Yup. Things have really been that boring. So much so that it's time for the official countdown to kickoff here on the Memphis Tider blog. Normally I at least wait until June, but I couldn't even get that far. I'm sure I'll start another countdown fairly soon, so I can update with at least something every day.
Coach Saban is using this past weekend's NFL draft as a lesson for players that are currently on the team - EVERYTHING you do is being watched, and the NFL guys know it. You've gotta be consistent and relentless and you've got to give your best all the time. You can't slack off. Read more here.
Wanna know why the Tide players got shafted in the draft? Subpar workouts and character issues. Bottom line. Read more here.
I thought Saban's comments regarding Jimmy Johns at last night's Crimson Caravan were pretty funny. According to Ian - "Saban said he's never seen a more popular player who has never played. After that question, he loudly griped that the crowd had the same discipline problems as the players. His wife stepped in and made him apologize."
And even better than that - if you thought the players made the decision to not go onto the strip...you're wrong. "When an attendee praised the players for deciding to avoid the Tuscaloosa Strip after several arrests, Saban corrected her: "I made that decision for them. I appreciate you thinking they would take that responsibility, but it wasn't their call."
¶ 9:57 AM0 comments
Pink Floyd was kickin some ass...in the early days...
and Elvis and Richard Nixon were still hangin out...
That's the last time that Alabama had NO PLAYERS DRAFTED IN THE NFL DRAFT.
Yup, that's right. If you want to look at the black stain that Mike Shula, Mike DuBose, and Dennis Franchione left on the University of Alabama, this would be it. This is the first time since 1970 that not a single Alabama player was taken in the draft.
Now, it's being reported that Gilberry could have been taken in the 7th round, but he and his agent instead opted to go the route of free agency. Even still...it's the 7th round. Insane.
So our three best players last year - DJ Hall, Simeon Castille, and Wallace Gilberry - our senior leaders - weren't good enough to even be drafted. Speaks volumes of where this program was headed under Mike Shula, ehh?
Oh well. We can move on to positive things. Here's what has transpired since the draft ended yesterday afternoon:
Wallace Gilberry signed a deal with the New York Giants. They only took one DE in the draft, and he thinks he's got a shot to make the roster and maybe even earn some playing time. I don't think so, but ok.
Simeon Castille signed a deal with the Cincinnati Bengals, which works out well since Sim was arrested last year, and pretty much everybody on the Bengals roster has been arrested in the past year.
Matt Caddell signed a deal with the St. Louis Rams yesterday. They're looking for some young receivers, and they've always had a pretty damn good offense. If their offensive line will give their QBs some time to throw the football, Caddell would fit right in.
finally...DJ Hall signed a deal today with the New York Giants. I think he could thrive up there with Eli as his QB...as long as his "rumored" work ethic changes. There's a reason it took this guy until Monday to ink a deal...so he needs to fix those issues.
Dark day for Tide fans...but the future is incredibly bright. Saban will just use this as another recruiting tool. You can bet your ass he's offering playing time right away as a way to get people into the fold.
¶ 6:39 PM3 comments
...but Thursday's killin me. Ever have one of those days where everything is just going wrong and there ain't nothin you can do about it? Allergies are messin up. All the computers and printers are breaking down. It's just ridiculous.
But...that's why tomorrow's Friday. And also why I may call in sick. Haha. We shall see.
I'm gettin pretty revved up for the Beale Street Music Festival next weekend. I'm taking off work early on Friday to get down to the river to catch Lord T and Eloise, then I'll watch Flyleaf, then Jonny Lang, and then I think I'm gonna go check out Keb Mo' in the blues tent. Then Saturday's a journey, since we're playing the Hard Rock that night. I'll probably catch a few during the day - like Saving Abel and Buddy Guy - and then head back to Beale Street. Sunday I'm watchin Michael McDonald because I don't really give a damn about Fergie, and I've seen the Black Crowes about 10 times already. I'm sure I'll be popping in with updates from the river all weekend, just like last year.
I believe I touched on this yesterday, but Bama did pick up a commitment from another Georgia lineman this week. Darius McKellar is an offensive tackle from Jonesboro, GA, who measures in, currently, at 6'6" 295lbs. And he's still a junior in high school right now. He really enjoyed the A-Day game, which again proves that it is pretty damn important for us to get out there and support the team. We're a part of "the process."
