Associated Press
The college football notebook …
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. ó Barrett Jones is reminded of his lost teammate sometimes when he sees the empty locker that once belonged to Aaron Douglas. Alabama players need only drive a short distance from campus to see the wreckage from a deadly tornado that struck the town and surrounding communities in the spring.
With those incidents as the sobering backdrops, Alabama opened preseason practice Friday to start preparation for a season theyíre hoping will be special ó for more than the standard reasons.
ěI think it takes a little bit of the selfishness out of football,î center William Vlachos said. ěItís easy to say, Man Iím hot or Iím tired or Iím sore or I donít want to be here and I just want to go home. But youíve got to realize what youíre playing for. Youíre playing for a lot more than yourself. Really, youíre playing for a lot more than just your teammates. Thereís a lot of people who care about this football team and this town. Itís something Iím certainly conscious of. I think others are as well.î
FLORIDA STATE
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. ó Florida State football coach Jimbo Fisher and his wife Candi said Friday they have started a fundraising organization to raise money to help their youngest son and others fight a rare life-threatening blood disease.
LSU SICKNESS
BATON ROUGE, La. ó LSU assistant coach Steve Kragthorpe has been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease and is relinquishing his duties as offensive coordinator, but is remaining on the Tigers’ staff.
WRISTBANDS BANNED
COLUMBUS, Ohio ó Two days after several Ohio State freshmen proudly displayed wristbands supporting deposed Buckeyes coach Jim Tressel, the university has taken them away and refunded the players’ money.
Ohio State said Friday that officials wondered if wearing the wristbands ó which said “JT” ó could be an NCAA violation.
IRISH QBs
SOUTH BEND, Ind. ó Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly would like to pick his starting quarterback after the first 19 practices. That way the Irish will have the final 10 days or so to get ready for their opener against South Florida on Sept. 3.
The Irish quarterback derby will feature Dayne Crist, the starter last season until he hurt his knee and needed surgery for the second straight year; Tommy Rees, who started the final four games, all victories, including a win over Miami in the Sun Bowl; second-year player Andrew Hendrix; and freshman Everett Golson.