"Honestly, the guy is a little cocky, a little arrogant," says Wake Forest defensive end Calvin Pace, not even trying to hide his disdain for the Florida State sophomore quarterback. Pace glances at Rix, who is seated a few tables away at the recent ACC Kickoff Days at Pinehurst, N.C. Two players from each of the nine league schools are represented at the function.

"We still haven't met Chris Rix," says Pace. "He must think we're his bag boys."

According to Pace, Rix is the only guy who didn't make the effort to meet and greet the other ACC stars. Maybe Rix did, maybe he didn't. Maybe he didn't even realize that he was big-timing the Wake Forest fellas. The point is, Rix isn't a conference player favorite. Last season he wasn't even a favorite on his own team.

	Rix is adding team chemistry to his workload this season.

Rix is trying to repair the bodywork on his image a ding at a time. But it will take a little while to undo a few of the 2001 memories. Some of his teammates thought he tried too hard to act like a senior, rather than act like the true freshman he was. Some of them thought he didn't properly defer to the upperclassmen.

But here's the deal: Florida State had some chemistry issues last season. Rix's attitude didn't always help, but neither did the lack of leadership by some of the guys with multiple letters on their varsity jackets. Rix popped off too much. The juniors and seniors popped off too little.

It's early, but Rix is showing signs of getting it. When I talked to him earlier this summer I lobbed him a sucker question: "Is this your team this season?"

The old Rix would have said something like, "Of course it is. That's what I'm supposed to do -- to lead, to be the guy everyone depends on." Word would have gotten back to Tallahassee, where it would have been met with exasperated sighs. That damn kid.

Instead, Rix considered the question for a moment and made the smart choice. No, he said, it isn't his team. It's the offensive line's team. That's where the five returning starters are. That's where the experience (five seniors) is. And, oh yeah -- it's also the wide receivers' team. His team? Of course not. "I'm just trying to help guide the team," he said.

So maybe Rix is learning a few things about diplomacy. No one questions his athletic ability, his throwing arm, his toughness. He got the bejabbers knocked out of him by Maryland all-America linebacker E.J. Henderson and lived to tell about it. Henderson knew how hard he hit him.

"How does it feel?" says Henderson, recalling the sternum-crushing tackle. "It feels exceptional, especially when I see him laying down on the ground when I get up."

But Rix did get up. He got up and led FSU to a pivotal win against the eventual ACC champions. And it's important to remember that Rix didn't say a public peep about his teammates when the Seminoles were waxed, 49-27, by Miami. Instead, he took the main body blows from FSU fans.

Now Rix gets a second chance to prove that he's new and improved. Florida State could win it all if ...

If the Seminoles can sustain the "Payback Is A _itch" motto.

If the Seminoles can put together a reliable running game.

If the Seminole wide receivers come through.

If the Seminole defense is as good as everyone says it can be.

And if Rix picks his moments -- the right moments -- to assert himself.

The first thing he needs to do is obvious enough:

Introduce himself to Wake Forest's Pace.

Gene Wojciechowski is a senior writer for ESPN The Magazine. E-mail him at gene.wojciechowski@espnmag.com.