Man, you wanna talk about hate. The lineman that decided to quit at Michigan after starting for the past 3 years because he didn't like Rich Rodriguez...Yeah, he's transferring to Ohio State. Booyah. Eat that, Brian Cook. Haha. Read more here.
I keep hearing about coaches that are against this rule change where coaches can't visit high schools in the spring anymore - like the latest one, Les Miles. The thing is, where are the coaches that were for it? Pisses me off.
Our supposed All-SEC cornerback from last season - Simeon Castille - had to improve his 40 time from 4.62 to 4.52, and there's even talks about him playing at safety at the next level. That was our best? No wonder we went 7-6. All that crap is about to change very soon.
¶ 9:31 AM0 comments
This is unreal. It's only 10:40 when I'm sitting down to type this out. Seems like the day should be almost done with.
A bit of sad news on the NFL front. Shaun Alexander, the Tide's last first round draft pick, has been cut from the Seattle Seahawks. He issued a very classy statement, and has said that he will be playing in the NFL somewhere this season. Read more here.
The Crimson White did a study around the SEC about which teams allow their students the most chances to purchase tickets, and how many student tickets are in each stadium on Saturdays. Alabama had the 3rd lowest total, and Florida had the highest total. The Tide was well below average. Doesn't really bother me, but at the same time, you don't want to end up with a bunch of really old people that don't get into it either. I don't think we had any problems last year. Javier's punt return against LSU was the loudest I've ever heard that stadium. Anyway, read up on the study here.
Check out what all Nick Saban talked about during last night's Crimson Caravan in Mobile. I'll give you a hint - don't expect too much of the freshmen coming in this fall.
A newspaper in South Carolina talks about America's infatuation with spring football now. We always knew it was there in the fall, but now it's a year-round event. That's definitely a good thing for guys like me, who eat, breath, and live football 24/7/365, y'know? Check out his column here.
Is it possible that Alabama could go 7-5 and still play in a January bowl game? You bet your ass. The Liberty Bowl has set a new date for this year - Friday, January 2nd. And you better believe that we'll be pushing that attendance record that Mississippi State set last year. That is, of course, unless we're in a better bowl game. Read more here.
News that you definitely don't want to hear - Kerry Murphy could be a casualty of this class, thanks to a low ACT score. That's what we're waiting on, and it doesn't look good. The coach at Hargrave has said that Kerry could be there til January. Read more from Ian here.
¶ 10:37 AM0 comments
...that it was a day later, so we'd be that much closer to Friday. I'm tired of working. But, I guess so is everyone.
I'm going to go back and watch the A-Day game again tonight. Probably keep stats on the game. Keep myself interested in what's happening. You should see the notebooks my dad has. He has a notebook from every season for the past 20+ years. He's been keeping stats on games for as long as I can remember. It keeps him calm during the games...well, as calm as a rabid Bama fan can be. Haha.
Ian tackles the idea of why Alabama hasn't had any first-rounders for the past 8 years (make it 9, counting this year), and who might be the person to break that streak.
I didn't even realize this, but the Alabama softball team is in a position to possibly go 26-2 in the conference, and still not get the championship. Kinda crazy, right? We gotta cheer for Florida to get beat at least one game so we can share the crown, or lose two and us win all of ours to hold it outright. Read more here.
Andrew Bone chimes in with an update on recruits that were at A-Day. Read up on all the good things the kids said here.
Paul Finebaum has a pretty good article about how Auburn's streak of 6 wins over Alabama lacks the aura of domination. Every game has been close (or at least appeared that way), and it's always seemed that the Tide beats themselves, as opposed to Auburn just whipping them. Read up on it here. Definitely makes a lot of sense when you consider how "good" Auburn has been lately, and how "bad" Bama's been.
Any idea of Alabama parading a live elephant around the field before a football game has officially been put to bed, thanks to Ralphie trampling a CU trainer before the spring game last week. Watch the image below...
Time to start a new week. Not much went on over the weekend. The biggest thing was Alabama taking the series against Mississippi State - in dramatic fashion. They split the double header on Saturday after Friday was rained out, and then Ross Wilson hit a 2-run game winner in the bottom of the 7th on Sunday to win the game 4-3 and take the series. Pretty awesome. Read more here.
I had not thought about this, but Alabama has gone 8 years without having a first round draft pick in football. To put it in perspective, the last first round draft pick we had was Shaun Alexander. Yeah, that's been a lil while. Read more here. That oughta give you an idea as to why we haven't been that great for the past decade.
