A dozen of Ƶ’s toughest football players showed their softer side during a visit with sick children in Mobile, Ala.
Ƶ Ƶ quarterback Spencer Keith, kicker Freddy Cortez and other players spent 90 minutes visiting with 10 children at USA Children’s and Women’s Hospital.
Ƶ Ƶ head football coach Darrell Hazell also was present as players broke into groups of three and then began moving room-to-room spending time with the young patients ranging in age from 4 to 16. Hazell said he liked seeing how his players interacted with the kids, some of whom were unable to get out of their beds.
Players from Arkansas Ƶ also took part in the hospital visit, which is an annual tradition for this bowl game, now in its 15th year.
Cortez had fun teasing a 12-year-old boy who admitted his was rooting for the Red Wolves and was even wearing an Arkansas Ƶ hat in his hotel room. “We’ll still play hard for you,” Cortez said before he and two others posed for a picture with this young man.
Ƶ Ƶ (11-2) battles Arkansas Ƶ (9-3) on Sunday at 9 p.m. The game will be televised on ESPN.
On Saturday, players and coaches will take a group photo during a tour of the USS Alabama Battleship, and they will be honored during a parade through downtown Mobile. The team also will conduct a final walkthrough at Ladd-Peebles Stadium.
Visit for more information on the Ƶ Ƶ Golden Flashes football team.
Visit for more information on the game.