Springs Is Time to Sew for Football Season in Southeast Conference

It’s often been said there are two college sports seasons in the Deep South--football and spring football.

Like April showers that wash away the dinginess of winter, spring football practice helps cleanse the bitterness brought on by the incriminations against the sport that so often crop up between the two seasons.

Even at the University of Georgia, which spent the winter defending itself against charges of preferential treatment for athletes who are underachievers in the classroom, it’s business as usual on the football field.

“Regardless of the distractions, we still have a job to do,” said Georgia defensive coordinator Bill Lewis. “I find the excitement in coaching football is having to build somewhat of a new team each year.

“That’s what spring practice is all about. It’s great to see younger players come in and make a contribution. The question I always ask is, ‘who have we lost and who do you anticipate being able to replace those players?’ ”

“Offensively, we’ve got a lot of quality football players coming back,” said George Haffner, Georgia’s offensive coordinator. “But there are always needs. Spring is when you look for leaders who can take charge and motivate the other players.”

Among the 10 Southeastern Conference football teams, this spring’s practice is most important at Vanderbilt where Watson Brown, formerly coach at Rice, has returned to his alma mater.

“One man can’t do it all alone,” said Brown. “But, if I’ve been a rallying point for Vanderbilt people, then I’m happy to have done so. I just hope our fans don’t expect too much, too quickly. We’ve got a lot of work to do.”

Brown need only look across state to the University of Tennessee so see how long it sometimes takes to live up to expectations.

Tennessee won the SEC championship last fall. But it took nine years for Vols alumnus Johnny Majors after he went marching home from his national championship year at Pittsburgh.

“It was an exciting and very rewarding year,” said Majors. “But, one of our themes has to be you can’t live in the past. Last season is something we can’t live on, but it is something we hope to build on.”

Spring practice has been extremely important at Tennessee because the Vols needed the time to search for a new quarterback.

“We lost virtually all of our experienced quarterbacking,” said Majors. “When you have new quarterbacking, there are a lot of uncertainties about a team.”

Most observers pick Alabama to win the SEC next fall. The Crimson Tide, 9-2-1 in 1985, including a 24-3 Aloha Bowl victory over USC, lost only 12 of 63 lettermen; only five of 24 starters.

Alabama has four all-conference performers returning, including quarterback Mike Shula, linebacker Cornelius Bennett, wide receiver Albert Bell and nose guard Curt Jarvis.

“I feel we are head and shoulders better than last year at this time,” said Alabama coach Ray Perkins. “I feel that we are a lot closer to where we can go into a game with people who can help us win.

“I’m excited about the upcoming season (which begins Aug. 27 against Ohio State in the Kickoff Classic). Our overall team speed has improved and, thanks to our off-season conditioning program, we also are a stronger team.”

Spring practice had special meaning at Florida. Last year, the Gators were preparing for a season during which they would be ineligible for a conference championship or a bowl bid. They are still barred from regular-season television as they wind up a two-year NCAA probation, but the Gators are expected to be eligible for both the SEC title and a bowl bid at season end.

The Gators lost their star running backs Neal Anderson and John Williams. But quarterback Kerwin Bell and seven other starters return to what was the SEC’s second best offense in 1985.

Last year’s No. 1 SEC offense belonged to Auburn, but the Tigers have lost Heisman Trophy winner and two-time All-America Bo Jackson who rushed for 1,786 yards and 17 touchdowns.

“It’s hard to tell about spring training sometimes,” said Auburn coach Pat Dye. “When you have the right kind of football team, what you see in the spring is ole’ rough, plowed, raw ground. The majority of your players want to have a football team, but you also have some who are trying to decide if they want to be a part of it.”

Thus the rites of spring.