Kicking for Auburn in a die-hard Alabama family

— -- TRUSSVILLE, Ala. -- Deacon Jones doesn't do orange.

Jones might be the grandfather of Auburn kicker Daniel Carlson, but his allegiance has always been to the University of Alabama. He played baseball there before a rotator cuff injury cut his career short. His wife, Juanita Jones, was a cheerleader at Alabama. All three of their children graduated from there, and two of the three went on to marry "Alabama people."

"That's as red and white as you can get," Deacon said.

It's no different when you walk in Deacon's office at his home just outside Birmingham. The walls are covered with framed pictures and sports memorabilia. There's the picture he took with Nick Saban. There's another one of the pitching staff Deacon was a member of while at Alabama. There's also a picture of his daughter, Jodie Carlson, posing with Bear Bryant. Jodie, Daniel's mother, worked in the Alabama recruiting department when Bryant was the football coach.

But the item Deacon is most proud of and the one you see when you first walk in the room -- partly because it sticks out like a sore thumb -- is an Auburn No. 38 jersey hanging on the wall.

"Things work out, I really think, like they're supposed to," Deacon said. "I accept things as they happen. I've seen some things happen that I didn't understand at the time, but I look back later on and said, 'That was the best thing that happened.'"

His grandson going to Auburn is one of those instances.

As the son of a man who played tennis for Alabama and a woman who worked for Bear Bryant, Daniel Carlson had no choice growing up. He was going to bleed crimson. His dog was even named Bama.

Though the family lived in Colorado, they still cheered for Alabama every Saturday and would typically make the trip to Tuscaloosa for a game every year. It was an opportunity for Daniel's parents to show him around the campus and take him by the tennis complex or the sorority where his mother used to live.

"I just remember how big the stadium was," Daniel said. "I was a little kid and we rarely got to go, so it was always impressive."