The first thing Alabama's Terrence Cody remembers about his recent knee injury was the pain and fear, lying on the ground at Bryant-Denny Stadium and wondering if his season was over.
``I was like, 'Aw man, I think I'm done, I don't know what to do,''' Cody said.
Then, there was the ovation the Crimson Tide's nose guard received as he was being carted off the field late in the game against Mississippi. That, he said, made him feel like he ``was needed and wanted.''
Cody, who has been a big part of the Southeastern Conference's top run defense, wound up with only a sprained right knee that kept him out of two games, not a torn ligament. The 6-foot-5, 365-pounder returned against LSU and will be a key in top-ranked Alabama's efforts to stop Mississippi State tailback Anthony Dixon Saturday night.
Cody is a native of Perkinston, Miss., and spent two seasons at Gulf Coast Community College, where he was a teammate of Bulldogs receiver Co-Eric Riley.
He was also recruited by Mississippi State coach Sylvester Croom, ``but Alabama jumped in and that was pretty much it.''
Neither Cody nor Alabama's run defense looked quite the same against LSU.
Charles Scott ran for 92 yards and two touchdowns both season highs against the Tide. Cody had just one tackle.
Tide coach Nick Saban said Cody's initial quickness and mobility wasn't quite what it had been before, largely because of conditioning and rust after not practicing much when the offensive and defensive starters faced off.
``The speed of the game is a little different (than) when you're playing against the scout team,'' Saban said.
-- ARKANSAS: After eight consecutive weekends of football, Arkansas finally has an open date and do the Razorbacks ever need it.
Running back Michael Smith carried the ball only seven times for 25 yards in Saturday's 34-21 loss to South Carolina. The 5-foot-7 Smith leads the SEC in rushing but not by much. He's at 112 yards per game, followed by Georgia's Knowshon Moreno at 111 and LSU's Charles Scott at 109.
Smith missed the season opener, then averaged 23 carries a game until last weekend.
``Michael Smith is in a tough situation right now,'' offensive line coach Mike Summers said. ``He physically has been really beat up.''
Smith has rushed for 1,012 yards this season after backing up Darren McFadden and Felix Jones for the last couple years.
Also on the injury front, defensive lineman Adrian Davis hurt his knee and hasn't played since Oct. 25.
``Adrian should be back,'' coach Bobby Petrino said Tuesday. ``He should be full go when we go to normal gameday practice next week.''
Arkansas (4-6) needs to regroup. The Razorbacks must win their last two games in order to become bowl eligible. They play at Mississippi State on Nov. 22, then host LSU the following Friday in Little Rock.
-- AUBURN: Injuries continue to mount for Auburn in a season full of them.
The Tigers could be without linebacker Merrill Johnson (broken hand) and receiver Montez Billings (broken nose) Saturday against No. 13 Georgia, just as three injured defensive line starters are set to return.
``Obviously, we can't go through a game without getting someone hurt,'' coach Tommy Tuberville said.
Auburn has had 16 players who were listed as either starters or top backups miss a combined 57 games due to injury this season, according to the media relations department. Eight players have been lost for the year, including linebacker Tray Blackmon, offensive lineman Chaz Ramsey, defensive back Aairon Savage and receiver Philip Pierre-Louis.
``It's just been one of those years,'' Tuberville said.
He listed Johnson and Billings as doubtful. However, linemen Sen'Derrick Marks and Antonio Coleman are back from ankle injuries, along with Tez Doolittle (groin). All three sat out the Tennessee-Martin game last weekend.
Only five defenders have started every game and only three offensive players have opened every game at the same spot.
-- LSU: The No. 19 Tigers are far and away the leaders of the SEC when it comes to throwing interceptions that have been returned for touchdowns.
Six of Jarrett Lee's 14 interceptions have been returned to the end zone, and not all of those returns have been short ones, which leads to questions about the ability of Tigers' offensive players to pursue ball carriers and make tackles.
