TUSCALOOSA -- "Swagga" derived from the dust coming off cleats as

Dre Kirkpatrick

rounded the bags on Gadsden's youth baseball fields. There was something about his swing, his stride, his fielding.

"Swagga" is a nickname that has defined Kirkpatrick and his career at Alabama. His style of play, his confidence and his reputation all have an edge that suggest he cannot be rattled.

Kirkpatrick, who has worked hard to become an intimidating presence on the field, also has the swagger of

Deion Sanders

, his role model.

"He didn't back down from nobody," Kirkpatrick said of the NFL Hall of Famer. "He always was up for a challenge at any part of the day, anytime, anywhere. That's just how I try to base my mindset."

The ink in Kirkpatrick's tattoos root deep beneath his skin. Each design is a symbolic key into his world.

A dove and teardrops are in honor of a dead cousin. There are tattoos for his mother and his father. Five stars and the number 13 remind him of his All-American high school days. And there's this quote that begins on his right arm and ends on his left: "To the world you may be somebody, but to somebody you may be the world."

"I don't put stuff on my body that really doesn't mean anything ... I would be ashamed of letting people see," Kirkpatrick said.

The metamorphosis from Swagga to NFL prospect can be traced to one word: potential.

"He's a much more consistent guy right now as a football player," Alabama coach

Nick Saban

said. "It's largely due to his maturity and his personality. He is much more goal-oriented now. He realizes from the experience he gained last year playing that paying attention to detail, doing the little things right, can serve him well as a player. He's more sort of into it in every way. Off the field as well as on the field."

Kirkpatrick's unable-to-forecast persona was one reason he rarely spoke with reporters in the past.

Kirkpatrick said Saban was tough on him behind the scenes. It was something Kirkpatrick said he needed.

"Right now he has me mentally ready for every challenge of every game," Kirkpatrick said. "...I just got mentally stronger, more positive with my attitude being able to be coached. Just going out to practice giving everything I've got even when I'm not feeling good, even when I have a nick or a bruise. Just going out there and giving everything I've got."

The change is something teammates have noticed.

Eddie Lacy

called Kirkpatrick "a leader on the team."

"Everything you do, you learn to grow and mature and address everything as a man," Alabama safety

Will Lowery

said. "Dre has definitely taken that. On a personal level, he's grown a lot. He's been working as hard as anybody out there, and he's been doing a great job."

The 6-foot-3, 192-pound junior from Gadsden prides himself on being able to cover his man and a lot of territory beyond his assignment. He won a starting cornerback job last season, and finished with 53 tackles, seven pass breakups and three interceptions.

In the spring, he earned the Bart Starr Most Improved Player Award.

NFL draft analysts have pegged him as a potential first-round pick next year. And on Mel Kiper Jr.'s first 2012 Big Board, Kirkpatrick was predicted to be the ninth pick - higher than Trent Richardson, Courtney Upshaw, Dont'a Hightower and Mark Barron.

Asked about all that NFL talk, Kirkpatrick offered a mature retort.

"I can't focus on that," Kirkpatrick said. "I haven't finished what I want to accomplish here. I just let it go in one ear and out the other."