Ingram, McClain power each side of ball for Tide

• By SCOTT HOTARD
• Advocate sportswriter
• Published: Nov 6, 2009

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Mark Ingram is a powerful, leg-churning running back with game-changing speed. Rolando McClain is a savvy, veteran linebacker who enjoys swapping helmet paint.

Imagine an Alabama football practice. Imagine Ingram lowering his shoulder. Imagine McClain lowering his.

“We have somewhat of an agreement,” McClain said. “I won’t try to kill him every time I hit him if he won’t try to run me over.”

Ingram and McClain do enough of both on Saturdays.

Ingram’s running style calls to mind a similarly built No. 22 who ravaged the Southeastern Conference two decades ago. But if Ingram and the Crimson Tide keep churning, Ingram may pull a couple of tricks Emmitt Smith never did.

The first is winning a national championship. The second is winning the Heisman Trophy.

Just a sophomore, Ingram leads the SEC with 125.5 rushing yards per game. He has been his best on big stages, with an average of 189.3 yards in Bama’s three wins against Top 25 foes.

HeismanPundit.com’s weekly poll featuring 13 Heisman voters has Ingram in front of Florida quarterback Tim Tebow. ESPN’s Heisman Watch has Ingram leading Tebow as well.

But wait.

When asked about the award during a Tuesday teleconference, Ingram said the best candidate at Alabama doesn’t play offense.

“Rolando,” Ingram said.

As in McClain, the ringleader of Bama’s suffocating front seven.

McClain, a 6-foot-4, 258-pound junior, wears No. 25. He models his game after an NFL star whose number is the reverse.