Sunseri firing up Bama

By Michael Casagrande

Decatur Daily

TUSCALOOSA -- There is a fire burning in the belly of the new coach of Alabama's linebackers.

Those around Sal Sunseri know not to make a mistake around the former Carolina Panther coach who went from walk-on to All-American as a linebacker at the University of Pittsburgh in the late 1970s and early 80s.

"Oh man, he's an intense guy. You can really tell out there lately," linebacker Cory Reamer said. "You can tell he's getting ready for the games. He's yelling the entire time. He's always on somebody, but you have to look at it like he's always trying to get somebody better. He's not mad, but he yells. When we are in the meeting room, he's always going - always thinking of something."

And it's not just with the linebackers.

"He's watching defensive linemen and everybody," Reamer said. "It's unbelievable the mental capacity that he has for this game."

Eryk Anders, another linebacker, said the NFL background Sunseri brings to the program is a motivator. At times, he'll bring up names of players who came through the Carolina franchise and the drills they used to do in practice.

"If he had someone like Julius Peppers doing it," Anders said, "it makes you want it even better."

Returning rotation

There is no controversy in naming Javier Arenas the punt returner.

But he isn't the only one with the ability to do the job, he said.

"We're all the same back there," Arenas said. "I've just been doing it since I was a freshman and I've taken full advantage of it. You can put all the other guys back there, and more than likely, they'll do the same thing. It's just whoever gets the opportunity."

He listed a group including Marquis Maze, Kareem Jackson and Julio Jones as teammates who could step in and be just as effective.

Freshman Dre Fitzpatrick could be the future at the position.

"Dre is going to be a great returner when he finally gets relaxed back there," Arenas said. "The thing about the freshmen, they're not relaxed back there. They are probably going to be some of the best return men in the country, but you're not going to be able to tell that because they are kind of a little nervous back there. They might not be nervous; it's just new to them."

Practice shift

On the day Alabama students began classes for the fall semester, the Tide participated in its first practice at the new time.

The 3:30 p.m. practice time will be used for the remainder of the preseason now that school is back in session. Neither players nor Saban was made available to reporters following Wednesday's workout.

The program added "approximately 25 players" to the roster limited to 105 by rule before classes start, according to a university news release that did not identify any of the newcomers.