http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/sports/10517699.htm Coach's candor instills faith, LSU star says BY ALEX MARVEZ South Florida Sun-Sentinel ORLANDO, Fla. - (KRT) - For those not sold on the Dolphins' selection of a coach, the saga of Marcus Spears should help explain the choice of Louisiana State's Nick Saban. It gets to the root of why the Dolphins signed Saban on Monday to a five-year contract: an eye for talent that should transfer to the NFL combined with a bluntness and intensity that led to LSU's resurrection as a football power. Spears is considered the top defensive end prospect in the draft after a dominating senior season at LSU. But four years ago, Spears was more interested in catching passes from quarterbacks than sacking them. Spears said he "never, ever paid attention" to LSU although he was raised in Baton Rouge, where the university is located. All of that changed because of Saban, who took over a program that was 3-8 in 1999. "He has a gift that he reaches people and makes people believe in what he's saying," Spears said after a practice for Saturday's Capital One Bowl game against Iowa. "The results speak for themselves." The top tight end prospect in the country coming out of high school in 2000, Spears said he was strongly considering signing with UM after a recruiting visit. "Bubba Franks and Jeremy Shockey were the tight ends coming out of Miami," Spears said. "They were throwing the ball. You go there, put in three years and go on to the NFL. That was it for a young guy." Spears then met Saban, who struck him as different than everyone else who was courting him. "He was the first coach who came to my house who said, `I will play my best players' instead of telling me, `You're going to go onto campus and start, and you're the No. 1-rated tight end, so we're going to change the offense and give you the ball,'" Spears said. "It was nothing like that. He was just a real up-front guy. "For a young kid, it's hard to hear some real things like that. But my family had raised me right and I was able to understand that is worth gold, when somebody can tell you the truth and how the system is really going to be. Everything that he has said and has told me has been that way." That faith is the reason Spears didn't protest when Saban, a defensive coordinator with the Cleveland Browns from 1991 to 1994, convinced him to make the switch to defensive end after his freshman season. "Coach told me because he felt like I had a future and I was going to be able to play on the next level," Spears said. "To hear him say a DE may make $3 million or $4 million more than a tight end, that's kind of a no-brainer. He felt I could be a dominant player on the defensive side of the ball. "While I was getting my butt kicked in practice, I would think, `Coach did say you could make a little more money,' so I just kept working. Now it's working out for me." Spears believes the Saban hiring will work out for the Dolphins provided players buy into his system. "If those guys listen to him and believe in what he's saying, they'll be so successful," Spears said. "His system is great because really the players have control. He's like a parent. He gives you direction. He tells you the right things to do and you either go do the right thing or, in the case (of the NFL), they get rid of you. "But they'll believe in him. He's a real genuine person. He's not going to come in and tell you things you want to hear. He's going to tell you what's real, and pretty much 98 percent of the time that's how it's going to be." Spears felt strongly enough about Saban to remain at LSU for his senior season even after helping lead the Tigers to a share of the 2003 national championship. "We get out of practice at 6 o'clock. When I stayed on campus, I would see his car at the office at 1:30, 2 o'clock in the morning with his light on and the assistants with their lights on," Spears said. "Hard work is his bread and butter. For four years, we've never gone on the field unprepared and not feeling like I'm in the right position. That's a tribute to him and the assistants we have. "I don't know how he maintains a family, honestly. I really don't. That's a tribute to his wife, Ms. Terry, because she's really understanding. But Coach is in that office, man. He's in there. And when we practice, he doesn't sit on top of us (in his office) and look. He's right there in the mix. I think that's why guys respect him like they do." Spears isn't the only LSU player to feel that way. "You can't understand just how intense he is every single day with everything he does," tackle Andrew Whitworth said. "People see him on the highlights of games when he's on the sideline screaming and yelling and how he gets crazy. He's like that every second of the day. I'm talking about when he wakes up in the morning, that's how he is. "Maybe if something really good happens - and I don't know what would be really good to make him that happy - now and then he'd be in a good mood and kind of relaxes. But not very often. He's intense and focused on what needs to be done." Starting next week, that task will be rebuilding a franchise that has plummeted to the NFL basement with a 4-11 record entering Sunday's finale at Baltimore. "I know that if Miami is not successful, it won't be because of him but because of the players," Whitworth said. "He's going to give everything he's got to focus every day and push those guys to the limit. There's no doubt that if he gets some good players, they're going to be very successful." --------------------------- Sorry if it was posted already, I looked through the first two pages. Yea, he can be a jerk...but it just goes to show you that if you are up front and honest with players, they will give you respect. He may not have been totally honest with his coaching desires, but we would not have liked it any more if he had come out and told us every move he was considering. In a way, our ignorance of his full coaching aspirations/decisions gave us a couple of extra years of less anxiety. When it all came out, yea we were angry, but I'm glad he told the white lies - after all, we all knew deep down he was thinking about going to the pros every year.
It doesn't depress me, because that means that about 300 student athletes who wore the LSU uniform got the best possible mentoring. While I am disappointed he is leaving, I firmly believe LSU is better for the time he spent here. It also means that Skip has a model to compare others to. GEAUX TIGERS
That's a great attitude Thorny. You're right. He was a complete class act who seemed to genuinely care more about his players than just winning games. I really hope Skip can find someone like that, even if it's not the biggest name guy out there.
