NASHVILLE, Tenn. – When Saints running back Mark Ingram looks at the Titans roster, he has plenty of reasons to smile.
He sees a lot of familiar faces. And, he thinks of a six pack (more on this later).
Ingram was teammates with guard Chance Warmack and fullback Jalston Fowler at the University of Alabama. Titans rookie running back Derrick Henry and veteran safety Rashad Johnson starred at the school as well, and Titans secondary coach Deshea Townsend also played for the Crimson Tide and has his hand and foot prints on campus.
"There's a lot of guys on the team I have high thoughts, and high regards for,'' Ingram said. "I admire those guys, and some of them are good friends of mine."
Ingram and four other Heisman Trophy winners were in town earlier this offseason for a football clinic for youth at Nissan Stadium in conjunction with the Heisman Trophy Trust and Boys & Girls Clubs of Middle Tennessee.
Five Heisman Trophy winners join for youth football clinic at Nissan Stadium. (Photos: Lynne McCracken)
Ingram, who won the Heisman Trophy in 2009, played on a national championship team with Warmack. The two were teammates for two seasons, including the '09 season when Ingram ran for 1,658 yards and 19 touchdowns.
"Chance Warmack is my guy,'' Ingram said. "He is a beast, a guy that you love to run behind. You know if you are running to his side, there is going to be movement going the right way. I have always admired Chance and his game. He is the only big boy I know with a six pack. He has a belly and when he flexes, it turns into a six pack."
OK, a little more about that six-pack.
Warmack, who's headed into his fourth NFL season, is listed at 323 pounds with the Titans. Back in college, he made "Warmacking" famous by pulling up his jersey and playing with an exposed belly. Warmack reportedly weighed as much as 345 pounds back then.
But Ingram promises he's seen Warmack's abs.
"You can't tell he has the six pack because the belly is there, you know what I mean?,'' Ingram said. "But if you ask him to flex the belly, it turns into a six pack. I'm not kidding.
"At least I know that's how it was when he was in college."
