Smooth ride

This Cadillac keeps Auburn's offense moving

Is there any question who gets Auburn's motor running? With his game-winning touchdown in the Tigers' overtime win over Syracuse on Saturday, Carnell "Cadillac" Williams became the first Auburn player to score two TDs in four straight games. Named Alabama's Mr. Football as a senior at Etowah High, Williams passed up an opportunity to suit up for the Crimson Tide, his favorite team growing up, because of the promise for greater playing time at Auburn. Although he was hampered his freshman year by a sprained ankle (sustained in last season's opener) and a broken collarbone (suffered in the 2001 Alabama game), Williams still managed a team-high 614 rushing yards. Now averaging an SEC-best 127.8 yards and 23 carries for 4-1 Auburn, the sophomore is getting as much opportunity as he'd hoped for -- and then some.

Kelley King: Does your mom call you Cadillac?

Carnell Williams: No, no one in my family does. I have four brothers and four sisters, and they call me Carnell. But everyone around here calls me Cadillac, except for my teammates, who've decided it's too long. From them I get 'Lac or Caddy.

King: It would be cool if you actually drove a Caddy.

Williams: I do! It's a '93 DeVille, white. My dad got it for me last February. I used to drive a Camaro, but when I needed a new car, a Cadillac made sense.

King: Headline writers have a field day with your nickname. What are some of the worst lines you've heard?

Williams: I hear everything, but the worst stuff came out around the time I got hurt in the Alabama game. First it was, "We're going to flatten his tires," then, "We put Cadillac in the shop." The fact that I had been on a roll, then got injured, just made it worse. My mom would call me and read all this stuff from the Birmingham papers. She was not happy.

King: A broken left clavicle is not something you can just slap a cast on.

Williams: No, and there was no surgery, either. They put me in a sling for a week, and then I had to let my arm just hang there, real sore, while it got better. I wanted to rehab as soon as I could, because my plan was to play in the Peach Bowl. So when the sling came off, I started doing a little running. But I could only get going with one arm, which looked pretty funny, I imagine.

King: Now that you're back to full speed, what's the slickest running play in your repertoire?

Williams: I like Outside Zone. It's based on the idea that I'm going to take it outside, but it's really my decision what to do when I get the ball. I can cut it up or go outside, whatever the defense is giving me. That 65-yard touchdown in the Vanderbilt game was an Outside Zone run.

King: What's it like to play for a coach, Tommy Tuberville, who has earned the nickname "Riverboat Gambler" for his risky play calling?

Williams: It's great, because teams never know what Coach Tub might do. Auburn will have a fourth-and-1, and maybe we'll run a fake or maybe we'll just go for it. We can do that, this year especially, because our defense is so good.

King: If Coach Tuberville were a car, what would he be?

Williams: He's the one who's keeping this program rolling, so it would have to be something big, something that takes over the whole road. I'm thinking an Escalade.

Sports Illustrated writer-reporter Kelley King covers college football for the magazine and is a regular contributor to CNNSI.com. She will chat with a different player each Tuesday during the season.

 

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