at Iowa State, the strapping, sandy-haired Dougherty, who is of Irish-German descent, decided it was time to fulfill his two-year mission for the Church of Latter Day Saints. He figured his days playing college football were over.
The 6-4, 215-pound Dougherty spent his mission, believe it or not, on the streets of Las Vegas - miles away from the bright lights of the casinos and nightspots.
''Not lifting, not throwing, not running for two years,'' Dougherty said. ''It was tough coming back at first.''
He played a year at North Iowa Community College and was recruited by FAMU. He liked the program's offensive scheme and transferred to the Tallahassee school where he spent a year behind Casey Printers before getting the starting job last season.
And Dougherty came through, completing 63.6 percent of his passes for 2,502 yards and 13 touchdowns with nine interceptions last season.
Now he's on the cover of the school's annual media guide, the player being counted on to help the school forget its other woes.
In addition to the poorly conceived attempt to move up to I-A, the Rattlers were also stripped of 11 conference titles - including two in football - for 196 NCAA rules violations.
''As players we try to worry about things we can control, which is playing football,'' Dougherty said. ''The only thing we have control over is going out and playing football on Saturday.''
Joe started his first white quarterback as a coach 32 years ago, but that was in Pennsylvania. He concedes that might not have worked at FAMU then, but that it's not a problem now.
''White kids today don't have problems with playing in a predominantly black situation,'' Joe said. ''If they're going to play on the major college level, it's all going to be in all probability, a predominantly black situation.''
He reflected on last year's game at Florida.
''There was a time in the game where we had 11 black guys on offense and UF had 11 black kids on defense with 85,000 white people watching,'' he said.
And Joe is intent on his team enjoying the season even if it's out of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference for a year and has no hopes of any postseason play.
Beginning his 11th year at FAMU, the one-time NFL fullback has led the Rattlers to an 83-38 mark over the past decade and hopes to rebound from a disappointing 6-6 mark last season - albeit against a difficult schedule.
After its opener against a Big Ten opponent, FAMU visits Tulane and Temple before playing Tennessee State in Atlanta.
The Rattlers sandwich four October home dates around an Oct. 16 visit to Virginia Tech and then close with a game in Orlando against Bethune-Cookman and at Florida International in Miami.
Joe hopes Dougherty can lead a nucleus of returning players and turn a difficult offseason into some success on the field.
Wideout Rod Miller had 71 catches for 829 yards and a half dozen touchdowns last year as Dougherty's primary target and one-time, walk-on Rashard Pompey led the team in rushing for the second straight season. A junior, Pompey has 1,371 yards and nine touchdowns in his career.
Senior offensive tackle Fletcher Williams will lead a huge offensive line, which averaged 328 pounds per starter.
Defensive end Jeff Green hopes to shake off an injury plagued 2003 campaign and repeat the performance of 2002 when he was credited with 23 tackles for losses and seven quarterback sacks and won first team all-conference honors.
S. 4 at Illinois . 6 S. 11 at Tulane . 7 S. 18 at Temple . 2 S. 25 Tennessee St.* . 3 O. 2 Virginia Union . 7 O. 9 Nicholls St. . 7 O. 16 at Virginia Tech . TBA O. 23 Savannah St. . 3 O. 30 Fla. Atlantic . 4 N. 20 vs. Bethune Cookman^ . 4 N. 27 at Florida Intl. . 1 * in Atlanta; ^ in Orlando
Schedule