Scarbinsky chimes in on how important it is for Papa John's to re-up their contract with the Birmingham bowl game, because it shows signs of health. It's a good thing that this is happening.
I honestly thought that South Carolina might be the sleeper team in the SEC East this year...but I was wrong. In their spring game on Saturday, their qbs threw 8 interceptions. Yeah. 8. Wow.
Is it possible that Billy Packer could finally be done at CBS? Hell yeah. I always hated that guy anyway. Read the latest scoop here.
¶ 10:26 AM0 comments
That's what we're hoping for over the next couple of months. The players are still on campus for the summer, but they've rallied together and have decided that nobody is going to the Strip anymore. That's definitely a good thing. Caldwell and JP Wilson both talked about it in the Birmingham News. Check it out.
SportingNews.com has picked up the story about student football tickets selling out in 2 hours and 20 minutes. The Crimson White also tells us about it. My honest opinion - get your ass up and go get the tickets. Wait in line. And then, if you don't get them, it's on you. Not to mention the fact that last year I saw THOUSANDS of tickets for big games onsale on facebook and stubhub, etc. Most of these were "student tickets." If you really want them, stop selling them. Problem solved.
I was in Tuscaloosa, but didn't go over to the Walk of Champions for the captains. If I had, I would have seen that they mis-spelled Antoine Caldwell's first name - rather than Antoine, it was Atnoine. Cute.
Ian filled us in on the positives from spring practice, but also left us with the questions that will need to be answered once fall rolls around. Read more here.
Latest word from the basketball program is that Gottfried has been told to hire an assistant coach that knows what they're doing...or next year could be his last. Hearing this from more than one source. Not that anyone cares what's happening with the basketball team or anything. Haha.
Coach has offered a scholarship to Atlanta offensive tackle Kellen Williams. Read up on it here
¶ 10:51 AM0 comments
Andrew Bone covered the recruiting aspect of Saturday's A-Day game, and boy did we really hit some good ones. Dre Kirkpatrick was overwhelmed by fans, as were a lot of the incoming players. They definitely took it as a good thing.
The best thing about the way the schedule fell this year was that we still had one practice after the A-Day game, which was perfect. The guys got to see what they did wrong during the game, and work to make it perfect. Yesterday's practice, needless to say, was very productive.
Paul Finebaum has Alabama going 8-4 next season, which would be fine with me. This team will be very young, but the talent's going to be there. We've just got some damn tough road games this year, including a neutral site game against a top 10 team. Yikes.
Ian Rapoport is like the little kid that just keeps asking over and over "are we there yet? are we there yet? are we there yet?" It gets annoying, but you can't help but laugh a little bit. Haha. Read up on his last scolding from Coach until the season.
Scarbinsky weighs in on the changes that Coach Saban is seeing from year one to year two so far. It's definitely a good thing, but we're still not where we want to be just yet. Patience, my friends, is a virtue.
Finebaum's article today basically gives Tide fans a pat on the back and "Good job, guys" for filling up BDS again this past Saturday. Yes, we get it, and he finally sees that. We're not just rabid. We just know what it takes to win - good football players. And anything we can do to help recruiting, we're gonna do that. Read more here.
¶ 9:36 AM0 comments
Here's the first recap without actually going back and watching the rest of the game. We stayed until halftime, and then watched the 3rd quarter over on the strip, then, during the 4th quarter, ate some chicken wings and drank some beer.
I have the game on my dvr, so I plan to go back tonight and watch the remainder. I will say this - my arms and face are toasted. I am sooooome kinda sunburned. I mean REALLY sunburned. But it's cool. I just picked a bad spot to go sit. Haha.
I liked how there were probably about 100 incoming and upcoming recruits at the game. Star Jackson was the player in charge of the air horn, which controlled when players would switch drills. I found that pretty interesting. I didn't see who did it last year, but I feel like it was a bit telling - this is going to be his football team. He'll be the leader, so I think the coaches were trying to get him ready for it.
The play-calling was interesting. 5 of the first 6 plays of the game were passes, which, to me, only shows that we need some serious help at the quarterback position - not that we're going to be more pass oriented, which is what I heard a lot of people talking about, including people in the media. There's not a whole lot to take out of the play-calling other than we ran the exact same offense from last season.
