Auto racing: Jimmie Johnson wins pole at Dover . 3C
S A T U R D A Y , S E P T E M B E R 25 , 2010
Sports
SECTION C
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HOMETOWN HEROES
TOP HATS
Nalls hoping for breakout season
When it comes to helmets, Alabama ranks as one of the coolest around
By Coy Slavik Special to The Tuscaloosa News
T
he story goes that the first football helmet was worn in 1893 by Admiral Joseph Mason Reeves, who was playing for Navy against Army. The admiral donned the leather harness contraption because doctors told him another kick to the head could kill him or permanently scramble his brains. Helmets have come a long way since. The best helmets catch your eye and easily identify the school wearing them. Here are the 10 coolest helmets in college football, according to The Associated Press and its college football poll voters.
Tennessee-Martin defensive tackle Darrin Nalls enjoyed a breakout game last week in what he hopes will become a breakout season. The former Fayette County High School standout earned national recognition for his five tackles, two quarterback sacks, two tackles for loss and two forced fumbles in the Skyhawks’ 20-10 victory over Eastern Illinois in the Ohio Valley Conference opener for both teams Saturday night. Nalls was named the Football Championship Subdivision national defensive lineman of the week and the OVC Defensive Player of the Week. “It was just one of those days when everything was clicking for me,” Nalls said. Nalls’ two forced fumbles came at critical points of the game Darrin in the fourth quarter. Nalls He jarred the ball loose from Eastern Illinois quarterback Brandon Large on a sack with 9:25 left in the game. Teammate Josh Cody recovered the ball at the EIU 26-yard line to set up Cody Sandlin’s 26-yard field goal that built the Skyhawks’ lead to 20-10. Nalls sacked Large again with 1:15 remaining, forcing another fumble that recovered by UTM to secure the victory. “It was just that time of the game when we knew we had to make a stop, so the offense could go ahead and put the game away,” Nalls said of his final sack. “It was do or die.” SEE NALLS | 5C
1. MICHIGAN Coach Herbert O. “Fritz” Crisler came up with the idea of the “winged” helmet when he came to Michigan from Princeton in 1938, so that the Wolverines’ receivers would stand out down field. Little did he know that it would still look awesome more than 70 years later. From the panel: “I’ll bet the Wolverines get 10-15 percent of their recruits based on helmets alone.” — Bob Asmussen, Champaign (Ill.) News-Gazette. 2. TEXAS Back in the day, Texas had numbers on its helmets above the logo. Now the burnt orange longhorn stands alone on that pristine white helmet. From the panel: “Simple ... but also offers the quintessential symbol of the Lone Star State — as symbolic of a state team as any other helmet.” — Randy Rosetta, The Advocate (Baton Rouge, La.). 3. ALABAMA Those digits on the helmets look even better when the team is No. 1. From the panel: “Even when they’ve gone through lean times, they didn’t ’shake things up’ by changing the helmet. It’s not the helmet’s fault.” — Rob Long, FOX-1370 (Baltimore) Radio. 4. NOTRE DAME During coach Joe Kuharich’s tenure at Notre Dame from 1958-62, the Fighting Irish at times had images of shamrocks on their helmets. As if that 17-23 record wasn’t reason enough to fire him. From the panel: “Copy a campus landmark. Great idea and a lot harder to steal than a logo.” — John Shinn, The Norman (Okla.) Transcript.
STILLMAN FOOTBALL
5. PENN STATE Nothing never looked so good. From the panel: “Wearing a lid with absolutely nothing on it sends a message, that you’ve done enough and been around long enough that there’s no need for gimmicks.” — Travis Haney, The Charleston (S.C.) Post and Courier. 6. CLEMSON Even when the Tigers wear those awful purple uniforms, the helmets are in style. From the panel: “When your name is common like Tigers, you’ve got to stick out somehow. The paw print is a nice touch.” — Jon Solomon, The Birmingham News. 7. OHIO STATE Points for having the best helmet stickers, those buckeyes that players rack up when they make big plays. From the panel: “The cool-shade-of-gray helmets with the red stripe get even cooler, one buckeye leaf at a time.” — Tom Keegan, Lawrence (Kan.) Journal World. 8. AIR FORCE Those lightning bolts make the Falcons’ triple-option look even faster. From the panel: “Who doesn’t like lightning bolts on their helmet?” — Jon Solomon, The Birmingham News. 9. FLORIDA STATE The spear is sharp and those tomahawk stickers are almost as good as Ohio State’s buckeyes. From the panel: “Gold catches your eye, but the feathers really make it pop and sizzle.” — Rosetta. 10. WASHINGTON STATE If not for the cool crimson and gray helmets with the unique logo, the Cougars would be completely unwatchable these days. From the panel: “It spells out WSU and resembles a Cougar. It’s artistic. What more could fans of the school want, besides more than one football win per season?” — Mike Hlas, Cedar Rapids (Iowa) Gazette.
