re: Bama Football Tidings

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Alabama Football News
WATCH: Alabama takes practice inside on first day of classes By Patrick Dowd

The Alabama crimson tide took practice inside on Wednesday as the team also begins their fall semester of classes. Alabama continues to work in their base defense alignment as well as searching for the ideal offensive line configuration

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I thinks it’s crazy that the actual media view of tua is he can’t read defenses. Like man what a flip over one game. the year he had and I saw Jordan Rodgers pick Justin Herbert over tua on espn. Like sheesh man. Let’s open the offense up and prove all these folks wrong.

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That's the media. Most of them don't know shite and they have to try to push any and everything that isn't Alabama because we dominate college football.

Alabama’s defensive line taking shape By Cecil Hurt - August 22, 2019

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For the first time since Alabama opened its fall football camp in early August, the Crimson Tide has been able to work with what appears to be the starting defensive line — with the remainder of the front seven taking shape behind them.

For a third straight day, the Crimson Tide’s Wednesday workout — held in the Hank Crisp Indoor Practice Facility — included full-speed work from defensive linemen LaBryan Ray, DJ Dale and Raekwon Davis. The unofficial second unit in the media viewing period included both freshman Justin Egboigbe, who had worked in Ray’s spot while Ray was out with a foot injury, and Phidarian Mathis, who stepped into Dale’s spot while Dale was out with a knee sprain.

The outside linebackers were Terrell Lewis and Anfernee Jennings. Junior Dylan Moses remained the fixture at inside linebacker, working alongside either freshman Shane Lee or sophomore Markail Benton in various drills. Freshman Christian Harris, who is also expected to be a prominent factor at the position, was in uniform (including knee brace) but did not participate during media viewing.

Also out among the defensive front seven were defensive end Stephon Wynn (ankle) and defensive tackle Antonio Alfano. A freshman, Alfano has not been present at practice this week, missing a third consecutive day on Wednesday. Alabama head coach Nick Saban is expected to give an update on Alfano’s situation at his Thursday press conference.

Saban in TV ads

Also on Wednesday, Saban was the star in a series of television advertisements for the supplemental insurance company AFLAC. The three commercials, which follow a recruiting theme and also include AFLAC’s familiar recurring duck, are set to air during college football broadcast this season.

Saban has acted on other occasions, most notably in “The Blind Side,” where he was generally acknowledged to the best actor of the college coaches (playing themselves) recruiting former Ole Miss star Michael Oher. Saban also starred in a popular commercial for Regions Bank (“I probably am right.”)

Tua on watch list

Tua Tagovailoa Alabama’s junior quarterback, was selected to the 2019 Manning Award Watch List, the Allstate Sugar Bowl announced on Wednesday, one of 30 quarterbacks to be recognized. Tagovailoa was also one of five finalists for last year’s award.

The Manning Award, sponsored by the Allstate Sugar Bowl, was created in honor of the college football accomplishments of Archie, Peyton and Eli Manning. In its first 15 years, the Manning Award has recognized quarterbacks from 12 different schools and from four different conferences. The SEC leads the way with four Manning Award winners (Johnny Manziel, Cam Newton, JaMarcus Russell and Tim Tebow).

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Reach Cecil Hurt at cecil@tidesports.com or via Twitter @cecilhurt

8/21/2019 4:58:00 PM
Alabama Football Starts Classes, Holds Afternoon Practice on Wednesday
Wednesday session marks the start of the 2019-20 academic year

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TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The Alabama football team began classes on Wednesday with the start of the 2019-20 academic year. The Crimson Tide followed the day in the classroom with a full-pad practice at the Hank Crisp Indoor Facility.

Wednesday's session was the 17th in a series of 20 practices during fall camp before the Crimson Tide begins game-week prep for the season opener against the Duke Blue Devils. The two teams will meet on Saturday, Aug. 31 in Atlanta, Ga., inside Mercedes-Benz Stadium for the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game. The SEC vs. ACC pairing is set for 2:30 p.m. CT on ABC.

Alabama's remaining practices for the week will begin at 3:30 p.m. CT on Thursday, Friday and Saturday with the Tide taking Sunday off.

Prior to practice, Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa was selected to the 2019 Manning Award Watch List, the Allstate Sugar Bowl announced, making him one of 30 quarterbacks to be recognized. The junior signal-caller was one of five finalists for last year's award.