I think Coach Saban hid quite a bit of stuff. For example, Corey Smith didn't punt the entire ballgame. He also only attempted one extra point. I have a feeling that he'll be the punter once fall rolls around. You've got to remember, there's a reason why his practices are closed. He wouldn't be so willing to show off everything they've been working towards on a live broadcast with all of your available players. Don't give Clemson any idea of what they're getting into.
Darius Hanks reminded me of Freddie Milons. That kid is going to be ridiculous good. I hadn't even thought about him since he got very little playing time last season. Another kid that's going to be a stud is Marquis Maze. Even without the football, he looked like a star in the making. There's a reason why Michigan wanted him so badly last year.
Anyway, the biggest thing I took from the game is that we don't have a single person at the quarterback position that can control the game in the SEC. McElroy looked ok on a few throws, but he was incredibly inconsistent. Fanuzzi, who I thought would make a run towards at least taking over the #2 position, looked horrible. I was surprised by that. Darrah looked like he would make a great D-II quarterback, but that's about it. Good strong arm, and a lil bit of height, but lacks the playmaking ability to be an SEC quarterback.
I'm gonna go watch the game. I'll try and post more later tonight, or possibly in the morning. Either way, talk to you soon!
¶ 6:04 PM1 comments
Right now, I'm freakin swamped, but I'll be posting my full A-Day recap tonight when I get home.
I will go ahead and tell you this. Darius Hanks and Marquis Maze are both studs. That's it for now. Talk to you tonight! ROLL TIDE!
¶ 9:32 AM0 comments
Ha. Well, as big as you can get for college football in April. Today at 11:30am, I'm DVRing the Mississippi State spring game on CSS. Then, tomorrow, my DVR is getting quite a workout. Since I'll be in Tuscaloosa, I'm recording College Gameday from 10-11am on ESPN2, then from 11-12 on ESPN. Then, I'll be recording both the Clemson spring game (CSS), and the Florida spring game (ESPN) from 12-2. Then there's the Bama game from 2-4, then the Ole Miss game comes on immediately after that from 4-6. Then there's college football final from, I believe, 10-11 on ESPN. Now that's what I'm talking about. Hopefully they'll do the same thing next Saturday as well.
For now, let's jump into a few things. We'll talk hoops first.
Bill Self - take the money and run, son. Don't be an idiot and stay at Kansas cause you like what you've built. You can build the same thing at home - and make a LOT more money doing it. Seriously. Pickens is offering a $6 MILLION DOLLAR SIGNING BONUS along with $3.5 MILLION PER YEAR for you to be their basketball coach. Are you insane? That's ridiculous. And every newspaper columnist in the country is going to feed you some bs story about how it's great to see somebody not run to the money, but the entire time they're making jokes about how much of an idiot this guy really is. Go home dude. And take straight cash, homey.
For all the Tide fans that have been begging for Travis Ford, he'll still be ripe for the picking at UMass next year. He turned down an offer to be the next head coach at Providence yesterday, and signed a new deal with UMass. That means he'll be a hot name again next year. I'm pretty sure that he won't be making what Gottfried made this year, so we'll have a shot. Anthony Grant isn't going anywhere yet either, so we'll just have to see how this plays out. We're at one year and counting until a new head coach is courtside at Coleman Coliseum.
Mykal Riley is still lighting it up, only this time in the invitation-only oldest amateur basketball tournament. He scored 15 points and grabbed 8 boards to help his team to victory. Hopefully some NBA scouts will take a look at this kid. Read more here.
I've gotta say, I'm not really sure what on Earth is goin on here, but when columnists start backing you up for running "a clean program" and talking about how everything's not as bad as you would think...that really signifies that they are. Things are not good in T-town, as far as the basketball program goes. Ray Melick and Kevin Scarbinsky will try and tell you that everything's ok, and that players transferring and other players leaving early, etc, doesn't mean anything is wrong. But when the team goes 17-16 with a 5-11 SEC record, that does mean something is wrong. Players aren't happy. Something's gotta be done. Period.
Well, nobody really gives a damn about basketball, and rightfully so. It's football season again. Tomorrow will be our first chance to see what this group has been doing at the closed practices so far.
Alabama officials are expecting another packed house, just like the 92,000 for last year. All 38 gates will be opened, and they won't be closing off any of the stadium like they started with last season (when the East upper deck was closed). All of the concession stands will be opened as well. Another showing of 90,000 strong and there's no debating who the best college football fans are. Kinda makes you wonder why ESPN would decide to go down to Gainesville instead of Tuscaloosa.
