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This story appears in ESPN The Magazines Dec. 26 / Jan. 2 Issue. Subscribe today!AN HOUR BEFORE the sidelines at the SEC championship game are lined with Southern football dignitaries. All available previous MVPs of SEC title games are here, along with current coaches of teams that didnt make the game and a pair of television news desks, one from ESPN, the other from CBS.Retiring play-by-play man Verne Lundquist greets a receiving line of well-wishers at the CBS desk, all while sidestepping Alabamas warm-up drills. The defending national champ is preparing for a game it will win 54-16 over Florida to remain undefeated and formalize its invitation to the College Football Playoff.These dudes are so big its a little scary, says former Gators QB Danny Wuerffel, extending his hand after waiting in line.No, Uncle Verne replies. Whats scary is that most of them are still teenagers.Anyone who bought the 2016 college football preview magazines last summer will remember the questions. How will Alabama replace Heisman Trophy winner Derrick Henry? How will the Crimson Tide account for losing quarterback Jake Coker, a 23-year-old transfer from Florida State with five years experience? How will they replace 11 starters? (Those questions were posed in ESPN The Magazines preview by the same scribe you are reading right now.)Alabama entered the season with the SECs least experienced roster. Ohio State did the same in the Big Ten. Ditto for Clemson: bottom of the ACC. But it was actually much starker than that. Phil Steele, the king of preseason mags, uses a five-part formula to determine experience, and he ranked the Tide roster 116th out of 128 FBS teams. Clemson was ranked 101st. Ohio State was dead last at 128th.So if youre scoring at home -- and recruits are -- then three of this years best four teams were also among its youngest, somehow surviving one of the most unpredictable regular seasons in recent memory. The holdout is Washington. The Pac-12 champ ranked fourth in its conference and 43rd overall in experience, with only four returning senior starters but a whopping 80 percent of the roster having already played enough to earn a varsity letter.It really does go against what I guess youd call conventional coaching wisdom, says Ohio State coach Urban Meyer, who returned two senior starters from his 2015 team that went 12-1 and finished the year ranked fourth in the AP poll. This year the team is 11-1 and will play Clemson in the CFP semifinals. But I would also say, OK, who are those two seniors and who are your juniors? I like those juniors I have in the middle of my defense. And I really like that junior I have under center leading my offense in J.T. Barrett.They say the same at Clemson about their quarterback, Deshaun Watson. Along with his fellow juniors -- running back Wayne Gallman and wide receiver Mike Williams -- hes had to carry a roster heavy on underclassmen to a much higher degree of difficulty than a year ago, when Clemson pushed Alabama in the title game.I know its a cliché to talk about having another coach out on the field, but thats what Deshaun is, says Clemsons actual coach, Dabo Swinney. In the end, we can only run so many drills, watch so much film and install so many plays. When those young guys are out there and its time to actually run those plays, then its Deshaun who is looking them in the eyes. Freshmen or not, they are going to do what they have to do to not let him down.That pressure of not wanting to become the weak link in the chain is indeed a great motivator. A kid who spent the past few seasons watching Watson lead Clemson to a stack of prime-time wins doesnt want to be the one who causes that pipeline to rupture.And that brings us back to Alabama.My single biggest fear every day was that I did not want to be the guy who caused the winning to stop, Henry says. Standing along that same Georgia Dome sideline watching his former Tide teammates, he is straight-faced serious. He recalls his freshman year in 2013, joining the team as it came off consecutive BCS national championships and its third in four years. One year removed from high school, he carried the football just 36 times. Upperclassmen incessantly reminded him of his responsibilities.So did his phone. It was blowing up all the time with texts and calls from former Alabama players, Henry says. You better listen to the coaches, you better keep this going, you better stick with the Process. I didnt even know these guys. But now I do the same thing. Ill be doing it here tonight.Ah yes, the Process. When Nick Saban used to drop his trademark mantra, it was greeted by those outside Tuscaloosa -- and some inside the city limits -- with eye rolls and bingo calls of Drink! Such attitudes have since vanished, pounded into the ground by the win-loss record that has also buried Bamas SEC rivals. In the early days, when hed visit the living rooms of recruits, Saban would preach the programs relentless attention to every detail as a way to shed light on his grandiose plans. But now that those plans have come to historic fruition, that speech has changed. Either youre on board with the Process or you