BOXING
Stillman or Benedict will get first win today By Andrew Carroll Sports Writer
SPECIAL TO THE TUSCALOOSA NEWS
Tennessee-Martin defensive tackle Darrin Nalls was named the Football Championship Subdivision national defensive lineman of the week and the Ohio Valley Conference Defensive Player of the Week in the Skyhawks’ 20-10 win against Eastern Illinois last week.
DARRIN NALLS 2009: Played in 10 games and made 17 total tackles, including four tackles for loss and one quarterback sack. ... Had a season-best six tackles and 11⁄2 tackles for loss against Tennessee State. 2 0 0 8 : Redshirted after seeing action against Concordia and Tennessee State. High School: Earned all-state honorable mention honors as a senior at Fayette County. ... Played in West Alabama All-Star Game in 2006 and 2007. ... Four-time all-area selection. ... Served as team captain for two seasons. ... Led Fayette County to a 9-3 record his senior season. ... Also played baseball and basketball. Personal: Son of Ronald and Cynthia Nalls. ... Has one brother, Byron. ... Majoring in biology.
Two teams looking for their first win of the season meet today as Stillman College faces Benedict in a Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference game. Stillman coach L.C. Cole said he hasn’t given up on his goal of trying to revitalize the program. “We’ve got another game to play,” Cole said. “There’s no reason to panic. I told the coaching staff that when you’re building a program there will be times when it’s not going to be nice and other times when it’s going to be ugly. You’ve just got to bear with it and don’t jump the ship just yet.” Stillman is coming off a 56-2 road loss to Fort Valley State. Stillman didn’t help its causing by committing eight turnovers, four fumbles and four interceptions. Stillman’s only points came when defensive lineman Jeremy Hall was credited with a tackle that resulted in a safety in the second quarter. “Turnovers took us out of the game real early,” said Cole, who saw Fort Valley State build a 28-0 lead. “I try not to harp on how young we are, but it’s a proven fact. We watched the film. The kids have seen it. We watched the mistakes.” Cole said he was encouraged by the fact that his the team had a players-only meeting. “We always preach that with our football team,” Cole said. “A leader can only be as good as the people he has around him. Our players need to be better students of the game. “We can’t bring back what happened last week. We have to learn from it and better ourselves from that.” Fort Valley State gained 248 yards passing and 114 yards rushing. Stillman passed for 109 yards but finished with minus 14 yards rushing. “I thought the defense played pretty hard,” Cole sadi. “Our backs were against the wall pretty much that entire game. We had to play on a short field a lot of the time because of the turnovers. We’ve got to get some points, SEE STILLMAN | 5C STILLMAN COLLEGE AT BENEDICT COLLEGE ■ When: 3 p.m. ■ Where: Columbia, S.C. ■ Records: Stillman 0-3, 0-3 in SIAC Benedict 0-4, 0-3 in SIAC ■ Series: Benedict won 21-16 in Tuscaloosa in 2009.
PHOTO | DALE SEBE
Deontay Wilder, right, battles Dustin “Big Worm” Nichols in Hattiesburg, Miss., on July 3. Wilder won by technical knockout in the first round. Wilder, 11-0, faces Shannon Caudle, 9-0-1, tonight in Tunica, Miss.
Wilder, just like the UA football team, faces a tough Arkansas opponent By Aaron Suttles Sports Writer
TUSCALOOSA | After the University of Alabama football team has finished its key SEC West showdown with Arkansas today, Deontay Wilder will also square off against the state of Arkansas. Wilder (11-0) is scheduled for a six-round bout against Fayetteville, Ark., native Shannon Caudle (9-0-1) tonight in Tunica, Miss., at the Fitzgerald Hotel and Casino. The Tuscaloosa fighter will debut his new crimson and white “Alabama” trunks, which were inspired by the Crimson Tide’s game against the Razorbacks. Wilder’s trunks will have Alabama written across the back. “I figured the football team is playing Arkansas, and I’m fighting a guy from Arkansas, so I had the trunks made,” Wilder said. “They’re all crimson and white. I’ll be geared up just like the football team is.” Of Caudle’s nine victories, eight came by
DEONTAY WILDER VS. SHANNON CAUDLE ■ When: Tonight ■ Where: Tunica, Miss., at the Fitzgerald Hotel and Casino ■ Records: Wilder 11-0 Caudle 9-0-1
knockout. Wilder said he doesn’t know much about Caudle. “All I know is basically that he’s from Arkansas. That’s about it,” Wilder said. “I know where he’s from and his record. Oh, and I’ve heard he’s a slow guy. I’ve just seen a little clip of him on youtube.com.” Jay Deas, Wilder’s co-trainer, said any unbeaten fighter is a dangerous one. “He had a decent amateur career,” Deas said. “He’s big and strong with a real good right hand. He’s not the fastest guy in the world so Deontay’s speed will be a big factor. But any SEE WILDER | 5C