The fathers of Paris Hodges and Brian Johnson stood under a small tent Wednesday afternoon at the Charles McClendon LSU Football Practice Facility and talked about their sons, both LSU freshmen.
The proud parents have a lot in common, as it turns out.
Russell Hodges and his wife and daughter drove 2,294 miles from Vacaville, Calif., to Baton Rouge to deliver Paris -- a 6-foot-6, 340-pound offensive lineman -- to the Tigers for the start of fall camp.
Gary Johnson and his wife and daughter drove an estimated 420 miles from Tallahassee, Fla., to see Brian -- a 6-foot-4, 300-pound offensive lineman -- at practice.
The dads, West Coast and East Coast, talked about their sons, the costs of feeding two big linemen and a host of other topics during LSU's first freshman practice of the 2002 preseason.
The Hodges family plans to stay through Sunday so they can attend LSU Fan Day in Tiger Stadium.
"We want to stay for that to have some of the LSU experience," the elder Hodges said.
Johnson's father said Brian was here for summer school, so there was no reason to come to help him move in. The family just wanted to be here for the start of practice.
"I'm on vacation," Gary Johnson said. "We wanted to give him some family support. We'll spend a little time here, maybe leave Thursday or Friday."
The two fathers compared notes about the rigors of recruiting. One of the worst parts, they said, was the barrage of phone calls -- not just from coaches, but from many "recruiting experts" who seemed to want an almost daily update on how the players felt about schools on their list of choices.
The calls were so frequent, they said, the players' girlfriends just stopped calling them.
"They couldn't get through," the football dads said.
THE GRIND: LSU's freshmen are scheduled to practice again at 12:20 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. today and take Friday off for academic and other orientation. The varsity will report Friday.
The first full-squad practice is scheduled for Monday.
At the first of two practices Wednesday, the 31 freshmen and one junior transfer had to adjust to a high-tempo type of practice. The two-hour workout included team and individual drills.
Saban and his coaches put their emphasis on proper technique.
"The kids really tried to focus, but when you have that many guys and throw that many new things at them, anxiety takes over," Saban said. "I think you'll see as these guys become more comfortable, they will be able to play faster and show some of their ability."
Although the afternoon wasn't as oppressive from a heat/humidity standpoint as many of the Tigers' practices last August, Saban said he saw signs of fatigue around the end of the two-hour practice.
"I didn't think it was Louisiana hot out there today," Saban said. "I know the kids struggled with it -- the first day of practice, a lot of anxiety. All of those things really contribute to heat problems and that type of thing.
"I think these kids need to just relax a little bit, and I think once they feel more comfortable about what they're doing, they'll be able to do that and just let it flow."
QUICK NICK: Saban, who is in great shape for a 50-year-old, had to show the freshmen some of the moves they would normally learn from veteran players at practice. A member of the media paid him a compliment on his agility.
"I've got the quicks," Saban said, "but, man, I tell you what, the long speed is gone. I play in short areas. You guys didn't see me stretch it out any, did you?"
