GAME DAY: Southern Miss at Alabama
By Tommy Deas Sports Writer October 15, 2004
TUSCALOOSA
Spencer Pennington picked up the phone two weeks ago and called his family to apologize.
The University of Alabama’s junior quarterback was hurting. He had come off the bench and thrown two interceptions in the Crimson Tide’s loss to South Carolina. He was sure he had let down his teammates and disgraced his loved ones in his hometown of Vernon, a small Lamar County city near the Mississippi border.
He spoke to his parents and his grandmother, telling them, “I just hope I didn’t embarrass you.”
Pennington wasn’t looking for sympathy. He just wanted to assure his family that he wasn’t going to sink into depression.
“I didn’t want them to worry about their baby,” he said. “I wanted them to know that I was fine.”
Pennington also wanted to try to prepare them for the criticism that was sure to follow.
“I knew what was coming,” he said.
Actually, the 21-year-old quarterback could never have foreseen that he was just days away from becoming the Tide’s starter. Pennington bounced back last week in a surprise start against Kentucky, completing 7 of 11 passes for 83 yards without a touchdown or interception to lead Alabama to a much-needed 45-17 victory in Lexington, Ky.
The 6-foot-5, 226-pound youngster will be back under center today, making his second straight start when Alabama hosts Southern Miss for homecoming.
That Pennington would rise to the top from being a third-team backup was unexpected. That he would then find himself in command of Alabama’s offense just days after the lowest point of his playing career was beyond belief.
“It’s funny how things work,” he said. “I think the Lord’s got a plan for everybody. I really believe that.”
Pennington’s failings on the field against South Carolina were all the more crushing because he had given up so much to play for the program he had loved since his childhood.
If he had taken a different path, he might be lining up today as a veteran starting quarterback at Mississippi State, or maybe even playing against the New York Yankees in baseball’s American League Championship Series.
When all the choices were on the table four years ago, Pennington weighed his options. His heart tipped the balance in Alabama’s favor. Better to serve the Tide, he figured, than to reign in Starkville, Miss., or in the minor leagues.
Briefly, a Bulldog
While Pennington was passing for 2,433 yards and 20 touchdowns to lead Fayette County High School to the Class 4A state championship as a senior, Alabama wasn’t paying attention to the young man playing just 45 miles up the road. The Tide program was in disarray, with head coach Mike DuBose serving out the final games of his lame-duck tenure while Pennington was guiding his team through the prep playoffs.
Alabama coaches never called, so Pennington listened when Mississippi State targeted him as its top quarterback recruit. He committed midway through his senior season.
When Fayette County earned its spot in the state title game, which was played at Birmingham’s Legion Field, head coach Waldon Tucker scheduled a practice at Bryant-Denny Stadium to get his team acclimated to the big-stadium atmosphere.
DuBose’s replacement, the newly hired Dennis Franchione, watched that workout. When it was over, he approached the young quarterback at the 50-yard line and offered a scholarship.
“It didn’t take me long to jump on that,” Pennington said.
The Tide had already received a commitment from one of the top quarterbacks in the nation, Brodie Croyle, but Pennington never blinked.
“I knew coming into it Brodie was going to be Alabama’s No. 1 guy,” he said. “I knew I was Mississippi State’s No. 1 guy. I’m a competitor.”
Mississippi State kept calling, offering Pennington the chance to play as a freshman and the fast track toward inheriting the starting position from Wayne Madkin, who would be a senior during Pennington’s first year on campus.
By now, Pennington could have been Mississippi State’s senior starter.
“I’d say that’s probably true,” said Alabama running backs coach Sparky Woods, who was MSU’s offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at the time. “I assume he would be if things had progressed on time.”
Instead, Pennington took the hard road at Alabama, where he arrived in the same recruiting class with Croyle and settled into a backup role.
“He knew it was going to be tough, but Spencer had enough backbone and enough belief in himself that he could go there and contribute,” Tucker said. “He knew the Croyle kid was going and it would be tough to beat him out.
“I always thought Spencer had probably the most raw ability, raw talent, of any kid I’ve ever coached, and I’ve coached some good ones. He had the God-given size and a strong arm. I always believed he could play.”
Franchione’s offer ended Pennington’s flirtation with Mississippi State. He called MSU coaches the night it was tendered and told them he had changed his plans.
“I was a Bulldog for about two months,” he said. “I never could really see myself as a Bulldog.”
Even though Pennington was actually born across the state line in Amory, Miss., he grew up rooting for Alabama. His loyalties were set even before his big brother, Jeremy, joined the Tide squad as a freshman offensive lineman in 1992, the year Alabama won its most recent national championship.
Jeremy “Bull” Pennington remembers his little brother tagging along on Alabama’s Sugar Bowl trip to play Miami for the national title.
“He was 9 years old,” the big brother said. “I remember him throwing the football around with Jay Barker and David Palmer.
“A lot of kids that age try to get autographs, but Spencer never did that. He just thought he was one of us. He was tiny back then. We never thought he’d be a ballplayer.”
Baseball beckons
The main reason Pennington chose Mississippi State over other schools in the first place was because the Bulldogs promised he could also play baseball.
Alabama baseball coach Jim Wells made a scholarship offer long before Tide football coaches showed any interest. Wells saw big-league potential, likening Pennington to a seasoned all-star now playing for the Colorado Rockies.
