Well, I would like to give you some juicy news about Alabama's spring practice but everything sounds like it is going well. Injuries are minor, younger players are improving well. The freshman qb from Hawaii, Tagovailoa, is apparently doing very well, but Saban has indicated that Hurts is the starter. I wonder if that holds? I can't tell much from what we can see of spring practice because you don't hear much about who is not doing well. About all you can do is watch who is practicing with the 1's and who is practicing with the 2's. :?
Appreciate the update, sounds like business as normal, its so difficult to judge anything from spring practice. I'm curious about your freshman qb from Hawaii and how he adjust to change in scenery. Sounds better than our scrimmages, defense is pounding the crap out of our offense and Richt let them tackle the QB's and knocked out one with an AC sprain, luckily no surgery needed. LOL, the following scrimmage he rescinded allowing the defense to touch the QB.
Probably the biggest injury was the one to the ego that occurred here in Tampa last January. But if anyone can get that one to be forgotten in a hurry it would be Saban. With recruiting being so damn strong and the Saban machine still in place the SEC is still the Tide and it's bitches.
It's easy to point at history and say that Saban doesn't like to play Freshmen QB's, but then he played Jalen Hurts last year over the upper classmen. But still it's hard to imagine the kid from Hawaii beating out Hurts given all the game experience that Hurts has now after playing all last year. I and everybody else expect the Saban machine to keep rolling and another great season is in the making at Alabama. Of course injuries could always impact that, and face it sometimes you just lose a game, those Ole Miss games that you lost were not because Ole Miss was the best team overall, it just was their day and they were good enough to make the plays. I imagine that you guys will have some new starters of course, but you will be working in 5 star type players with a ton of talent who have waited their time. Can't replace O.J. Howard or Cam Robertson, they were multi year starters who played at a A.A. level. But the guys who will replace them will have plenty of talent and like Howard and Robertson before them they just need the opportunity to play. It will be interesting to see what changes to the offense, if any, the new Coordinator will bring. What have you seen so far? He's from the Patriots, where the short passing game sets up everything. It's the NFL so they don't run the ball like a "running" college football team. But they have an effective running game, mostly set up by that deadly short passing game.
BTW what does the SEC look like this year in terms of somebody to challenge Alabama? Georgia should be better in Smarts 2nd year...we'll know about 2 teams after their visit to South Bend in Sept. Tenn has Jones put together the SEC winner? UF have they got a QB who can put some offense into a team that plays good defense? LSU do they have an offense? A&M a lot of new parts and new QB Ole Miss? Just seems like Bama is still the team with a big talent edge over everybody else in the SEC.
People expect big things out of Orgeron and LSU.... I don't particularly. I don't think Georgia is really all that much better if any than last and Tenn lost some major talent that has to be replaced. Florida can still win the East I believe and if UF get's off on the right foot by beating Michigan I think the Gators will have some strong momentum for the East season.... and then fall flat vs. Bama again if they meet in Atlanta. Florida will begin the season around the mid teens in ranking and vault into the top ten if they can beat the Wolverines. But that's a huge "if" given our futile history vs. Michigan. Bama is the SEC king still this upcoming season.
Overall, it seems the SEC is about where it was last year. Unless someone has a Cam Newton in hiding, I think Alabama should be very good, and everyone is trying to catch up. I have to keep reminding myself that last season was not a bad season. Alabama lost the National Championship game in the final seconds, so big changes are not needed but we do need to either concentrate on running the ball or improve our passing game. Hurts was not a very good passer but we kept trying (more than we should have IMHO). Alabama has a slew of good RB's. As always, the defense is the key and the story is that the LB's and DB's are very good with questions about the DL especially pass rushers. 8)
Watch out for Jarrett Stidham at Auburn, that kid has a ton of potential. He had a great HS career in Texas, and played as a freshman at Baylor and showed a lot of promise. He's not Cam Newton though, but if Auburn has some decent WR's they will score some points. He's probably going to be the best passing QB in the SEC.
Terry, I've read about him but I haven't really heard raves about him yet. If he's a game changer that may be very good for Auburn. I just think their defense is suspect and unless you have a game changer on offense, defense usually tips the scales in the SEC.
guys, you don't even understand. This is my favorite time of the year. Spring football wrapping up in Alabama and the early-mid Summer workouts before the start of the season. The reason why? The reports ask Nick Saban really stupid questions and the coach struggles so mightily not to lose his **** on them, but eventually, it happens. Saban is a tactical butcher with his return fire.. It's good stuff. I've been busy working and doing the recruiting/school visitation stuff with Carson and started a new job, so I have to rely on the radio for updates. Still, there's something in the air. Kids are out running cone drills, playing catch with a football, hitting the weightroom. You can tell that football is in the air in Alabama and the real thing is just around the corner.
Corey, I hear you. Saban always "fires for effect". His rants have the purpose of sending a message, either to the team, his assistants or his opponents. I'm not crazy about that but some of our local writers, newsreaders are really stupid so they provide him with many opportunities to get his message out. Things have been pretty quiet in Tuscaloosa this spring. I think that's a good thing.
Saban is in the catbirds seat, his program is annually amongst the very best and his recruiting is annually amongst the very best. Consistent winning, winning big games, producing NFL talent, it's all going Alabama's way these days. Oh to be a Bama fan, it's the Golden Age. Gives the coach a lot of latitude in dealing with the press. BTW, with a few exceptions, the press ask's really lame questions and many really stupid questions. That's one of the reasons I liked Spurrier, at the top of his game he didn't suffer those fools.
Spurrier didn't just go off on writers though, he went off on opposing coaches, schools, conferences too. I guess it was entertaining but a lot of times it was just cheap shots. Like I said, most of the time, I don't particularly like it when Saban does it to the writers either.
I wonder how many of us could handle these idiotic reporters, etc if we were the ones being interviewed? I know I would not last very long without getting upset and lashing out at those idiots. :lol:
http://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/19220265/nick-saban-says-alabama-crimson-tide-not-elite-just-adequate-coming-spring-practice Also I noted that Kiffin took some thinly veiled shots at Saban this week, then the Alabama players responded saying the loved it when Saban went nuts on Kiffin during practice or the game. You have to wonder why Saban hired Kiffin and then why he kept him as long as he did, although that team was undefeated with Kiffin last year.
Jeez, that freshman QB at Alabama looked awfully good for someone who was playing HS football last year. If their starter ever goes down, Bama may have a nice curveball to counter with.
Corey, he did look good. This was a pass-happy A Day game. I guess the idea was to find out if all of the offseason work on Hurts had paid off. It appears to me that our offense has improved from last year even though the three top running backs from last year were held out. Young and a lot of depth, but our defense is not as good. Not a good swap if true.