Make sure and keep an eye out for Earl Alexander. I remember my dad telling me during the Western Carolina game last year that EA would eventually be like Saban's wide receiving corps at LSU. Big, physical, will try and flatten you out of the gate - and will still be able to the catch the ball and beat you in a foot race to the endzone. Watch for him on Saturday during A-Day. I think he's gonna be a beast this year.
With the lack of depth that this team has at the moment, Coach Saban is going to do something he normally doesn't like doing - he'll be playing first team offense against first team defense for most of the day. That doesn't mean that some players won't switch out, etc, but for the most part we'll get to see the best against the best, which is rare for spring ball. Even the Sporting News is chipping in on it - read here.
If you're looking for a damn good article about why Coach Saban is the best coach for the Alabama gig, check out the new Sports Illustrated article by Andy Staples. He details it pretty damn well.
Oh yeah, and Tremayne Coger has left the football team. Was he on scholarship? I would assume so. That frees up one more spot, so the spring roster is down to 66, right?
¶ 11:01 AM0 comments
...but stuff like that is bound to happen when you've got a job. Especially one that takes up most of your time. Alas, it's cool. I may be late, but I'm still doing the update. Hell yeah, right?
Oh, and by the way, it's only 2 days til A-Day. :-)
Justin Woodall is the kind of player that every coach wishes he could have. The guy that turns down a seven figure contract from the New York Mets just so he can take a chance at starting at safety. Not to mention the fact that he's one helluva athlete, and you've got a movie story-line. Let's hope this all turns out perfect in the end.
Brandon Deaderick wants to get "at least 10" sacks next year. Why that number? Cause that's what Wallace Gilberry had, and he graduated, so somebody has to step up. I look for this year's defense to be MUUUCH better at the pass rush, as compared to last season's. It's kinda scary, really. I think the passion is there for these kids. And, like I've said all along -- just wait til the other kids get here in August. It'll make you smile. I promise.
Still digging for any idea on who's going to be starting at linebacker this fall? Yeah, us too. And everyone else for that matter. As the Tuscaloosa News has put it, it's been like musical chairs in the linebacking corps so far. One kid who's trying to step up and fill the role is Brandon Fanney. He looks to be the perfect size to play "jack." Can he step up and be the consistent player Coach Saban's looking for? I guess we'll have to wait and find out.
The Sporting News has a FRIGGIN' AWESOME article about the bias media members at ESPN and how ridiculous it is that they've kinda wrapped up the awards, etc, for college football. It's all based on what school the media guys went to. It's ridiculous. Their opinions are crap. Regardless, read it here.
If you're headed to Tuscaloosa, get some good video footage of the championship banners, trophys, etc, and then submit it and show ESPN that Tuscaloosa is called T-Town for a reason. Read Here.
¶ 9:05 AM0 comments
It's officially humpday, and I'm not sure what to do. There's no more basketball (other than the crappy NBA), and there's no football (other than spring football) til late August. Jeeez.
What exactly did we do last year?
I'm sure we'll find something interesting to pass the time. I'll come up with a list to keep us occupied each and every day. Right? Ehh, we'll see. Maybe something to do with Coach Stallings. Or maybe Nick Saban's best moments. Or something. Haha. Who knows. Til then, we've still got A-Day to focus on. I'll have a blog to post when I get back from Tuscaloosa, so I'll detail what all we've ended up doing.
Brian Motley. Now that's somebody you've gotta feel sorry for. We thought last year that he was really going to be able to help us out. Then, he got injured. This year, we really thought he was gonna be able to help us out. Then, he got injured again. Yup. Doctors are holding him out of Saturday's A-Day game because they "don't want to take any chances" with him. I guess that understandable. Still kinda hard to swallow for a guy that puts everything he can into football.
Sporting News says that Nick Saban is an SEC monster in Tuscaloosa. They rank him 4th out of all the coaches in the SEC. I guess that's cool. He'll move to number one again in a few years.
CSTV is saying that Bama is right on the cusp of the top 25, at least in their spring polls. They must not know about our depth issues. Haha.
Coach Saban's second season is going WAAAAY more smoothly this time around. Everything is "clicking and running on all cylinders" and the players know it. They know what they're doing now. Read more here.
