Utah Utes football notes: The 'Tide is taking the Utes seriously

NEW ORLEANS — For anyone thinking the Utes can catch Alabama overlooking them in Friday's Sugar Bowl, Tide center Antoine Caldwell has a message: Don't plan on it.

Practice, he said, has been "exactly the same as in the SEC."

He added that coach Nick Saban has his players do the same routine "whether it's Auburn or whoever. It hasn't changed a bit. We're doing the same things we did in Tuscaloosa."

Caldwell went on to note that the team isn't spending much time partying. "Fifteen or 20 years down the road, you're not going to remember what you did in New Orleans; you're going to remember if you won the game," he said.

Added All-SEC running back Glen Coffee, "We most definitely give Utah all the respect it deserves. It's not a situation where we're going to underestimate our opponent."

BIG MAN ON CAMPUS: It didn't take long for Alabama nose guard Terrence Cody, aka Mount Cody, to get noticed in Tuscaloosa.

The man is 6-foot-5, 365 pounds.

Asked Monday if Cody "blocks out the sun" when the team scrimmages, Crimson Tide center Antoine Caldwell replied, "He definitely does ... You definitely know. If I went up and closed my eyes, I would definitely know it was him in front of me."

Caldwell added that despite Cody's size, he's athletic.

"The first time I actually saw him was at the rec center. I saw him dunk a basketball.," said Caldwell. "I said, 'Oh, my goodness. It's gonna be a long training camp."'

GUILTY PLEASURES: The star at Monday's interview session was 'Bama offensive coordinator Jim McElwain.

A former assistant at Fresno State, Michigan State, Louisville and Montana State, he was also at Eastern Washington from 1985-94, where he coached alongside current Weber State athletic director Jerry Graybeal.

A Missoula, Mont., native, McElwain was asked "What's your guilty pleasure on the road recruiting?"

Said McElwain: "I'm afraid it's those 7-Eleven hot dogs that have been there all night. There's something about those that are really good."

In his first year at Alabama, McElwain was asked what he knows about Saban that he didn't know previously.

"How much he enjoys music, especially the Eagles," he said.