By Jay Coulter
jccoulter@gmail.com

I attended a cool event over the weekend in Columbus, Georgia. Each year the ministries of former Auburn All-American Joe Cribbs, Alabama great Jeremiah Castille and former Georgia All-American David Pollack put on a celebrity golf tournament at the local country club.

It’s an opportunity to raise money for each of the foundations and for fans it’s a chance to meet and talk with some of the greats from the three schools. Those representing Auburn included Cribbs, Aundray Bruce, Trey Gainous, Gerald Robinson, Pat Dye, Brandon Cox, Frank Sanders, Terry Henley, Smokey Hodge, Rob Pate, Stan White and Jeff Burger to name just a few.

The Alabama and Georgia contingent included Roger Shultz (from Biggest Loser fame), Nick Saban, Antonio Langham, Barry Krauss, Kevin Butler, D.J. Shockley and Robert Edwards.

A couple of observations: Bruce looks like he could still line up anywhere in the NFL and play. The guy is huge and built like a truck.

He had the coolest line of the night. We are going through the buffet line and someone asked him what he was doing these days. He answered that he was playing golf and fishing. To which the person said, "You have to do more than that." Bruce responded, "Actually I don’t." Pretty funny stuff. Must be nice.

I had a chance to speak with Shultz and he joked that everywhere he goes people always look at what he’s eating. Let me tell you – television doesn’t do that guy justice. He is flat skinny. You’d never guess he weighed 363 pounds a year ago. To look at him now, it’s hard to believe that he ever played on the offensive line in the SEC.

I also had a nice conversation with Gainous. He looks like a skinny sociology professor - with great hands I might add. He’s one of the nicest people you’ll ever meet.

Attending events like this where you have former players from different schools, you realize how fans take the rivalries much more seriously than the players. These guys genuinely like each other and have a healthy respect for one another.

With that said, I still can't wait to get a piece of Georgia in November. I hate Georgia.

The beautiful and majestic Legion Field in Birmingham, Alabama

By Jay Coulter
jccoulter@gmail.com

I hope you all had a great weekend.  I suppose (outside of the Senior Bowl) this was the first weekend since August that neither the college nor pros took the field.  I understand there was a basketball game in Tuscaloosa, but we won’t go there.

For what it’s worth, the women did get some vindication by winning at the Capstone on Sunday.

I’m sure a lot of you settled in on Saturday to watch the first All-American Football League draft – or not. Raise your hand if you’ve ever heard of the league.

It’s true. Football is back in Birmingham. The city has had more professional football teams over the past 25 years than Alabama has had coaches – and that’s saying a lot.

This time around the new league will field six teams – Alabama, Tennessee, Florida, Michigan, Texas and Arkansas.

It appears from visiting the league’s web site that the team's colors will be red and white.  That’s a piece of marketing genius. Let’s alienate half the audience before we take the field. The Alabama team (there appears to be no nickname as of yet) will play at Legion Field. Despite popular belief, the structure is still standing – barely.

The league is hoping to attract fans by putting in-state former players on the roster. Alabama has eight players on the team while Auburn only has three.

Former Tigers include: Kody Bliss (punter), Karibi Dede (linebacker) and Tre Smith (running back).

Alabama is lead by Freddie Milons (wide receiver) and Saleem Rasheed (linebacker).

The team is coached by Mike Jones, who led NFL Europe’s Frankfurt Galaxy to a World Bowl Championship in 2006. Jones was given the job after former Mississippi State coach Jackie Sherrill turned the team down.

There are a couple of other Auburn connections. The team president is former Auburn great Joe Cribbs. Former Tiger Kurt Crain is an assistant on the team.

Alabama opens its season on April 19th at home against Texas.

It’s hard not to be cynical about this new venture. Will a few former players really drive people to Legion Field on a warm spring day? Haven’t we tried this at least four other times?

My guess is we’ll be talking about the All-American Football League in past tense this time next year.