The defensive line is looking ferocious right now in practice. Of course, that's before we even get the new talent into school. We'll see what happens with those kids, because we're not sure who's getting into school and who's not. Regardless, it's gonna be awesome. Read about Brandon Deaderick and the wrecking crew here.
The basketball team is absolutely falling apart in Tuscaloosa now. Initially, after last season, the only member of the team that was going to be gone was Mykal Riley. No, it wouldn't be easy to replace him, but we had Steele coming back, along with Hendrix, Gee, Pickett, Hillman, Jemison, etc. And now, Steele and Hendrix are testing the NBA (and there are rumors that Gee will do the same), and Pickett and fan fave Justin Tubbs are transferring. I'm sure there will be more to this soon. The starting lineup, at the moment, is embarrassing if these guys leave. We'll have more about the basketball team after spring practice wraps up.
¶ 10:34 AM0 comments
I'll admit. The game last night was a touch depressing. The Tigers missed 4 of their last 5 free throws to give Kansas a chance. And damn, Mario Chalmers has ice water running through his veins, cause he hit that shot like it ain't no thang. Ridiculous. I feel bad for the hometown boys.
I was incredibly aggravated with how the officiating went. If you've got Memphis and Kansas, two teams that average 80 points apiece, being held to 75 and 68, even after an overtime session, that just goes to show that the officiating is messing with the flow of the game. On one end of the floor, they'd just let the guys beat the crap out of each other, and on the other end they'd call petty hand check fouls on the big men. It was a disgrace. Ed Hightower should be fired.
But, alas...it all comes down to free throw shooting, one more time. If they had hit just one more free throw down the stretch. The game's over, so none of that matters. If you wanna read up on it, click here.
Darius Hanks is showin out at practice lately. The kid's making great strides, and could really be in contention to become a starter this fall. Read more on him.
Baron Huber is considering his change to linebacker as permanent. That's definitely a good thing, because that's what he played in high school. Not to mention the fact that we need another body there. He feels better playing this position anyway, according to what he told the media yesterday.
The offense is still coming right along. Everyone still believes that first scrimmage was just because of the new ideas on offense. The players are picking up the schemes and improving at a steady pace. Definitely good to see from an offense that was more or less anemic for much of last season.
That's right guys. Time for Cheers and Jeers. YAY! (and the crowd goes wild!!!)
or something like that. Haha.
Cheers to the Alabama offense for actually showing signs of life during Saturday's scrimmage. They picked up the pace a bit more, and the receivers were actually catching passes, which is something we REALLY need this year. Read more about the offense's day here.
Jeers to Roy Upchurch for getting in the doghouse again. Saban said to "some of the players" that if they can't get it right in school and off the field, they're going to become irrelevant on the field.
Cheers to the coaching staff for installing something new in the final few practices of the spring - things we're going to see from other teams this season. It's never too early to start preparing for teams on the schedule.
Jeers to the Alabama basketball situation. First, Richard Hendrix says that he'll be testing the NBA Draft waters. Then, Ronald Steele says he's gonna do it too. Now, PG Rico Pickett has been suspended indefinitely for a "failure to comply with team rules." Sounds like things are falling apart inside Coleman Coliseum. Hey Mal - remember when I wrote about when it's time for you to make a change? Yeah, when people lose interest. Well, they're officially gone, my friend. Might wanna start taking a look around, cause things are about to go downhill. And fast.
And finally, Cheers to the University of Memphis. Like I said last week, this team is the real deal. Yeah, they may play "glorified street ball," but in the end it's just hoopin'. And if you can do it better than the other team, you're going to win. Just ask Derrick Rose.
¶ 9:02 AM0 comments
Went to see Will Hoge last night at the Hi-Tone. Man, that guy just bleeds rock n roll. Anyway, they played forever and kept me out until about 2am, so I overslept, but still made it to work this morning, but about 15 mins late. Not too shabby, I guess.
Regardless of that, we're only 8 days away from this year's A-Day game, and I'm pretty stoked about it. Should be an absolute blast, even though it's supposed to rain. Won't damper my day. Gonna get some dreamland. Gonna watch some football. Awesome.
The Press-Register kinda outlines how Chris Rogers has gotten past the whole "textbook-gate" incident from last season, and how he's impressing the other players on the practice field this spring. Read more here.
