Shula empathizes with Southern Miss plight

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Posted 7:57PM on Tuesday, September 6, 2005

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) Alabama coach Mike Shula has never been through anything like Hurricane Katrina, but he has some inkling of what Southern Mississippi has been going through in football terms. When Shula was an assistant coach with the NFL's Miami Dolphins, the area was hit hard by Hurricane Andrew in 1992 and the team was forced to postpone its opener and practice elsewhere. ``Andrew was bad. Where we were, it was nowhere near as bad as it is'' in the aftermath of Katrina, Shula said Tuesday. Southern Miss visits the Crimson Tide (1-0) Saturday night after having moved as a team to a hotel in Memphis and held practices at University of Memphis facilities. The Golden Eagles opener against Tulane was postponed. Alabama safety Roman Harper watched a story on ESPN about Southern Miss's plight, getting a new appreciation for what they were going through. ``It's just been crazy over there in Mississippi and New Orleans,'' Harper said. ``Of course, you feel bad for them. You've got to feel sympathy for them. You've got to take your hats off for them still going out there and getting ready to play football.'' Alabama players were impacted as well by the storm that ravaged the Gulf Coast. Receiver Keith Brown did not hear from his mother, Jennette Milligan of Gulfport, Miss., for four days until she was able to find a cell phone and call him Thursday night. Shula has enjoyed seeing how his players pitched in with the evacuees living in an American Red Cross shelter in Tuscaloosa. Eighteen Tide players visited the shelter for about two hours Monday, serving lunch. ``It makes you feel good, but also it's the right thing to do,'' Shula said. ``None of us sitting here can imagine what that would feel like if it was us losing our homes and our families.'' From a football perspective, Shula doesn't think his team gets an advantage because of the Golden Eagles' situation. ``Anytime you get out of your routine, especially being away from home, it's different,'' he said. ``They've got good coaches, they've got good leadership on that team. It's something that I'm sure they're going to be able to handle.'' Alabama is dealing with a couple of injuries after the 26-7 season-opening victory over Middle Tennessee. Linebacker Freddie Roach missed most of the game after injuring his right elbow early. He and offensive lineman Mark Sanders, who has a sprained knee and ankle, are questionable, Shula said. ``Questionable means we think he's going to play, we hope he's going to play but we're not quite sure,'' he said, adding that Roach wouldn't require surgery. Even though the Tide didn't pull away from Middle Tennessee until the second half, the coaches managed to get 10 true freshmen action, along with seven others who got into a game for the first time. That included backup quarterback John Patrick Wilson. (Copyright 2005 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)