Just My Type
AJ MCCARRON
WINNER
The 6'4" quarterback enters the NFL draft after leading Alabama to two national championships. Thanks to Brent Musburger's gushing during the 2012 BCS title game—"What a beautiful woman"—McCarron is almost as well known for his girlfriend, Katherine Webb.
DAN PATRICK:Have you graduated?
AJ MCCARRON: I have. I graduated in three years, so I've been done with school for a while.
DP:You must have had an easy major.
AM: Health and environmental science. It's not the easiest they offer, but it's not terribly bad.
DP:Why didn't you participate in the Senior Bowl?
AM: Starting three years in the SEC, your body gets a little banged up. I never got a rest. Also, after 49 games I don't feel like I need to prove anything else.
DP:Are you going to throw at the NFL combine?
AM: I don't know.
DP:Why not?
AM: I've talked to a lot of people, and there are a lot of mixed emotions. It's hard to get timing with guys you never worked with after one day of throwing.
DP:Who do you trust when it comes to evaluating your pro potential?
AM: I don't really listen to anyone.
DP:You have an agent?
AM: Right, but [Todd France] knows just as much as I do. That's any agent. Nobody can predict the draft, especially—as good as they say they are—[not] Mel Kiper or Todd McShay.
DP:What do they say about you?
AM: One day I'm not on the board. The next day I am. I think it's whatever side of the bed they wake up on.
DP:Do you think college football fans tired of you at Alabama?
AM: That's the way the world is. You get tired of the old stuff. When the new hot thing comes in, that's just the way the business is.
DP:Do you think you loosened Coach Saban up?
AM: Maybe, maybe not. It was just our connection—he's the only person who recruited me from Alabama. I earned his respect and trust. I was probably the only guy who could challenge him.
DP:Does your girlfriend, Katherine Webb, ever tell you to change your outfit?
AM: Of course.
DP:What do you do?
AM: Keep it on. If I like something, I'm going to wear it.
DP:Was Webb, an Auburn grad, in part happy that the Tigers beat you [this season]?
AM: No. Everybody thinks that just because she went to Auburn, she's a big Auburn fan. She knew absolutely nothing about football until my mom and everyone started teaching her.
DP:Do you care that she didn't know football?
AM: I like it that she [didn't]. And that she's learned. And that she's true to us as a couple. She's not like a lot of girls out there chasing cleats.
Guest Shots
Say What?
Panthers coach Ron Rivera, who's on the NFL Competition Committee, on the possibility of playoff expansion: "I've been on a team that had a winning record that didn't go to the playoffs.... It's very frustrating to say, 'Man, we were 10--6 and didn't get in.' That is a tough pill to swallow." ... Notre Dame football coach Brian Kelly takes very seriously the attempt by North-western players to unionize. "The NCAA is looking at [being] more student-athlete oriented," Kelly told me. "If there's an opportunity for the student-athlete to fly home to see his family, I think everyone is looking to make that happen." ... Pacers center Roy Hibbert explained why he enjoys social media so much. (@Hoya2aPacer has more than 232,000 followers.) "I was an only child," he said. "I never interacted with a lot of people outside of basketball. Social media gives me a way to connect. I try to be myself."
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MICHAEL J. LEBRECHT II FOR SPORTS ILLUSTRATED (PATRICK)
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AL TIELEMANS/SPORTS ILLUSTRATED (MCCARRON)
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CHUCK BURTON/AP (RIVERA)
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DAMIAN STROHMEYER FOR SPORTS ILLUSTRATED (KELLY)
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JOHN W. MCDONOUGH/SPORTS ILLUSTRATED (HIBBERT)