Malcolm Brown: Why the Trey DePriest Signing Should Worry Texas Fans

Larry Burton (Syndicated Writer)

Ohio State fans said it wouldn't happen. No way would Trey DePriest leave an offer from Ohio State to go to Alabama. It was too far from home, he wouldn't see playing time as soon, and so many other reasons.

Yet yesterday, citing that when it came down to it, Alabama just felt more comfortable, more like the way he wanted his next home to feel—he did.

So said the player from California they signed, so said the other Texan, so said so many more.

What other fan bases are forgetting to realize is the importance that Nick Saban and this Alabama team places on "family" and personal relationships.

A great example would be Mark Ingram (from Michigan) and his remarks recently for the SEC Media Day audience.

When asked if he had a "best friend" on the team that he hung around with, he remarked that this team didn't have groups, but was unique in having all his teammates as one big family.

"I think one thing with our team is we're not really...it's not really cliqued up. It's not really you have a group of guys here, a group of guys here, a group of guys here. I think everybody involves themselves with each other. Everybody gets along well. That leads to the field where we just all click because we all hang out off the field and all get along with each other.

"We think of each other as family. That's how our organization is. We think we're a family. That leads to how we play on the field. We all have each other's back. We all going to go to war with the guy next to us, fight with the guy next to us. When we step on the field, we got to play the football game, you know, the next person has our back because we're with them all the time.

"My closest friends on the team...I have several. I'm close with Robby Green, Julio Jones, Trent Richardson, just a lot of the guys. We're all real good friends. I just can't name a whole bunch of 'em because we're all really close," Ingram told the packed room.

And therein lies the reason that Texas fans should be shaking in their boots. Not only would Malcolm Brown get early playing time here as well, but he would be part of a family that takes in everyone and makes them part of a family that other teams just don't have.

In his last public quote, Brown said, "Alabama's tradition was big to me, and the people there are crazy about their football; and I was very comfortable with their coaches."

The same word that DePriest used, "comfortable," the same word that so many recruits have used when citing reasons to come to Alabama.

For all the opposing fans who think Saban gets recruits only because of the glory he could lead them to on the field, they are missing the point. While that does have a strong measure in the decision making process, who doesn't want the chance to play for a championship, the most talked about reasons are comfort, the family atmosphere and the quality relationships there.

And while many think that Brown's decision is too close to call, Texas fans who read DePriest's reason may worry just a little bit more.