arent. Not on board? Enjoy your time playing elsewhere. If you are, well need your ring size.There is a way we do things at Alabama and they arent easy, but we arent looking for players who are looking for easy, Saban explained in February on national signing day after inking a class ranked second best in the nation by ESPN.com. I think what weve been able to accomplish here makes it easy for kids to identify what we are about. If they think they can fit into that, and we think they can fit into that, then I think the potential benefits are fairly evident.Thats code for Why yes, at Alabama we love five-star athletes. But only the ones who can hack it.The crown jewel in that 2016 recruiting class was a quarterback from the Houston area named Jalen Hurts, the son of a high school football coach. Hurts size and strength were off the charts, as were his football IQ and his academic record. Per Sabans freshman policies, the 18-year-old doesnt talk to reporters. An early enrollee, he already played the role of Watson as his new team practiced to play Clemson in the title game last January. Now he has a chance to lead his team to a victory in this years version of that same game and become the first true freshman QB to win a national title since Oklahomas Jamelle Holieway in 1985.People say, Well, how can you win with a freshman quarterback? says Alabama radio color commentator Phil Savage, a former NFL general manager who deals with college footballs best players annually as executive director of the Senior Bowl. But they arent doing it with just any old freshman quarterback. Jalen Hurts is special. He fits. And Alabama is fortunate enough to be in a position where they dont just sign five-star recruits. They sign the ones that fit.That fortunate position Bamas in is the top, where the view is nice and the shopping list nicer. Over the past four years, Bama has inked classes ranked first, first, first and second. Ohio State has never dropped below seventh, while Clemson has spent the past two years in the top eight. Only heavyweights like them can afford not to play the waiting game with their prospects. Because while beggars cant be choosers, choosers rarely have to be beggars.Sure, college coaches will tell you that todays high school recruits arrive more football-ready than ever before, thanks to prep programs that have become more aggressive with both their playbooks and their training programs. But experience still matters for nearly all the rest of college football. Washington, which has hovered from 19th to 45th in recruiting, needs its players to stick around. Colorado went worst to first in the Pac-12 South with its experience-heavy roster (ninth in the nation), and Michigan State did the complete opposite in the Big Ten as it hit the bottom of its cycle as an annual fifth-year-player factory. According to Steele, the Spartans were ranked 117th in the nation in experience and 13th in the Big Ten. They finished 3-9.The goal is to create an environment of winning, Saban explains in what sounds like total coachspeak but is in fact, well, fact. Seniors and alums expect a certain level of success, and in turn, they teach the kids who have just arrived to expect that level of success. Only a certain type of young man can handle that. And if you can handle that, then it doesnt matter how old you are.But it does matter where you play. Wholesale NHL Jerseys . -- If this was Aaron Gordons final home game at Arizona, and it almost certainly was, then he went out in style. Cheap NHL Jerseys Authentic . Pettersen, winner of last years Evian Championships, had nine birdies and three bogeys, holding off a series of challengers led by Marion Ricordeau of France. The second-ranked Norwegian made her season debut after missing the LPGA Tours opening event last month in the Bahamas because of a shoulder injury. http://www.chinanhljerseys.com/?tag=cheap-buffalo-sabres-jerseys . LOUIS -- Theres no telling how these wacky World Series games will end. Hockey Jerseys China . Vettel, who has already clinched his fourth straight F1 title, enters the finale with a chance to equal Michael Schumachers 13 victories in a year and match the record of nine consecutive wins by Alberto Ascari in the 1952 and 1953 seasons. Wholesale Hockey Jerseys . Speaking Thursday on TSN 1050 Thursday, the Leafs GM also touched on the questions surrounding the teams leadership and the struggles of his big-name free-agent signing. “Its not from lack of effort from the coaching staff. The sun will soon set on Metta World Peaces career as a professional basketball player. The former All-Star, formerly known as Ron Artest, spent the 2014-15 season out of the NBA before returning to the Los Angeles Lakers as a rarely used reserve.World Peace, 37, remains focused on helping the Lakers however he can, but he also plans to be ready for the future after retiring as an NBA player.Thats part of the reason World Peace was one of several NBA players who starred in The 5th Quarter, a mockumentary series about fictional sports stories available on the streaming video site go90.com. World Peace co-wrote the episode in which he starred, helping come up with a fictional story about