It’s hard to believe it has been 30 years since Auburn began earning its distinction as Running Back U. It was back in the late 1970’s that Joe Cribbs, James Brooks and William Andrews started earning Auburn that title.  

While they laid the foundation, there have been many more to follow. But who were the ten best since 1977? While there is little argument that Bo Jackson is the greatest to ever line up behind the quarterback, there is discussion about the nine others and what order they go in.

Listed below are my top 10 running backs to wear orange and blue since 1977. Let me know what you think and where you would rank these greats.

1. Bo Jackson

There’s no argument about number one. Bo may be the greatest to ever play at tailback. What an honor it was to watch him run the football. When he touched the ball something special was bound to happen. In case you live under a rock – a really big one, Jackson won the 1985 Heisman Trophy and is widely considered one of the top five running backs to ever play college football.

2. Carnell Williams

The second position was a tough call. You could easily put Brent Fullwood in this spot. What makes Cadillac the second best was the 2004 season and the way he handled sharing the ball with Ronnie Brown. He led the team in rushing three of his four years and managed 1,000 yards during his junior and senior seasons despite splitting time with Ronnie Brown.

There are five players in the top 10 that shared playing time during the peak of their careers, Cribbs, Brooks, Fullwood, Williams and Brown. Imagine what Auburn’s offense might have looked like had these guys been spaced a few years apart. We could easily have two more Heisman Trophy winners.

3. Brent Fullwood

Fullwood is perhaps the second most talented running back to ever play at Auburn. While Jackson was winning the Heisman in 1985, Fullwood dutifully carried out back-up duties. He was probably the second best running back in the country that year. The next season Fullwood earned All-American honors and lead the SEC in rushing.

4. James Brooks

One of the few bright spots during the Doug Barfield debacle, James Brooks was special. He had a knack for breaking the long run. He lead the SEC in rushing during his junior season and lead Auburn to its only top 25 finish during the Barfield era, finishing at 8-3 and ranked 16th in 1979.

5. Stephen Davis

What a waste. What else can you say about a running back that was heralded as the best in the country out of high school and a front runner for the Heisman during his senior season of 1995? Had Davis had a coach with a brain, he might have claimed the prize and Auburn wouldn’t have limped to an 8-4 finish his senior year. Davis led the SEC in rushing during his junior campaign with nearly 1,300 yards rushing.

6. Joe Cribbs

Joe Cribbs is where Running Back U. all started. Cribbs was the best back Auburn had seen since Tucker Frederickson in 1964. He lead Auburn in rushing in 1977 and 1978 and lead the SEC with 1,205 his senior year.

7. James Bostic

It’s hard to think about the 1993 undefeated team and not think about James Bostic. He was one of the primary catalysts of a team that was given no chance prior to the season and ended up capturing a number four final ranking and 11-0 record.  Bostic lead the SEC in rushing with 1,205 yards that year.

8. Rudi Johnson

His tenure was short but memorable. The Ettrick, Virginia native played but one season on the Plains, but boy was it special. During the 2000 season Johnson rushed for nearly 1,600 yards and was the conference’s leading rusher. He gave Tommy Tuberville his first winning season at Auburn, going 9-4.

9. Ronnie Brown

When people look back in the history books years from now, Ronnie Brown will hardly get a mention. That’s a shame. Brown won’t show up in the list of rushing or touchdown leaders. He won’t be on the list of Auburn All-Americans. Heck, he didn’t even start his senior year. Yet Brown is one the best to ever play the position at Auburn. Partnering with Williams, he helped lead the Tigers to its greatest season on record in 2004. When Williams went down his sophomore year, Brown stepped in and rushed for 1,000 yards despite only starting five games.

10. Lionel James

Lionel "Little Train" James is one of the most beloved Auburn players of all time. Best known for leading the way for Bo Jackson, James lead the team in rushing during the 1981 season. James went on to a long and successful career in the NFL.