Ingram eager to get NFL season started

Keyanthony Archibald, 9, practices with New Orleans Saints and former University of Alabama running back Mark Ingram during the annual Mark Ingram Football ProCamp hosted at Tuscaloosa County High School on Saturday.

Michelle Lepianka Carter

Published: Sunday, July 14, 2013 at 3:30 a.m.

Last Modified: Saturday, July 13, 2013 at 10:41 p.m.

NORTHPORT | Feeling fully healthy and excited about the return of his head coach, New Orleans Saints running back Mark Ingram is eager for the upcoming National Football League season to begin.

Ingram returned to West Alabama on Saturday for his youth camp at Tuscaloosa County High School.

Nagging injuries set him back in his rookie season in 2011, but last year he showed flashes of the talents that won him the University of Alabama's first Heisman Trophy in 2009.

?I'm feeling good. I'm feeling healthy. I've been training hard this offseason,? Ingram said. ?I'm looking forward to having a big year this year. I've been getting better every year. I battled some injuries my first year. I was healthy all of last year. My goal is to continue to improve every single year.

?We've got our guy back (Sean Payton). The commander in chief, we've got him back, so everybody's excited about that. We should benefit a lot from him being back. We missed him. It was difficult (last season), but there are no excuses. We felt that we had opportunities to go out and have success. We felt that every Sunday we stepped on the field that we had a good opportunity to win. But there are no excuses. We didn't play up to the ability that we are capable of playing. But that's behind us. We're looking forward to a big year this year.?

The Saints went 13-3 in Ingram's first season. He played in 10 games and rushed for 474 yards and five touchdowns on 122 carries. With Payton suspended by the league in 2012 for his role in the Saints' bounty scandal, New Orleans struggled to a 7-9 finish, missing the playoffs. Ingram ran for 602 yards and five touchdowns on 156 carries, playing in all 16 games.

More than 280 kids participated at the camp that featured Ingram and 32 coaches, including area high school coaches.

Camp participant D.J. Harris from Tuscaloosa said he had a good time.

?I learned how to tackle, shuffle and backpedal,? Harris said. ?I'm looking forward to meeting Mark Ingram.?

Ingram said it was a chance to give back to the area that supported him during his three seasons with the Crimson Tide.

?It's always good to come back to Tuscaloosa and just to be able to have a camp for the kids and give back to the community, a place that was so good to me and so supportive to me during my time in school. To be able to come back and give this opportunity back to the children, and for their parents to come watch them means a lot to me,? Ingram said.

?My message to the kids is to never give up. Never stop working. If you ever have any goals or aspirations that you want to accomplish, set your goals high and work towards them. Don't let anybody hold you back or tell you you can't do it. If you put your mind to it you can. That's what I did. I always had people tell me, ?What do you want to do when you grow up?' and I always said I wanted to be a professional athlete. They'd tell me I had to pick a different profession because that's not realistic. I would tell the kids not to let anyone tell them what's not realistic. Keep your head up high and work hard. You can accomplish whatever you want.?

He also said he doesn't see the Crimson Tide's talent at running back drying up any time soon.

?They're just going to keep it up,? Ingram said. ?T.J. (Yeldon) is a phenomenal back. Jalston (Fowler) is a phenomenal back. Kenyan (Drake) is a phenomenal back. We have some young guys that came in, they're good too. They're just keeping it up with another great stable of backs here. It's never going to die down.?

Reach Aaron Suttles at aaron@tidesports.com or at 205-722-0229.

Source: http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/article/20130714/news/130719882

yom hashoah yolo liquidmetal gsa scandal kelis dick clark dies ibogaine