TAMPA - More than 40 years after leaving the University of Alabama, Wally Burnham is coming back.
The South Florida linebackers coach played for 'Bama legend Bear Bryant in 1960 and '61. Saturday, Burnham returns on the opposite sideline for the first time.
"It's very exciting," Burnham said. "I've got a lot of friends and family in that state and spent a lot of years there, growing up, playing football and coaching. That's where I got my jump-start.
"I grew up an Alabama fan and had the good fortune to go to school there, so it's exciting. It's going to be special."
Burnham, 61, a native of Pell City, Ala., has a gold-plated resume. After transferring from Alabama to Samford (in Birmingham) and becoming a Little All-American under coach Bobby Bowden, Burnham worked his way up the coaching ranks before Bowden hired him to coach linebackers at Florida State.
Burnham had two Butkus Award winners, Paul McGowan and Marvin Jones, from 1985 to '93. He was defensive coordinator at South Carolina from 1994 to '98 before joining the Bulls in 2000.
With a past that includes playing for Bryant and Bowden - Burnham said he knows of no one else who played for both - and coaching stars like Jones and Derrick Brooks, Burnham commands respect.
"It's a blessing to be a student of his. He knows a lot," senior outside linebacker Courtney Davenport said. "More than any coach I've ever known."
"Coach Burnham is a humble guy and a great teacher," senior middle linebacker Maurice Jones said. "He teaches technique and the right way to do things, how to do everything.
"You look at his background, with Derrick Brooks and Marvin Jones. What linebacker wouldn't want to play for him?"
Davenport said Burnham keeps things light.
"He's hilarious," Davenport said. "He says funny things and he does funny things. He tries to keep it loose, to help you be able to play your game. He's an all-around good guy, a good southern dude."
"You want to have an impact in other ways besides on that football field," Burnham said. "My philosophy's always been, you coach 'em hard, but at some point you've got to be a human being to these kids, a person they can relate to."
RELOCATED: Former USF forward Kelvin Brown is at Murray State. Recently dismissed players Sheldon Franklin and Yusuf Baker are in junior college at Southern Idaho.
IMPROVING: Conference USA rival Memphis absorbed a public relations blow in 2001 when Sports Illustrated gave the basketball program an F grade for off-court conduct, citing a 0 percent graduation rate. Coach John Calipari vowed to improve things drastically, and there has been progress. Two of last season's seniors graduated, Earl Barron and Nathaniel Root. Only Barron will count toward NCAA figures since Root was a walk-on though he earned a scholarship. Another senior last season, John Grice, is one class shy of graduating.
SNUB?: Athletic director Lee Roy Selmon has made it clear USF would be interested in joining the Big East or any conference in the BCS. The Big East might have other plans. East Carolina president William Muse told the Greenville (N.C.) Daily Reflector the Big East has asked C-USA for information about four schools: Louisville, Cincinnati, Marquette and DePaul.
- Pete Young covers USF for the Times. He can be contacted at 813 226-3346 or via e-mail at young@sptimes.com
