The state of Florida has two Heisman hopefuls at quarterback this season -- and a potential third candidate if Chris Rix continues to shine as brightly as he has this spring. But the most intriguing QB story in Tallahassee is actually playing out across town at 1-AA Florida A&M, where former TCU star Casey Printers has surfaced.

The 6'3", 210-pound senior, a three-year starter for the Horned Frogs, surprised his TCU coaches when he decided to leave Ft. Worth. The reason, according to Printers, is simple: he was frustrated. Frustrated that he wasn't getting the chance to play in a system where he could grow. Frustrated that he couldn't throw the ball 30-40 times every game. And frustrated that he wasn't getting showcased for Heisman consideration.

"Things just weren't getting better for me," says the DeSoto, Tex. native, who passed for 4,621 yards and 37 touchdowns while going 22-9 as a three-year starter at TCU. "I wasn't getting a chance to reach my individual goals of throwing for 3000 yards or being an all-American. At TCU, it just wasn't gonna happen. I don't want to seem like a whiner, so I just decided this was what's best for me."

What's best for Printers is one of the top 1-AA programs in America, a school whose intricate pass-oriented Gulf Coast offense (think West Coast O with a southern drawl) has been piloted by four 1-A transfers in the past six seasons. An equally important reason why Printers picked FAMU over Alabama State and Southern was the Rattlers' high-profile schedule -- they'll open up at defending champion Miami next season. Printers also likes that he'll have four returning starters at receiver to throw to.

Under old TCU coach Dennis Franchione, the Horned Frogs' scheme would be tweaked to suit personnel. Fran has done that at his other coaching stops, from passing it 35-plus times per game with Stoney Case at New Mexico to letting LaDainian Tomlinson tote the rock 40 times at TCU.

Printers, who was L.T.'s QB in 2000 and finished fourth in the nation in passing efficiency (156.7), figured once the star TB moved on to the NFL, he'd be The Man in Ft. Worth. Instead, coach Gary Patterson continued to stress the ground game last season and the Horned Frogs struggled to a 6-6 mark. "I think I could've been a Heisman guy," says Printers. "If they had done for me [with the offense and the school's vigorous promo campaign] what they did for LaDainian. It was the perfect situation and I felt like it was gonna be my deal. But I guess not."

· This may sound crazy, but new Stanford coach Buddy Teevens could have a better crew of receivers to work with in Palo Alto than the former Florida assistant OC would've had this fall in Gainesville. Teevens has spent the past two months checking out tape of his talented trio of wideouts, who took the Pac-10 by storm last season: Teyo Johnson, Luke Powell and Ryan Wells. Together they caught 109 passes and 17 TDs, and that was in a system that didn't look to air it out nearly as much as Teevens' will.

What has the new coach seen? In the 6'7", 245-pound Johnson, Teevens gets a potential mismatch on every snap. In the shifty Powell, he has a Reidel Anthony/Ike Hilliard type. And in Wells, he has his reliable precision route-runner, his Travis McGriff guy.

And if that doesn't give QB Chris Lewis enough options, the Cardinal are also excited about redshirts Justin McCullum and Grant Mason, a pair of big, athletic wideouts with NFL tools. Of course the key to all this will be Lewis, the smooth triggerman who has already impressed Teevens with his head. "Chris is a very, very sharp kid," says Teevens. "He is very football aware."

Teevens and his offensive coordinator Mike Sanford will work with the 6'4", 210-pound junior on refining his release, while also prepping Lewis to read coverages better. "We want him to understand which receivers will be open before he sees them," he says.

The upshot? Don't be surprised if Lewis passes for 3000 yards in his first year as a starter, as the Fun n' Gun hits the west coast.

· Texas may have lost one superstar DB in Quentin Jammer, but the Horns' next stud corner set to blow up is Nathan Vasher. The feisty 5'11", 182-pound junior, who proved to be an all-world punt returner last fall, has moved back to his natural spot on the corner after starting last season at SS.

In 2001, Vasher was solid (he did have seven picks), but this is the spot he will play when he makes it to the NFL. Even though UT's other corner, the more experienced Rod Babers, shifts into Jammer's role as the "match-up guy" checking the other team's go-to guy, keep an eye on Vasher this fall. He is not yet the technician Babers is ("I'm still working on hand placement on receivers and stuff like that," Vasher says). But he is more physical and just as quick.

Above all, he has the rare ability to be a playmaker. Anyone at UT's orange-white game last weekend saw that when he returned a kickoff 100 yards for a TD and then scored from 54 yards out on a punt return.

Bruce Feldman covers college football for ESPN The Magazine. E-mail him at bruce.feldman@espnmag.com.