``It's not something we usually practice,'' LSU tight end Richard Dickson said. ``We don't go out planning on throwing interceptions, so you don't think about it. We don't practice tackling defenders, but it is something we need to work on.''
No other SEC team has given up more than three interceptions for touchdowns. After LSU, the other 11 teams in the league have yielded 10 combined.
Of the six interceptions returned for scores against LSU, five were brought back 40 yards or more.
LSU has given up a total of 390 yards on interception returns.
Several offensive players said making a tackle on an interception can be tough because the turnover was never supposed to happen to begin with, meaning many players aren't anywhere near the ball.
``I guess we're in bad position to make the tackle,'' Tigers receiver Demetrius Byrd said. ``Most of the time you're too far to make a play.''
-- MISSISSIPPI: If former all-SEC defensive end Greg Hardy is healthy enough to play this weekend, he may have to wait a while to get on the field.
He enters Saturday's key game against Louisiana-Monroe third on the depth chart, and if his former backup Kentrell Lockett continues to play the way he has been, Hardy may have trouble finding playing time.
``I'm going with Kentrell Lockett,'' Ole Miss defensive line coach Tracy Rocker said. ``That's the guy till I see something different. We'll see where Hardy fits in.''
Truth is Lockett has played so well, the decision's easy for Ole Miss coaches. Lockett has blossomed with increased playing time while Hardy has missed games due to a foot injury and poor effort.
Lockett has 7.5 tackles for loss this season, including 4.5 as the Rebels went 2-1 over the last three games. And he was a force in the 17-7 win over Auburn on Nov. 1 before the team's bye week. He finished with seven tackles in that game and 2.5 for loss.
``It was pretty much just playing football,'' Lockett said. ``I got into the groove, got into the comfort zone and that was the outcome. We were playing football and I know how to play football.''
The 6-foot-5 Lockett was one of the top defensive ends in the nation coming out of high school, but had been too thin to make much of a contribution in his first two years on campus. He threw himself into the weightlifting program in the offseason and is now about 250 pounds.
Rocker said an SEC-ready body and some experience was all Lockett was missing. He gets better each week, a sign of good things to come.
``He's a guy we're hoping will lead for us in the coming future,'' Rocker said. ``I'm proud of his play. I just hope he can keep getting better and better as the season finishes up.''
-- MISSISSIPPI STATE: Mississippi State coach Sylvester Croom hung the help wanted sign before the season started in a search for offensive leaders.
With three games left he's still looking for a few good men to lead a unit that will need its best game of the season to compete with No. 1 Alabama on Saturday.
The Bulldogs' offensive players have size, speed and many of the attributes coaches look for. But the group has yet to produce the kinds of leaders needed to spur the team into offensive relevance.
One player expected to lead the unit was Mike Brown, the left tackle who was kicked off the team after firing a gun on campus. His absence, combined with the departure of four seniors from last year's squad, has left the group without a rudder.
``Those guys were very, very strong individuals and good football players too, so that definitely created a void on offense, there's no question about that,'' Croom said.
Problem is you can't just point a finger at someone and call them a leader. Players first must prove themselves on the field, but statistics have little to do with it. A leader must also have the ability to inspire teammates.
``It comes natural,'' said middle linebacker Dominic Douglas, one of Croom's favorite defensive leaders. ``Whenever somebody's doing wrong you have to correct them or push a good player to become great. That's what I try to do. I try not to let the team down. Anything that I did wrong I try to perfect and try to help them perfect their skills and try to be a role model for all the different guys that so-called look up to you.''
An emerging offensive player who might just have the right stuff is quarterback Tyson Lee. Lee is new to the team and the starter's role, but he's impressed coaches and players alike since walking on in the spring and quickly earning a scholarship.
Lee said the lack of leadership is obvious to the players, who know how important it is with the biggest game of the season ahead. Lose and the Bulldogs are out of the bowl picture. Win and they still have a chance.
``As far as the leadership role, I think we all know that something has to be done this week on offense, and we're going to get it done,'' Lee said.
Saturday
October 26th, 2024
12:28PM
