Alabama welcomes back former assistant Lance Thompson

TUSCALOOSA — Lance Thompson returns to Bryant-Denny Stadium on Saturday, this time on the visitors’ sidelines.

Thompson recruited the Mobile area for Nick Saban and Alabama. He helped land Julio Jones and Mark Barron two years ago and Trent Richardson last year.
He was so effective, Lane Kiffin hired him at Tennessee last January as recruiting coordinator and linebackers coach, positions he held under Saban. Kiffin
kicked up a lot of fuss when he told Vol fans that Saban should have thanked Thompson for his top-ranked recruiting class in February.

Both coaches dismissed the idea that Thompson’s “inside” knowledge of Alabama will help the Vols a lot this week.

“I think that’s a little overrated,” Kiffin said Monday. “We had Eddie Gran, but we lost to Auburn. I don’t think that that helps you a whole lot. ... We get paid to coach. We get paid to watch a lot of film, stay here a long time to figure out what people do. So I don’t think it helps that much.”

Thompson has insisted his departure had nothing to do with Saban and everything to do with learning from NFL legend Monte Kiffin.
Saban was asked if a former assistant can make a big difference when he plays his old team.

“I don’t really know. I don’t know what kind of impact that it has; I really don’t,” Saban said. “The players still have to go out there and play. Other than terminology and language, they still don’t know what’s coming when, so I really don’t know. I really can’t answer that.”

The coach said a football game is bigger than an in-depth scouting report.

“I think I would rather focus on the big picture of all the people in the organization and what they’re all trying to do — on both sides — to have a competitive game,” he said. “And do it with a lot of honesty and integrity. That’s the way it’s supposed to be.”

Seeing red: Alabama declined Tennessee’s request to wear its orange jerseys Saturday.

“We tried to do that. In talking with some people in the offseason about the history here and both teams wearing the home jersey, I thought it would be something that would be really neat for our fans and for their fans,” Vol coach Lane Kiffin said. “We were approved by the SEC, and Alabama denied us that.”

Alabama athletics director Mal Moore said Monday night he talked to Tennessee AD Mike Hamilton about the request.

“I told him that it is our desire to maintain the custom of the visiting team wearing their visiting jerseys,” Moore said. “We’ll continue to wear our white jerseys when we visit Knoxville next year.”

Tennessee could wear its orange jersey, but would be assessed a 15-yard penalty. Kiffin said that is not an option.

“No. We’re not good enough to do that,” the coach said. “The last thing we want to do is kick off 15 yards back.”

Tennessee defensive tackle Wes Brown said wearing orange would be special, but it didn’t really matter.

“We could wear pink, and I’d still be down there ready to go,” Brown said.

Ingram stays hot: Alabama running back Mark Ingram burst into the national spotlight with is 246-yard performance last Saturday night against South Carolina.

On a day when Tim Tebow and Colt McCoy struggled to win and Oklahoma’s Sam Bradford sustained another major shoulder injury, Ingram has attracted some Heisman Trophy buzz.

His performance came one week after he gained 172 yards at Ole Miss, his previous career high. He leads the SEC and is fourth in the country in rushing, averaging 129 yards per game.

Saban was asked how the sophomore from Flint, Mich., would handle the extra attention.

“I really don’t know. ... He usually handles it pretty well,” Saban said. “He’s a great competitor and a driven guy and works hard in practice every week.”

Tight end Colin Peek said it would be good for the program if a selfless player like Ingram stayed in the Heisman race.

“I would love to see him keep his name up there because he really deserves it for the work he puts in, and the type of kid he is and the type of player he is,” Peek said.

Tuesday’s practice: Alabama was in full pads for about two and a half hours on Tuesday as preparations for Tennessee continued.

“It’s going to be a physical game. We expect it to be,” left guard Mike Johnson said. “It’s kind of fortunate we’ve got a week off after this because we’re probably going to need it. That’s usually how the Tennessee game goes.”

Tapegate: There was no official reaction from Alabama to South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier’s complaint to the SEC about Alabama’s placekicking.

Spurrier filed a complaint with the league office after seeing holder P.J. Fitzgerald use a piece of tape to mark his spot for kicker Leigh Tiffin.

SEC officials are looking into the matter, league spokesman Charles Bloom told the Associated Press.

The NCAA football rulebook (Rule 6-3; Article 10; subsection d) reads: “Any device or material used to mark the spot of a scrimmage place kick or elevate the ball makes the kick illegal.”

The penalty is “illegal kick” and is five yards from the previous spot.