ALABAMA NOTEBOOK: Cody embracing rivalry

Ken Rogers
Media General News Service
Published: November 25, 2008

TUSCALOOSA — Terrence Cody has been a quick study at nose guard all season for Alabama.

He’s been a quicker study at the Iron Bowl rivalry.

“I’ve been hearing it ever since I got here,” the mammoth 6-foot-5, 380-pound Cody said. “It’s really big. This is only game everybody worries about. All the other games, people are like ‘yeah, yeah.’ But it’s always ‘We’ve got to beat Auburn.’ It’s the biggest game to everybody.”

Just how long did it take for the Fort Myers, Fla., native and Mississippi junior college transfer to grasp the intensity of the Iron Bowl?

“When I was being recruited,” he said. “That’s all I heard, ‘When we play Auburn, we’ve got to beat them.’”

Cody admits he embraced that line of thinking immediately. So when Auburn invited him on a recruiting trip to the Iron Bowl last year, he accepted just to see the game. His mind was already made up.

“I was rooting for (Alabama) on the side,” Cody laughed. “I bought into it real good.”

Cody anchors the middle of an Alabama defensive front that has won the line of scrimmage in most games this season. The Crimson Tide ranks third in the nation in rushing yards allowed per game (75.1) — behind TCU and Nevada.

Cody’s arrival from junior college seriously upgraded Alabama’s talent and depth. Senior safety Rashad Johnson said the front seven is the strength of the unit. Cody’s presence is a big factor in that development.

“Those guys do a great job of holding the run down without even having to bring much pressure, then getting pressure on the quarterback with just a four-man rush,” Johnson said. “That makes everybody’s job a lot easier when you can do that and not have to play a lot of man-to-man on the outside.”

Cody, backup nose tackle Josh Chapman, and rotating defensive ends Bobby Greenwood, Brandon Deaderick and Lorenzo Washington will face a challenge containing Auburn quarterback Kodi Burns in Saturday’s Iron Bowl.

“He’s a good athlete. He can throw, he can run,” Greenwood said. “As a D-line, we’ve got to affect him, contain him, keep him in the pocket.”

Greenwood said the statistics of Auburn’s effectiveness on offense are misleading.

“It’s really hard to prepare for that offense. Everybody just has to fit their gaps,” said the senior from Prattville. He added that’s not always easy.

“You want to shoot out of your gap and make someone else’s tackle. You can’t do that. You’ve got to stay disciplined. Coach talks about that every day.”

Cody agreed that containing Burns will be a key.

“He is kind of quick and fast, so he is going to be a little different this week,” the nose tackle said.

He’s also been impressed with Auburn’s running game.

“They have some good runners. They have some power runners,” Cody said. “Ben Tate runs the ball hard, the quarterback is pretty good at running the ball.”

It’s possible no Alabama player benefited from last week’s open date more than Cody, who continues rehab on a sprained knee even after returning from a two-game absence against LSU earlier this month.

“The knee is doing excellent. Over the weekend I got more treatment in and got it better and got it stronger,” Cody said..

The defensive lineman didn’t rate what percentage his knee has improved to.

However, he did say he’s “95 percent” sure he’ll return next season, rather than enter the NFL Draft.

“Right now, I’m coming back my senior year,” Cody said.

Smith an Outland finalist
Alabama junior left tackle Andre Smith was named a finalist for the Outland Trophy, which goes to the best lineman in college football.

Other finalists include Michael Oher of Ole Miss and Oklahoma’s Duke Robinson.

Smith is also for a finalist for the Lombardi Award, which goes to the top offensive lineman in the country. He’s the only player to be a finalist for both awards.

Smith has surrendered just one sack all season and only seven in his 36-game Alabama career.

Alabama All-American Chris Samuels is the Crimson Tide’s only Outland Trophy winner. He earned the award in 1999.

Monday practice
The Crimson Tide was forced indoors by rain and worked 90 minutes as full Auburn preparation began Monday.

Two players, offensive linemen Barrett Jones and Tyler Love, wore black (no-contact) jerseys, but still went through drills.

Saban said Roy Upchurch (neck) and Earl Alexander (ankle) were cleared to practice.

“We don’t have any new injuries to report,” Saban said. “We have a couple of guys that need to prove to themselves that they are healthy enough to play, but they have been cleared to practice and go full speed.”

Pick six
After six consecutive losses to Auburn, Saban was asked if there could be a psychological factor going into the game.

Uh, no.

“It’s only a psychological factor if you let it be. It’s not to me and it shouldn’t be to our players,” he said.

“It’s the same old thing when Notre Dame wears their green shirts. If that’s a psychological factor to you, then it’s a psychological factor. If green shirts make you play better, then I guess it’s a factor, but other than that it’s not a factor, unless it’s a factor to you and you let it affect you.

“I am sure this game will get decided based on what happens on this field at this time and how the players play. They need to understand that and know that and focus and play well.”