On National Signing Day two years ago, they comprised the nucleus of the nation's top-ranked crop of defensive backs.

In a few months, they are expected to lead Florida State's secondary into the 2006 season.

But this has not been a spring of glory for J.R. Bryant, Tony Carter and Trevor Ford. For a variety of reasons, the three blue-chip cornerbacks have lurked in the shadows while youngsters have taken their places.

Barring a major shake-up in the next week, none of those three will be on the field with the starters for next Saturday's annual Garnet & Gold game. Carter and Bryant are still recovering from off-season shoulder surgeries, and Ford is busy working his way out of Mickey Andrews' dog house.

"This spring, I started at the bottom of the barrel," Ford said.

Ford's struggles apparently began with a less-than-stellar performance in mat drills, the Seminoles' winter conditioning program. So once spring practice began, Andrews and graduate assistant coach James Colzie knocked Ford down to the third-team defense, behind Bryant and redshirt freshman Jamie Robinson.

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