A football family divided

How laid-back? He lists sleeping as one of his hobbies.

Tennessee's Arron Sears is 16 months younger. Don't call him Kevin's little brother, though. There's nothing small about either his physique or personality.

"Big A" was his nickname in high school. At 6-foot-4, 315 pounds, he's the same height as Kevin but 71 pounds heavier and a ton more vociferous.

Kevin plays linebacker; Arron is an offensive tackle. Both are starting as sophomores.

On Saturday night at Neyland Stadium, Henrietta Woods admits she'll be a tad nervous and her heart will beat a little faster than normal as she watches her only two sons line up on opposite sides of the ball when Tennessee faces Auburn.

"I just hope they don't put them on the same side of the field,'' she said. "I'll be pulling for both of my boys and hoping they don't get hurt."

Russellville (Ala.) High School football coach Perry Swindall coached the Sears brothers. Kevin was a year ahead of Arron at Russellville, but he sat out his first year at Auburn so last year was the first college season for both.

"Kevin and Arron are complete opposites in so many ways,'' Swindall says.

"Arron is big, wide-body, funny cut-up who came into this world jabbering. Arron has a laugh that you can pick out from 100 yards away. Kevin is more reflective. He probably didn't say 500 words to me in four years I coached him."

Kevin says watching Arron sign with Tennessee is the "hardest thing" he has ever gone through.

"We had a cousin, Colin Sears, who played at Auburn and I just thought my brother would follow in my footsteps,'' Kevin said in a phone interview from Auburn.

"But I also knew he would make his own decision so I wasn't mad at him or anything."

Says Arron: "We're close, but I can't wait to get out there and play against him."

The younger Sears considered going to Auburn. However, he says he felt more comfortable with UT after talking to Vols line coach Jimmy Ray Stephens and former running backs coach Woody McCorvey.

Swindall will be in Russellville on Saturday, watching ESPN's telecast of the game, his mind flashing back to the days when he coached both brothers.

"I remember in last year's game, Arron jumped offsides on one play and Kevin started clapping his hands and pointing at Arron,'' Swindall recalled. "Next time I saw Kevin, I gave him a hard time and told him, 'You ought to be ashamed of yourself doing your brother that way.'

"They're really neat guys and extremely competitive. I remember hearing stories from their uncle about how they almost killed each other playing basketball in the backyard until it was dark."

Although their personalities are as different as night and day, the Sears brothers share a passion for football that Swindall says could take them to the NFL. An incident from two-a-day practices offers insight into that dedication.

"Arron had never missed a practice and had never been late,'' Swindall recalled.

"After our morning practice we let the kids go home. That afternoon Arron didn't come back. I was so worried I called the police department and asked if there had been a wreck."

Thirty minutes later, Arron walked into Swindall's office with a disturbed expression. Swindall said he thought something "awful" had happened.

Arron said he had taken a nap and overslept. He apologized over and over.

"Tears welled up in his eyes and he was on the verge of crying because it embarrassed him so much that he was late,'' Swindall said. "That's how seriously he took his responsibility to the team. That tells you what kind of person he is. He thought he had let down the coaches and the team."

Kevin displayed that same sense of responsibility when Auburn coaches were trying to get him to commit before his senior season. Swindall explained the pros and cons of early verbal commitments and said they are non-binding.

"No sir,'' Kevin replied, "If I tell somebody I am going to do something, I mean it."

Eventually, he did commit early. However, he didn't enroll at Auburn until a year later, December 2002. He was a reserve in 2003, making 14 tackles in 12 games. This spring, he earned a starting job at linebacker, and made quite a splash in his debut against Louisiana-Monroe, earning the coaches' defensive award.

He had one of Auburn's biggest hits of the season, nailing a Louisiana-Monroe running back after a pass reception.

"I had a chance to watch it and my teammates were kind of messing with me about it.'' said Kevin, who is tied for eighth on Auburn's defense with 11 tackles in three games.

Henrietta and Calvin Woods were in the stands at Auburn that day to watch their oldest son. Last week, they drove to Knoxville to watch Arron play for the Vols.

On Saturday, one parent will wear a Tennessee jersey, the other parent an Auburn jersey. After it's over, they'll share the joy of victory with one son, and the disappointment of losing with the other.

Gary Lundy may be reached at 865-342-6274.