a relationship with a vision-impaired boy that inspired his name change.World Peace discussed his interests in acting, coaching and more in a recent conversation with ESPN.com.Tell me about your experience filming The 5th Quarter and working with producer OBB Pictures.Metta World Peace: It was a great opportunity to get back into acting and pursue my career in acting and entertainment. The 5th Quarter was an opportunity because it was a huge platform with go90. I thought it was a really good opportunity just for me to be on the big screen and get closer to the thing Ive always been interested in doing, which is feature films and sitcoms and stuff.Did you enjoy doing comedy?MWP: Comedy, drama, the genre doesnt matter. For me, as long as Im having fun, thats what is important. Comedy is great. People get a chance to laugh, and I love when people laugh.You mentioned acting aspirations. Is this something you want to do full time when you finish up with basketball?MWP: Not full time, but I want to do a lot of it, though. If I need a month to shoot a movie, I can do that. Its all about the opportunities that are presented. I dont look at it as full time. I look at it as fun.What interests you about acting?MWP: Its an easy decision to want to be an actor. Any childs dream is to be on TV. Now that Im older, its something that still interests me. ... Ill do any role. It doesnt really matter. As long as the production is good and the writing is good, Im in.I understand youve also kind of dipped your toe in the coaching waters. Are you going to be the first coach/actor in the history of the NBA?MWP: Well, hmmm. I dont know, because I havent quit playing. Maybe there might be a coach out there right now who gets there before me, so Im not sure. But I definitely want to get into coaching one day.What makes you think coaching is a career path that would be a good fit for you?MWP: When you get a chance to be around something that youre going to watch on TV anyway, I mean, thats just a great opportunity. Im going to watch basketball regardless of whether I coach or watch it on TV. Same thing with boxing and same thing with football. When you get a chance to be up and close to it, when you get a chance to contribute, thats just whats really fun about it.Are you interested in coaching at the NBA leveel? Ive heard that you might actually want to coach high school ball.ddddddddddddMWP: I did high schools [in 2014-15]. I was the assistant coach at Palisades High School [outside of Los Angeles], boys and girls. We actually won a championship. It really dont matter what level, but I definitely want to get into it. Preferably the ultimate goal is to be a professional head coach one day.Do you feel as if youre making the transition into coaching right now with your role with the Lakers?MWP: Not really. I dont like to jump the gun too much. I like to stay in the moment. Im just making sure Im ready to play. Im not thinking about coaching right now. Im just thinking about staying ready.Whats it like to play for a head coach who is younger than you and who came into the league when you were already established? You had four seasons of experience when Luke Walton was drafted.MWP: Its good. Luke had a nice career, a long career, won two championships. With that being said, I think that he transitioned well. He was a coach as a player anyway, so it only made sense for him to coach.The Lakers are winning more than a lot of people anticipated they would this early in the rebuilding process. Why do you think Walton has been able to reach guys like DAngelo Russell and some other young guys on that roster?MWP: A lot of the guys who said the Lakers were not going to win, those guys have never been champions. They never played. Luke is a champion. If youve never been a champion, you dont know what it takes. Luke knows what it takes. Thats why a lot of the guys that are saying the Lakers wont do anything, they dont really understand. Luke knows what it takes to win.What makes him successful as a head coach?MWP: His will and his heart. A lot of people dont have that will to get him over the top. Luke is constantly teaching. Were always getting better every single day. I just want to learn more and more. Luke is teaching me a lot also. ... Im still learning about cutting, Im learning about timing. Its been great for me to learn from such a great coach like Luke. Hes definitely going to be in the Hall of Fame. I can see him in the Hall of Fame, absolutely, one day.You mentioned there might be a guy who beats you to the coach/actor category. Luke Walton seems like a pretty cool dude, and hes there in Hollywood. Do you think he has acting potential?MWP: Youd have to ask him. I dont even know if he wants to do Hollywood. I know hes really focused on coaching.What about Rick Carlisle? You played for him in Indiana. Could you see maybe Carlisle teaming up with Jim Carrey?MWP: I dont think Rick Carlisle is into acting. Hes into coaching. Rick Carlisle is an Xs and Os guy, but hes the type to tell jokes when nobody else wants to tell jokes. Or maybe everybody else wants to tell jokes, and hes not ready to tell jokes. But I definitely dont think hes into acting. ' ' '