NEW ORLEANS — It was a different kind of football season for Picayune’s Malcom Faciane. Just like it was for the team he plays for, the University of Alabama.

The Crimson Tide was coming off back-to-back BCS National titles, and expected to play for a third. But then, a last second field goal attempt went awry in the final seconds against arch-rival Auburn, and the Tigers ended up playing for the national championship instead of Alabama.

The 6-foot-6, 285-pound tight end has played sparingly since he arrived at the Capstone, on the campus in Tuscaloosa. In fact, he has just two catches in three seasons and both of them came against Georgia State in a blow out win earlier this season.

In the long and storied history of the football program at Picayune High, Faciane is still, arguably, the most publicized player ever for the Maroon Tide.

He is the only player ever to be selected as a Dandy Dozen pick from Picayune High, and is one of the only prep players in the history of the state of Mississippi to go on and win two national championship rings on the collegiate level. And he still has two seasons left to play.

Alabama lost here to Oklahoma two weeks ago in the Sugar Bowl, but the news for Faciane didn’t stop there.

Just this past week, Lane Kiffin was named as Alabama’s new offensive coordinator, replacing Doug Nussmeier who left for another job.

Kiffin is the former head coach at the University of Southern California and Tennessee, as well as the Oakland Raiders.

Because of his actions, both on and off the field, he has been one of the more criticized coaches in the nation over the past few years.

It will be interesting to see how Faciane fits into Kiffin’s plans. Faciane was injured during his senior season at Picayune, but Alabama head coach Nick Saban still honored his scholarship offer to him and Faciane signed with the Crimson Tide.

Before this past season started, Saban suspended Faciane for a couple of weeks for undisclosed reasons. But Faciane worked his way back into the good graces of his head coach and returned to the field. Faciane was in uniform for the Crimson Tide when his team took the field of the Louisiana Superdome when they faced the Sooners. And he has two more seasons to play under his new offensive coordinator in Kiffin.

It will be interesting to see if a guy from Picayune that has already garned big headlines will be able to grab at least one more ring on the collegiate level.

With Kiffin on board and Saban still calling the shots, it will be a situation that certainly will be worth paying attention to.