When the LSU football team takes the field Saturday at Bryant-Denny Stadium to face the Alabama Crimson Tide, lining up opposite the LSU defense at running back will be sophomore Mark Ingram.The Flint, Mich., native flirted with Michigan State and Iowa before eventually committing to Alabama.”I wish he would have stayed in the Midwest,” LSU coach Les Miles joked. “He’s certainly a great player for them.”Ingram rushed for 12 touchdowns as a true freshman and is having a Heisman-trophy caliber season as a sophomore. He has been mentioned as a Heisman candidate by several media outlets including ESPN.com.Ingram, much like the way he runs, is aggressively focused when trying to help his team to victory.Ingram’s teammates describe his running as “determined.””He’s the type of guy you don’t want to play against,” said Alabama senior defensive back Javier Arenas. “That’s what his mindset is — make the other guy quit and not want to play against him anymore.”LSU senior defensive tackle Charles Alexander said Ingram is a “hell of a runner.””The more I see him run, he reminds me of a player that once played here — Alley Broussard,” Alexander said.Ingram said one of his personal goals was to rush for 1,000 yards this season. He’s already accomplished that goal even with four games left on the schedule.”All you can do is try to make improvements,” Ingram said. “You can never be satisfied — you’ve got to try and get better.”Alabama junior linebacker Rolando McClain said facing Ingram in practice is not too bad but not because Ingram does not give his best effort.”We have somewhat of an agreement — I won’t try to kill him every time I hit him, and he won’t try to run me over,” McClain joked.Ingram has rushed for 1,004 yards, including a game where he tallied 246 yards on the ground with just 24 carries against South Carolina. He was also the Tide’s leading receiver in the 20-6 victory Oct. 17 with two catches for 23 yards.Ingram has tallied the second-most rushing yards in the Southeastern Conference, and his eight touchdowns are good enough for second in the league. Ingram also averages 6.6 yards per carry.Alabama senior offensive lineman Mike Johnson said he believes Ingram’s ability to break tackles is why he has been able to gain so many yards on every carry.”It’s really a treat to block for guys like that,” Johnson said. “We’re not going to be able to block everybody. The running backs have got to be responsible for one or two guys down the field.”Alexander said the Tigers are focusing on Ingram’s ability to break tackles.”We’ve just got to go out there, wrap him up, tackle him and bring him down,” Alexander said. “You can’t go out there and arm-tackle Mark Ingram. He’ll run straight through you.”Ingram’s play has Alabama tied for the conference lead with 17 rushing touchdowns. Though he’s had his name mentioned in Heisman talks, Johnson said the running back has stayed grounded.”He’s getting a lot of attention this year, and the attention is warranted,” Johnson said. “He’s a great player, and he’s just been a pleasure to block for. Nothing has gone to his head.”Ingram said he would vote for McClain for the Heisman. McClain said he’d vote give his Heisman vote to Ingram or Florida senior quarterback Tim Tebow.- – – -Contact Amos Morale at [email protected]