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| Thursday, October 21 Tide's 'Iron Curtain' has solid foundation By Mike Strange Scripps Howard News Service |
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TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- Chris Samuels trudged off the practice field with his head down, sniveling.
In was August of 1995, and Samuels had just turned 18. Gene Stallings' grueling double sessions and the Alabama heat were wearing him down. Samuels, a Crimson Tide left tackle, was overwhelmed by the talent around him, and he was homesick.
"Most true freshmen go through that," Stallings said. "Chris wasn't great to start off with, but we knew he had some talent."
Stallings showed patience with Samuels, and he made him a starter four games into the next season. Since then, Samuels has developed into one of the best offensive linemen in the country.
The senior from Mobile has made 36 starts in a row heading into the Tide's game against Tennessee at Bryant-Denny Stadium Saturday.
But ask Samuels about his first year at Alabama, and he shakes his head.
"I was pathetic," Samuels said. "There were so many times I wanted to quit. I was at my weakest point mentally."
Samuels, who is a 6-6, 298-pound hulk, was weak, period. He came to Alabama weighing 260, and he was regularly tossed around in practice.
Danny Pearman, the Tide's offensive tackles coach at the time, remembers those days.
"Here's a guy who had never been in a left-handed stance, and he didn't really like it at first," said Pearman, who coaches the tackles and tight ends at Virginia Tech. "We had him working against some pretty good defensive linemen and that made him better. He kept a pretty good attitude through it all."
Samuels thought some of those days would never end.
"I can laugh about it now," Samuels said. "But at the time, it wasn't funny at all."
These days, it's the defender who lines up across from Samuels who leaves the field with his head down.
Samuels shut down Florida defensive end Alex Brown in the Tide's 40-39 victory over the Gators on Oct. 2. Brown had five sacks and seven tackles against Tennessee, but he had just three tackles against Alabama. The Tide ran the ball at Brown throughout the game.
Samuels expects more of a challenge from UT defensive end Will Overstreet.
"I remember going against No. 90 (Overstreet) some last year," Samuels said. "He's quick and he doesn't give up on plays. You have to stay on him."
With Samuels standing guard, Alabama quarterback Andrew Zow hasn't been pressured from his blindside this season, much less sacked.
"I can't remember getting hit from that side of the field," Zow said. "It's a luxury to have a guy like Sam over there."
Tailback Shaun Alexander, who came to Alabama in the same recruiting class as Samuels, agrees.
"Make sure you tell people how big a deal he has been for me, too," Alexander said. "We run to our left a lot, and that's because of Sam."
Alexander was one reason Samuels was able to get through that first year in Tuscaloosa.
"When I first got here, Shaun had us watch a tape of him in high school, and I thought he wasn't that good," Samuels said. "I was looking at the competition he was playing, and it wasn't as good as what I'd seen in Mobile.
"But then we started running scout team against our first team defense. And he was making guys look silly, just shaking them down. Guys like (current NFL players) Dwayne Rudd and Ralph Staten. We all took pride in it when Shaun would break a run."
Samuels is still one of Alexander's biggest fans, and he's intent on helping him win the Heisman Trophy.
"I just want to lead the way," Samuels said. "I know Tennessee is good, but I have confidence in my abilities."
Samuels has come a long way since that hot August his freshman year.
"His combination of size and athletic ability is rare," said Alabama offensive line coach Neil Callaway, who has helped groom Samuels into an All-American. "He's the best offensive lineman I've coached in 21 years in the profession." Mike Griffith writes for The Knoxville News-Sentinel in Tennessee |
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