“The first time I saw him, he was playing first base,” Wells said. “I saw a guy like Todd Helton.”
So, apparently, did the Boston Red Sox. Before the amateur draft after his senior year in high school, they flew Pennington to Boston to get a first-hand look.
“I went to Fenway Park, put on the Red Sox uniform and hit,” the player said, his voice filled with awe. “I got to go into the scoreboard, where guys like Ty Cobb, Barry Bonds, Babe Ruth had signed it.
“To be able to step into the batter’s box that people like that have stepped into, you can’t describe it.”
Pennington had struck a deal with Franchione when he signed with Alabama. If he didn’t get an offer of $1 million or more, he would bypass baseball and join the Tide football team.
Word quickly made its way around the major leagues that Pennington was planning to play football, but on draft day the Chicago Cubs called anyway. They offered him a signing bonus of roughly six times the income of an average family in his hometown, an amount well in excess of $100,000.
He turned it down flat.
“When I first got here as a freshman, a lot of guys said, ‘I can’t believe you turned that down,’” Pennington said. “I kept my word. It’s as simple as that.”
The Cubs selected another player when they realized they couldn’t meet his terms. The next day, the Tampa Bay Devil Rays called. One of their top draft choices had decided not to sign, and they wanted to make a deal. Pennington’s mother took the call and relayed the message.
“I told her forget about it,” he said. “I’d made up my mind I was going to Alabama, and I was happy with that decision.”
Pennington played one season with the Alabama baseball team, but had to sit out the last two years. He missed one season because Franchione’s short-lived successor, Mike Price, didn’t allow football players to play two sports, and skipped last season due to an injury. He plans to play again this spring.
Alabama’s baseball coach believes Pennington still has the tools, but isn’t sure he can reach his potential without committing himself completely.
“When they invite you to Boston to take [batting practice] at Fenway Park, you’re a pretty good prospect,” Wells said. “The key is being out here every day. He would need to spend a lot of time in the batting cage.
“He’s a gifted enough athlete that he can play our game. It’s just that this is a game you have to play every day.”
Unlucky No. 13?
After a redshirt year, Pennington completed just one pass as a freshman. Croyle emerged as the starter last year when both were sophomores, then Pennington drew his first start after Croyle sustained a shoulder injury.
Pennington played into the third quarter of a game at Georgia, throwing for 109 yards with an interception and a touchdown, before separating his right (throwing) shoulder, which basically sidelined him for the rest of the season.
He battled Marc Guillon, who transferred from Miami, for the backup job to Croyle during preseason drills, and lost out by the slimmest of margins. All of a sudden, he was a third-stringer.
“It was hard,” he admits. “I just said, ‘Know your role.’
“If I’m on the sideline signaling in plays, I want to do the best I can. I want to be a leader in anything that I do.”
That’s the kind of attitude that makes Pennington so popular with his teammates. He’s known for cutting up in the locker room, and even entertains his fellow players with impromptu rap compositions while he’s out on the town.
“Let me tell you something about Spencer,” safety Roman Harper said. “The man’s got some soul in his system for a white boy.
“He can dance. He’s got all the rhythm. He does a whole lot better than a lot of us. He carries his own weight.”
Said Pennington, “We like to dance and cut up in the locker room after a victory. Roman Harper’s got more soul than anybody I know.
“I consider us to all be like brothers on this team. If anybody would know if I’ve got moves or not, they would know.”
Pennington is also an avid outdoorsman who has roamed the woodlands of West Alabama with rifle in hand. Hunting is his favored getaway activity, and his favorite hunting buddy is Croyle, who he calls his best friend.
“I love it,” he said. “I like being out there. Sometimes it’s just good to get a break from everything and get out in God’s creation.”
Pennington’s hard-luck playing career took another bad turn when he was called to duty against South Carolina after Alabama coaches had focused most of their game-week attention on getting Guillon ready. Four days before the game, Pennington took exactly five snaps in practice. He didn’t get much more work the rest of the week, but refused to make any excuses for his errors.
“There is no excuse for it,” he said. “I took us out of position to win the game. I beat myself up over it.”
After all his bad luck, you’d think Pennington might be ready to swap out his No. 13 jersey for another number. Any other number.
“I never thought of it,” he said. “When I got here, a lot of people asked me why I wear No. 13. I never did get to pick which number I got. I’m just happy to have a number here.”
When his number suddenly came up again for the Kentucky game, Pennington’s father was sure he would do better.
“He said he was ready, and I knew he was,” Mike Pennington said. “The main thing he was thinking after the South Carolina game was, ‘I don’t want that to be it. I’ve got to get another opportunity.’ He wanted to prove himself.”
Spencer Pennington wants to build on what he did in Lexington. Whether he starts the rest of the season or yields his position to Guillon later on, he cherishes the chance to be Alabama’s quarterback, even if it’s not the way he would have chosen to win the job.
“I would rather not play a down than for somebody to get hurt and me to play,” he said.
“This is the most excited I’ve ever been. I’ve never questioned why I’m at Alabama. Knowing I’m going to be the starter going into this weekend is exciting. I want to do everything I can to help this offense move the ball and help us win.”
http://www.tidesports.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20041015/NEWS/41015001/1011
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ROLL TIDE! Rick
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