After one bad call, Alabama players warm up to Saban

HOOVER, Ala. — New Alabama coach Nick Saban is better in person than on the phone, according to junior center Antoine Caldwell.

A few days after Saban was hired, Caldwell decided to call his new coach. He got the number, made the call, and had instant regrets.

“Me and DJ (Hall) were on a three-way (with Saban),” Caldwell said during SEC Media Days. “It wasn’t much of a conversation. He didn’t say much.

“I (was) thinking he was a rock head. Then, I finally got to meet him.”

With that face-to-face meeting, Caldwell quickly became a Saban convert.

“It’s so different from the way he’s portrayed,” Caldwell said of the hardnosed coach, who has been referred to as “Nick Satan.”

“He’s demanding, and he’s serious,” Caldwell said. “But he cares so much about his players.”

Holliday Flies By: One of the goals of new LSU offensive coordinator Garry Crowton should be to get the ball more to Trindon Holiday, the fastest football player in the country.

Holliday, a 5-foot-5, 159-pound sophomore, holds the school record in the 100 meters at 10.02 seconds. He also has been clocked at 4.27 seconds for 40 yards.

Holliday qualified to represent the United States team in the 100 meters and the 400-meter relay at the 2007 IAAF World Championships in Athletics in Osaka, Japan, next month. He relinquished his spot on the team to prepare for the upcoming football season.

Last year, Holliday averaged 32.4 yards on five kickoff returns and rushed 13 times for 161 yards and a 12.4-yard-average.

He’s from Zachary, La., the hometown of former UT sprinter and wide receiver Leonard Scott.

Underrated?: Middle linebacker Jasper Brinkley had an immediate impact on the South Carolina defense last season after transferring from Georgia Military College. Despite making first-team All-SEC, he wasn’t a huge hit with NFL scouts.

Brinkley said the NFL projected him as a sixth-round-to-free-agent pick if he turned pro after his junior season. Whatever he lacks in the eyes of pro scouts, it’s not size. He’s listed at 6-foot-2, 262 pounds, making him the biggest starting linebacker in the SEC.

Asked about that NFL slight, Brinkley said, “I’m not worried about what people say about me.”

QB Hater: Auburn senior defensive end Quentin Groves is on pace to become his school’s all-time sack leader. And he obviously enjoys his work.

“I just really don’t have a liking for (quarterbacks),” he said. “You can’t hit them in practice. They don’t do too much running. I don’t like quarterbacks, period.”

Groves has 23 career sacks, only three behind Auburn’s all-time sack leader, Gerald Robinson.

Groves won’t be the only concern for opposing quarterbacks against Auburn. Sophomore Sen’Derrick Marks, a third-team freshman All-American last year, is expected to become a force on the other side.

Sly Comment: Mississippi State coach Sylvester Croom had a quick, concise answer when a sportswriter asked him if he thought the state of Mississippi had enough talent to support two SEC schools.

“Well, I’m not worried about them supporting two,” Croom said with a smile. “I’m just worried about them supporting one. Them other guys can worry about themselves.”

The Future Is Now: A popular reason for picking LSU in the top five is its home schedule. Five of the Tigers’ six toughest games are at home: Virginia Tech, South Carolina, Florida, Auburn and Arkansas. Its toughest road game will be against Alabama.

That will change dramatically next season when the Tigers will play at Auburn, Florida, South Carolina and Arkansas. They also will have to play Florida, South Carolina and Georgia (at home) on consecutive Saturdays in 2008.

One More Year: Auburn coach Tommy Tuberville is one of many coaches pushing for eliminating red-shirting and giving all college football players five years of eligibility.

“I think it would really help college football,” Tuberville said. “But again, that’s a long ways away.

“We can’t get enough people swayed our way on that, but we’re still working on it.”

Sports editor John Adams may be reached at 865-342-6284 or adamsj@knews.com.

© 2007, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.
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