Five-star Auburn recruit: Nick Saban has 'little man syndrome'MAY 26, 2014 Tre Williams will be playing football at Auburn this fall, which means his most important offseason duty is learning how to flame the Iron Bowl rivalry.Young Williams is proving to be quite gifted at that so far.Last week, Williams told AL.com "Auburn owns Mobile," a fertile piece of in-state real estate that Auburn and Alabama battle over every year.Now comes an even better barb.Williams recently joined WNSP radio and was asked to play a word association game. So what comes to mind when "Nick Saban" is the subject?Williams: "Little man syndrome."Yes, that quote is accurate. No, Gus Malzahn probably isn't that fired up about it. In fairness to Williams, a five-star linebacker from Mobile, he has a clear respect for Alabama and Saban, as the Crimson Tide made his final two choices before he chose Auburn."Alabama recruited me so hard," Williams told AL.com. "I visited there a lot. It was hard. Alabama was always so dominant. I was raised to like Alabama, and to try to separate yourself from your childhood is hard, but it's something I had to do."The most important thing for Auburn: Williams can actually play ball. Here are some high school highlights.
Auburn's Tre Williams owes Nick Saban an apologyBy Kevin Scarbinsky | kscarbinsky@al.com on May 27, 2014 at 10:30 AMDESTIN, Florida - Let me see if I have this straight: An incoming freshman at a school that sometimes exhibits symptoms of little brother syndrome said on the radio that the head coach of that school's rival may be afflicted with little man syndrome.In other words, a young man who has yet to take a college snap insulted a head coach who's won four national championships.Just goes to show, no matter how much of a man you may be as a football player, you can have a lot of growing up to do.Auburn freshman linebacker Tre Williams may have meant no offense when he did what's become an infamous interview with WNSP in his home town of Mobile, but he shouldn't have said what he said when he played a word association game on the air.The words: Nick Saban. Williams' response: "Little man syndrome."Somewhere in Paris, Napoleon turned over in his grave and muttered, "Sacre bleu."This is what happens when you get caught up in the Iron Bowl rivalry even before you play in it. At least Williams is expected to suit up. Plenty of adults say things they shouldn't say as a symptom of Iron Bowl madness, and the only time they've touched the field in Auburn or Tuscaloosa is after a big victory or on Fan Day.Williams is not the first person to take a shot at Saban's height. As insults go, it's unoriginal and juvenile, and being a teenager is really no excuse. Besides, Saban has proven that you don't have to be NBA-center tall to tower over college football.Williams isn't even the first Auburn recruit to take a jab at the Alabama coach. Lache Seastrunk, as a highly regarded high school running back out of Texas, got so excited during his visit to Auburn's inaugural Big Cat Weekend in 2009 that he fired not one but two shots across Saban's bow.Seastrunk never participated in the Iron Bowl, signing with Oregon, then transferring to Baylor. He just finished a newsworthy college career on and off the field by getting drafted in the sixth round by the Washington Redskins.When Seastrunk's verbal potshots went viral, he quickly realized the foolishness of his ways and called Saban to apologize. It was a very grown-up thing to do.Williams should do the same. In a much more thoughtful interview with AL.com, he sounded like a bright young man as he discussed being at the center of a recruiting battle between Auburn and Alabama. He also flashed the ability to make bold statements when he said of Auburn's recruiting in his home town: "We own Mobile."Funny. I thought the idea in the Iron Bowl rivalry was to own Auburn and Tuscaloosa on game day.The bright and right thing for Williams to do here would be to apologize to the Alabama coach. A college football player should respect his elders and his rivals, and besides, if you want to take the measure of Saban, you don't do it on the radio. You do it on the field.
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