Ricky could stay awhile you never know.
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/sports/football/12209788.htm
So the question for Saban, who has had to debate the value of signing such players for months, is simple yet loaded.
How are you going to handle these guys?
From the ethereal Williams to the typical anger issues of so many players, Saban seems to understand how to handle that.
''I'm going to tell you this, Saban has a plan on how he's going to deal with Ricky,'' said agent Leigh Steinberg, who represents Williams. ``This is not what the Dolphins had before [under Dave Wannstedt]. There wasn't a plan then. This is more like what Ricky had with Mack Brown at Texas. Mack had a great sense of what he wanted Ricky doing all the time, and you saw how successful that was.''
The first point is that Saban has wanted Williams to stay out of sight, for the most part. Aside from a few glib messages with reporters, Williams has had no detailed conversations about his life. In one recent message, Williams went so far as to say he would have no discussions at all about his life, preferring to talk only about football strategy.
This is the same Williams who used to complain about how boring he thought it was to talk strictly about football.
A DETAILED PLAN
Saban's plan will obviously have to be very detailed with Williams, who figures to be the center of the football universe for at least the first few days of the Dolphins training camp. A large contingent of national media is expected to be at the Dolphins first practice Monday to chronicle Williams' return.
Saban has already consulted with Dr. Lon Rosen, a long-time friend from Michigan State who is a professor of psychology. The two have discussed how best to encourage and monitor Williams.
But Saban has shown talent for controlling the behavior players in the past during his stops at LSU and Michigan State.
''Coach just has a way of getting to the level of the players and making them understand what's at stake,'' said Dolphins cornerback Travis Daniels, who played for Saban at LSU. ``He makes you understand what's going to happen.''
Daniels marveled at what Saban did with one of his teammates at LSU. The players had been skipping class and violating a series of team rules. Talks from assistant coaches and even a meeting before the team's Leadership Council (a group of fellow players who dole out lesser discipline) produced no results.
After the player met with Saban, ''he totally changed,'' Daniels said.
