July 22, 2010
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There was a gauntlet of people to navigate for Vanderbilt’s Warren Norman on Thursday.
They weren’t opposing defenders during a kick return though; they were an avalanche of beat reporters, radio hosts and television anchors at SEC Media Days in Hoover, Ala. But for the modest sophomore from Stone Mountain, Ga., he made it look as effortless as when he set the SEC freshman record for all-purpose yards with 1,941 last season.
It seemed that the only thing more numerous than the questions he and teammates Chris Marve and John Stokes were asked about the surprise of Bobby Johnson’s retirement were the number of Alabama fans trailing Nick Saban and his players the day before.
“Coming in, I expected them to ask a billion questions anyway, so it was exactly what I expected,” Norman said. “I enjoyed the experience, and it was fun.”
Norman was the SEC Freshman of the Year last season, only the second player in Vanderbilt history to receive the honor, after a record-breaking campaign, which included three kickoff return touchdowns. As a sophomore, Norman was one of the youngest players to ever attend the annual event, which has gathered increased exposure and attendance over the past few years, given that SEC teams have claimed the past four BCS national titles.
“Initially it was no big deal, but I had a couple of people talk to me about it and talk about how big an honor it is,” Norman said. “It’s kind of humbling, and I’m glad to be here and I’m blessed and appreciative for the opportunity.”
Also appreciative of the opportunity was new head coach Robbie Caldwell, who embraced his new time in the spotlight. While at the main podium in front of reporters, he brought down the house with his folksy personality and self-deprecating humor, which included an anecdote about his first hourly paying job working with turkey inseminators. Caldwell was the talk of the entire event on Thursday, with television cameras trailing the coach who was an assistant just 10 days earlier.
Again, Norman wasn’t surprised to hear the news that Caldwell was making up for lost time with a media contingent who didn’t recognize him 24 hours earlier.
“Definitely the most humorous coach on the entire staff,” Norman said. “I kind of expected him to have everybody cracking up here today. Nothing out of the ordinary with him.”
After a day of answering questions covering just about everything in Vanderbilt football, Norman was more than ready to get back to playing the sport rather than discussing it. He and his teammates were back in Nashville Thursday night and ready to get back to work on Friday.
“We’ve got camp to look forward to, and that’s going to be long and tiring,” Norman said. “After that, we’ve got the season coming up. It’ll be here before I know it and I’m looking forward to it.”
That definitely wasn’t surprising to hear.
