SEC-final foes equally special

When dissecting Saturday’s Southeastern Conference football championship game between No. 1 Alabama and No. 2 Florida, don’t expect to reveal any advantages in special teams.

Florida tailback Brandon James averages 14.67 yards on punt returns and has returned two for touchdowns, while Alabama cornerback Javier Arenas averages 14.66 yards and has two scores as well. The Crimson Tide got a third special-teams score this season by returning a blocked punt 17 yards against Tulane, while the Gators came close, recovering a blocked punt at Kentucky’s 2-yard line.

“I think Alabama is very well-coached, and the first thing you’ll do is flip on the return schemes and special-team schemes,” Florida coach Urban Meyer said. “It all starts with personnel, but there are a lot of teams with a lot of good players out there. I think a lot of it is motivation and a staff that believes in it.

“Obviously, this team that we’re playing, it’s a big part of their plan to win as well, so I think that’s going to be one of the key elements of this game.”

Alabama has the more recognizable kicker with junior Leigh Tiffin, who has made 17 of 24 field-goal attempts and drilled a 54-yarder against Clemson in the Georgia Dome, the site of Saturday’s showdown. Yet Florida senior Jonathan Phillips has made all 10 of his tries, the only NCAA Bowl Subdivision kicker possessing a 100-percent success rate with more than five attempts.

The lone special-teams discrepancy between the two is defending punt returns. Florida allows only 3.91 yards a return, ranking fourth nationally, while Alabama allows 9.25, ranking 73rd.

James and Arenas are the unlikely headliners of their respective units.

Both juniors hail from Florida, James from St. Augustine and Arenas from Tampa, and signed in 2006 as Rivals.com three-star recruits. James was ranked as the nation’s No. 62 athlete prospect; Arenas wasn’t ranked at all.

The 5-foot-7, 186-pound James won Meyer’s confidence as a returner by performing the “Gator chomp” as a freshman at Tennessee’s Neyland Stadium. His return to Knoxville earlier this year included a 78-yard return for a touchdown in the first quarter that gave the Gators a 17-0 lead in their 30-6 win.

“I love to see the ball in Brandon James’ hands,” Meyer said, “because the nine or 10 guys in front of him are out of their minds because they know what’s going to happen.”

Said James: “I just try to change the game any time I get the ball. Everyone is disappointed if we don’t get a big return.”

The 5-9, 198-pound Arenas was the least heralded member of Alabama’s ’06 class. He had committed to Florida Atlantic before former Tide special teams coach Dave Ungerer offered him a scholarship. Ungerer had convinced former Tide head coach Mike Shula that a return specialist was needed after Brandon Brooks muffed two punts in the 2006 Cotton Bowl win over Texas Tech.

Arenas had an 86-yard touchdown as a freshman against Oklahoma State in the Independence Bowl and set Alabama’s single-game record with 153 yards on six returns in the rout of Mississippi State last month.

“Javy has played great for us,” Tide coach Nick Saban said. “He started his career and got some notoriety as a return man, but he is one of our best defensive players as well. He plays multiple roles on defense, whether it’s corner or our fifth nickel back. He’s just an outstanding competitor.”