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Guillon: Rumors are not founded Injured Alabama QB tries to ignore Web, radio chatter Thursday, November 04, 2004 By PAUL GATTIS Times Sports Staff [EMAIL PROTECTED] TUSCALOOSA - He seems to be the malcontent of the year, the quarterback with the fake injury and the bad attitude. If it can be said about a football player, it's been said this season about Alabama backup quarterback Marc Guillon. If you read the gossip on the Internet or listen to the zealots call into the radio talk shows, you can hear anything and everything: Guillon's injury is just an excuse to hide on the sideline after two shaky games as Brodie Croyle's replacement. ?uillon hasn't played in the last three games because he can't get along with the coaching staff. ?uillon even had to deny speculation in a state newspaper last week that he might look to transfer after the season. But to talk to Guillon or coach Mike Shula, reality appears to be that Guillon has a back injury - which has been diagnosed as two bulging discs and a partially torn muscle in his lower back - and that's why he hasn't played since the Oct. 2 loss to South Carolina. "I know a place like this where football is everything, I know people are going to talk," Guillon said. "They are going to come up with every scenario that they can. That's just what people do. "They are huge football fans and they are always going to have their own opinion. I realize that and there's nothing I can do about it. They're going to say what they're going to say and I can't do anything about it. All I can do is ignore it." So is the injury legitimate? Guillon said he's received two shots in his back recently to ease the pain, which he earlier described as a stabbing pain when he threw the ball. Do you bicker with the coaching staff? "No, not at all," Guillon said, almost laughing. "There's no bickering at all. There's intense coaching out there, yeah. Bickering? No." Are you going to transfer after the season? "That's the craziest thing I've ever heard," he said. "That would eliminate another year of my eligibility, which would leave none pretty much." Shula said he was unaware of the gossip involving Guillon until asked about it following Wednesday's rainy practice. "No, that's the first I've heard of it," Shula said. "We have an open line of communication and it's been fine. He and (quarterbacks coach Dave Rader) are real close, too. "I think it's been frustrating for him. Unfortunately when you get hurt and you don't get better quick, then it's easy for frustration to set in. He knows that if he has any questions, he can come into my office. That's the way it is with all of our players." Indeed, frustration is a prime emotion these days for Guillon. A sophomore from Chico, Calif., who transferred from Miami before last season, Guillon started against Arkansas and South Carolina after Croyle's injury. But he was benched in the third quarter against the Gamecocks after throwing two interceptions and the Tide lost both games. Then the next week, Shula revealed that Guillon was having back problems and he hasn't played since. "It's been tough," Guillon said. "It was frustrating, real frustrating. To get an opportunity like this and something happens like this to my back. I was doing everything I could for a while and we had to resort to getting some shots in my back. "Overall, it's just real, real frustrating. I don't think I've ever been this frustrated in my life." And that's just because of the injury. As for everything else ... "It is what it is and that's what it is," Guillon said. "But (fans) are always going to have their opinions and I realize that and respect that. But it is kind of annoying." Copyright 2004 al.com. All Rights Reserved. _______________________________________________ RTF mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://rolltidefan.net/mailman/listinfo/rtf_rolltidefan.net