So, last we heard from Brian Motley, he was out for the rest of the spring with a broken finger. That is until yesterday when he was practicing at the center position. Along with that, Baron Huber was practicing at linebacker. Of course, Coach Saban says that none of these moves are permanent, and really, at this point, they don't even matter. Which is fine by me. Just get the best players on the field, sir.
Javier Arenas is a talker. Don't believe me? Check this out. It's great. Haha.
ESPN will send the Gameday crew to see Florida's spring game next Saturday, April 12th, and will feature the game on ESPN after the broadcast. ESPN and ESPN2 will also have spring games all day, and will feature a night cap of all the day's action with a regular College Football Final, like they do during the season. Seems like a bit much for me, but hey - football's huge. :-) The more the merrier. I'll have my DVR set, definitely.
¶ 11:02 AM0 comments
from lack of sleep, man. My daughter woke up around midnight, and proceeded to stay up, wanting to play and scream, etc, until about 3am. She turns 3 in August, so for right now she's still in the terrible twos. This sucks. She's still cute as a button though.
Somebody over at TideSports has posted a video of Gene Stallings, and boy is it good. So good, in fact, that I'm gonna go ahead and repost it right here.
If you live in Memphis and are interested in hearing Coach talk for a lil while, try and make it out to Hope Presbyterian here in Memphis on Saturday, April 19th from 8am-9:30. Tickets are only $10, and you can find all the information here.
Coach Saban had some good things to say about the players' mental toughness, especially since yesterday was one of the warmer days they've had out there in pads. He said a lot of guys showed that they've got what it takes to fight through the external elements that shouldn't affect you. Good work guys. Read more here.
Ian talks about Kareem and Javier being the two corners and having to become the leaders at cornerback for everyone else to look up to, instead of looking up to somebody else, like Simeon Castille.
Drew Davis has made a hell of a move at right tackle, moving ahead of Taylor Pharr in practice. Davis wasn't very highly recruited, but he's worked his tail off, and he's getting better. Read more about how they're holding up at the position. Until I see something different, I'm still going to assume that Tyler Love is going to take over that position as soon as he steps on the field in August.
The Press-Register brings up a good point that I had not even thought about - the Tide's shortage at linebacker is not as huge a deal as we once though. Last season, we played a nickel package 60% of the time, which means we didn't have all 4 linebackers on the field, and in all actuality, we had only 2 linebackers for a good portion, because we played 4 down linemen. With more teams installing the spread offense, it is possible that we'll see the nickel quite a bit more this season.
Jimmy Johns's move to linebacker is still drawing rave reviews. Everybody thinks this is going to work out perfectly - including Jimmy. Read more here.
¶ 9:07 AM0 comments
Yeah yeah yeah. Got back the first mix on one of our songs. Sounds good to me. There's a few things that need tweaking, but that's about it. :-) I'm sure you're all interested in it.
Both SEC teams got clobbered last night in the NIT Final Four. Ole Miss was blasted early before falling 81-69 to Ohio State, and UMass came back in the 2nd half to thump Florida 78-66. It was a disaster for both teams, but at least they made it there. That's pretty cool. Getting humiliated isn't, but hey...you can't win em all.
There's more talk about how much Rolando McClain has matured over the past year. As a matter of fact, Coach Saban even let him speak to the media for the first time yesterday - read more here.
Yeah, the offense struggled last Saturday, but it'll get better. How do I know? Cause JP said so.
Not only does Tennessee get to play at UCLA this year - they now get to do it on Labor Day. On ESPN. Hell yeah. Read more about that here.
¶ 10:34 AM0 comments
...not as much as Mondays. Mondays are awful. Yes, yesterday was that bad...but I think we're alright today...for now.
We'll kick off today talking about how Terry Grant is fully embracing the role at running back, which is more than just taking handoffs and trying to run down the field with the football. The coaches are saying that his blocking and pick-up of blitzes has improved drastically this spring. Read more here.
Rolando McClain was a beast last year, and he's the leader on this year's linebacking corps. Read more about his new role in the defense here and here.
Jimmy Johns really has a knack for this linebacker thing. He's getting the hang of it, and his potential at the position is limitless. Read up on him here.
Ryan Perrilloux proves, once again, that he's a jackass, which is just fine for us Bama fans, and really anybody else in the SEC. It's kinda funny. Read up on how he STILL hasn't done what he needs to in order to get back into practice.
¶ 8:47 AM0 comments
