BamaOnLine.com - Biscuit talks Bama

June 24, 2009

Brent Beaird
Special to BamaOnLine.com

Former Tide All-American linebacker Cornelius Bennett was the special guest of the Jacksonville, Florida, chapter of the University of Alabama National Alumni Association Thursday night. Bennett, who played for Alabama from 1983-86, won the Lombardi Award and was seventh in balloting for the Heisman Trophy award his senior year. During his NFL career, Bennett played in five Super Bowls. Rivals.com/BOL writer Brent Beaird spent time with Bennett before the event.

BOL: What are you doing now?

Bennett: "I'm a father of three. We live in Miami, actually in Hollywood, Fla. I travel the country doing appearances and am trying to become a business man. I want to get government certification so that I can do some minority contracting. Other than that, I'm just enjoying life and playing some golf. Some people say I'm playing too much golf."

BOL: Are you involved in any charities?

Bennett: "I used to have a golf tournament that I ran out of Mobile. We primarily helped the Ronald McDonald House. That's something that has always been unique in my eyes the way they provide help for families of basically terminally ill kids or kids that need long term care at hospitals. They put the families up for no matter how long for no charge. That's something that people should support because they are totally depending on donations from the public. ... I'm also involved in the American Cancer Society and the Diabetes Association because my father had colon cancer at one point before he passed away. Diabetes is very present on my mother's side of the family and she is a diabetic. It forced her to have a kidney transplant a few years back. ... I'm an organ donor. It saved my mother's life. I've been an organ donor since I've had my driver's license and I think more people, especially African Americans, should consider donating their organs after they pass away."

BOL: How close are you to the Alabama program?

Bennett: "Not as close as I would like by being in Miami, but I've had the chance over the past four or five years to attend about four games a season. When I retired from professional football, I didn't want anything to do with football at all, so for about four years I just enjoyed my family. My kids were very young. I just enjoyed being home with them.

"I guess in 2005 on the heels of going into the College Football Hall of Fame I found a little love again for football, especially Alabama football. Over the years I've had a chance to go to several games. I came up here a few years ago when we played Florida State and had a great time. Got a chance to see old teammates and coaches, it was a great experience."

BOL: What impressed you about Alabama's team in 2008?

Bennett: "Just the growth of the young men. For the guys who had been around for the tough times and stayed in Tuscaloosa when they had a chance to leave. You start to see that sense of Alabama pride again in those young guys. ... I just left Tuscaloosa flying here (Jacksonville). I had a chance to watch a group of kids run and had a chance to speak to them. I was very impressed. Big (Terrance) Cody, I am highly impressed with him with the way he is conditioning himself and preparing for the season. I see him as a true leader, whether or not he wants to be or not, I don't really know him, but I saw some leadership qualities in him that I truly like. I pulled him aside after I spoke the group and had another five minute conversation with him to explain how it was when I was at the University and the role that I played with my teammates. In order for the team to succeed, each individual has to take it upon themselves to succeed. What he is doing right now is going to pay huge dividends for him not only in college football, but at the next level if he continues to work the way he's been working."

BOL: Being a former linebacker, what did you see in the Tide linebackers?

Bennett: "I'm impressed with them. Looking at the size of these kids I walked up on and I can't think of the kid's name, one of the defensive backs, and I thought he was one of the linebackers. It's the middle of June and these guys are in mid-season shape. The bodies on these kids are unbelievable, so I am very impressed. Last year, watching (Rolando) McClain and those young guys performing at the linebacker spot, these kids are going to be a force to be reckoned with."

BOL: How did you go from being a running back in high school to a linebacker at Alabama?

Bennett: "I was forced to play running back in high school because I was the biggest, strongest, oand fastest guy on the team. I played a lot of different positions. I played some linebacker also. (Former Tide Coach) Ray Perkins was my coach at the University and had just come from the Giants who drafted Lawrence Taylor. He saw some of the same qualities-the size, strength, quickness, the ability to get to the football, and the extras a good linebacker should have. He decided to try me at linebacker before we tried anything else and unbeknownst to me I turned out to be a pretty good linebacker. I wasn't even thinking about it."

BOL: Which teams were involved in your recruitment?

Bennett: "(Former Auburn coach) Pat Dye almost tricked me because I liked him so much and for me not to have played for coach Dye, I have a lot of respect for him. I guess it has to do with him coaching under Coach (Bear) Bryant. I think he is a great human being. He almost tricked me very briefly into going to Auburn, but in my heart of hearts, it was always Alabama. Growing up in Birmingham, Reginald King, who played basketball at the University of Alabama, was a close neighbor and a fellow church member of mine. I wanted to follow in his footsteps. There was no doubt (I was going to Alabama) except for that brief moment."

BOL: What do you remember about "the sack" of Notre Dame quarterback Steve Beuerlein in 1986?

Bennett: "Fans and teammates remember more about it than I do. To me, it was just another play of the football game. It was something that I was supposed to do. I executed the call (41 open dog) that was called by (defensive coordinator) Joe Kines and I executed it and good things happened after that."

BOL: How special was being elected to the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame in 2004?

Bennett: "The only time that I had been there was as a visitor a few years back. (NBA basketball great) Dr. J (Julius Erving) was in town speaking at a banquet and I had a chance for the first time to walk through the hall of fame and saw all the greats who had been in there. The thought I would have a chance to be elected to the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame was unbelievable. After it happened, it was truly unbelievable that a little kid from Ensley, Alabama who just loved football and didn't think about accolades came to fruition and here we are talking about it."

BOL: Did you get a chance to meet Coach Bryant before he died?

Bennett: "Yes, I did. I was probably the last kid that he visited in-home because at the particular time that he was going to resign that was the time that I had briefly told Pat Dye, I didn't publicly announce, that I thought about Auburn, but it got back to Coach Bryant and the recruiting process got pretty hairy between Coach Bryant and Ken Donahue. ... Coach Bryant finally resigned and Coach Perkins came in and I was the No. 1 target. I had a chance to meet with him (Bryant) four or five different times mostly on campus and one in-home visit. My memories of Coach Bryant are just like any other guy. Intimidating, didn't say much, but when he spoke he spoke volumes. The couch theory that everyone talked about is no matter how big and tall you were when you sat on that couch your eyes met his eyes. It was an amazing feat for me. It was supposed to be a private visit at the house, but somehow it got out and my whole neighborhood was in my mom and dad's front yard wanting to take pictures of Coach Bryant. It's something I will cherish the rest of my life."

BOL Extra: In the alumni meeting, Bennett told the crowd that his son was participating in the Nick Saban football camp and his daughter in the Sarah Patterson gymnastics camp. He added that there was 100% team participation in the summer workouts. Bennett broke up the crowd when he joked that Cody had a "body that only a mother could love." He said his nickname "Biscuit" originated in the fourth grade when some of his classmates would call him "biscuit head". Bennett contends even today that the sack of Beuerlein should have been ruled a fumble. He was extremely excited about what Saban has done to resurrect Alabama football and is very grateful that the Tide head man has opened the doors to former players.

Brent Beaird is a sports writer for Rivals.com, Gator Bait magazine and Samsportsline.com. He can be heard on 1010XL sports radio in Jacksonville, Florida. Brent can be contacted at brentbeaird@comcast.net

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