http://www.tidesports.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20040729/NEWS/40729008/1067
CECIL HURT: Shula stays above the fray and below the radar
HOOVER | University of Alabama football coach Mike Shula accomplished what some others deemed impossible on Thursday. He came to metro Birmingham. He talked about his football team and the upcoming season. When the Alabama-Tennessee series was mentioned, he managed to be gracious, not inflammatory.
While Phil Fulmer was erupting over the telephone in the other room, Shula managed not to step in anything that Fulmer was spewing.
If his critics want to say that Shula passed under the radar screen on Thursday, that might have been his preferred position.
The Crimson Tide head coach was more relaxed in his second SEC Media Days appearance. That’s understandable, since last year, he had to field questions about a team that he had inherited but had never even watched in a practice session.
“I was just trying to remember everyone’s name, and that included my coaches,” Shula joked.
Shula was asked numerous times, in tones ranging from angry to understanding, about the “future of the Alabama-Tennessee rivalry.” He always responded in a positive fashion.
“Alabama versus Tennessee is what college football is all about,” Shula said. “I think it’s great, and I am looking forward to this year’s game.”
When pressed for more specific comments, Shula simply said, “we’ve got enough things to worry about in Tuscaloosa.”
That’s true, as it would be for any coach looking to rebuild a 4-9 team under the yoke of NCAA scholarship sanctions. Shula, though, didn’t sound worried. He seemed realistic about the expectations for Alabama — which was picked to finish fourth in the SEC West — but was also positive about the future.
He also talked in specifics about the numbers for the upcoming squad. He said that the 105-man roster for the Aug. 9 reporting date was “pretty well set,” and that he did not anticipate any academic casualties among current players, although “a couple” still have some work to do. He also said he was still waiting on word about one signee (Ezekial Knight, although he couldn’t use the name) and said that Alabama would “definitely” have 19 eligible newcomers when practice begins.
“That will give us 74 scholarship players,” Shula said. “That’s less than most teams, but it’s about what we had last year. The thing that’s encouraging to me is that everything goes just right, we could be back at 85 next year.”
Those numbers would include a little stretching to incorporate walk-ons who were awarded scholarships, but the point was that Shula was trying to talk about positives, instead of spinning excuses.
He did the same thing when talking about the incoming class. He said that the Tide could easily have 10 true freshmen receiving playing time, and possibly as many as 13. That doesn’t even include two junior college signees that will be included in the group of 19 that reports on Aug. 9, which means that there could be as few as three or four redshirts out of this class (primarily on the offensive line, one would suppose.) When asked if it was possible that two true freshmen could start at wide receiver if the Tide opened in a four-wide formation, Shula didn’t hedge.
“Definitely two,” he said. “And possibly more.”
Again, that’s at last two true freshmen starting on offense. And, as Shula says, possibly more.
“We’re not going to be afraid of playing guys,” Shula said. “We aren’t going to play them if they aren’t ready, but we are going to do our best to get them ready.”
All morning long, Shula had ready-made excuses at hand. His team will be short on depth. His team will be inexperienced at some key positions. The ongoing bickering about the NCAA will be a distraction.
He chose to embrace none of them.
“Our players have done a great job over the past few years, when they could have been distracted, of keeping their minds on football,” he said. “That’s what we want. It’s nice to be bowl eligible, but we don’t want them thinking about which bowl we want to go to, we want them thinking about the first game. If you win one week at a time, then the bowl will take care of itself.”
At one point, Shula was asked if he was “under pressure” to win.
“Is this college football?” he responded. “You’re always under pressure to win.”
At another point, a well-meaning reporter asked Shula if he would encourage Alabama fans to “be patient” in 2004.
“I hope I never use those words ‘be patient,’” Shula said. “Our seniors don’t want to hear that. I’m not predicting any number of wins, but we are going to try to win every one of them.
“My message to Alabama fans is not ‘be patient.’ It’s to keep on being Alabama fans.”
Cecil Hurt is sports editor of The Tuscaloosa News. Reach him at [EMAIL PROTECTED] or 205-722-0225.
-- Yea, Alabama! Drown'em Tide! RMc.
______________________________________________________ RollTideFan - The University of Alabama Athletics Discussion List
"Welcome to RollTideFan! Wear a cup!"
To join or leave the list or to make changes to your subscription visit http://listinfo.rolltidefan.net