The Manning Award, sponsored by the Allstate Sugar Bowl, was created in honor of the college football accomplishments of Archie, Peyton and Eli Manning. In its first 15 years, the Manning Award has recognized quarterbacks from 12 different schools and from four different conferences. The SEC leads the way with four Manning Award winners (Johnny Manziel, Cam Newton, JaMarcus Russell and Tim Tebow).

Also on Wednesday, the Crimson Tide placed five players on the 2019 USA Today Sports Preseason All-America Team, the wire service announced. Senior defensive lineman Raekwon Davis along with a pair of juniors in wide receiver Jerry Jeudy and linebacker Dylan Moses received first-team recognition for the Crimson Tide. Tagovailoa and fellow junior Jedrick Wills Jr. were named to the second team.

Get all the latest information on the team by following @AlabamaFTBL on Twitter and Facebook and AlabamaFBL on Instagram. General athletic news can also be found at UA_Athletics on Twitter and Instagram and AlabamaAthletics on Facebook.

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I thinks it’s crazy that the actual media view of tua is he can’t read defenses. Like man what a flip over one game. the year he had and I saw Jordan Rodgers pick Justin Herbert over tua on espn. Like sheesh man. Let’s open the offense up and prove all these folks wrong.

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Honestly I wish we would just go zero mercy and let Tua throw until time expires in every game. Sure it probably lowers our chance to win the title by a few percentage points, but we've won tons of titles. How many chances do you get to drop 80 on teams week after week?

The guy had 43 TD's and he was hurt for part of the year and barely played in a fourth quarter all season. With these receivers, he could easily throw 5+ a game.

Laura Chramer The University of Alabama football team poses for a photo on Saturday, Aug. 3, 2019, at Bryant-Denny Stadium on the University of Alabama campus in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. (Photo by Laura Chramer)
Predicting Alabama’s record, breakout stars and toughest opponent for 2019 By Michael Casagrande | mcasagrande@al.com

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We’ve reached that point in August when preseason camp is winding down and Week 1 preparations are beginning.

To celebrate the beginning of meaningful action, this feels like the right time to make a few predictions about the Alabama season to come. Given the way things ended last time, there’s another degree of anticipation to get 2019 underway next Saturday against Duke in Atlanta.

Since it’s understandable you’d skim over the lead-in paragraphs of a story like this, we’ll get right to business. And feel free to hold me accountable should any of these picks fall flat.

The strength of Alabama in 2019 ...

It has to be the passing game. This program hasn’t seen a high-powered attack like that matching an elite passer with perhaps the best group of receivers of the Nick Saban era. For at least another year, game-manager status for this offense and Tua Tagovailoa are on hold. The high-scoring offense helped mask some defensive shortcomings a year ago and that could be the case again after losing a few key players to the NFL on the other side of the ball. Jerry Jeudy could join the list of Alabama receivers that includes Julio Jones, Amari Cooper and Calvin Ridley as elite gamechangers.

The weakness of this team will be ...

This is more of something that can’t carry over into this fall. Alabama’s defense allowed 66 passes of 20-plus yards last fall to rank 92nd nationally. Those big plays were the backbreakers in the national title game loss to Clemson when the secondary looked to be in disarray at times. A few starters moved on but experience returns with cornerbacks Patrick Surtain II and Trevon Diggs along with safeties Xavier McKinney and Jared Mayden. Players like Surtain and Josh Jobe got important experience as true freshmen and return with more confidence. Diggs missed most of the season with a broken foot and has potential first-round talent.

The punting and kicking units still have to prove themselves after things went sideways last year. Kicking issues aren’t new around here but there are positive reviews coming from preseason camp for freshman kicker Will Reichard.

Most important player on offense?

It’s clear everything runs through Tagovailoa and few players in recent memory have such an impact on a team’s success. Derrick Henry was that irreplaceable factor in the 2015 national title run that included a Heisman Trophy for the running back. Without Jalen Hurts as a proven commodity backing up Tagovailoa this fall, the lefty passer’s health becomes even more of a priority after taking a few too many shots last year.

That’s why the offensive line as a whole takes this honor. A share of the responsibility goes to Tagovailoa himself to get rid of the ball faster at times but keeping a clean jersey often comes down to pocket integrity.

Most important player on defense?

It’s no secret depth has been an issue at middle linebacker and the preseason injury of presumptive starter Joshua McMillon only thinned that depth chart a little more. There was already a high burden on Dylan Moses but that cranked things up a little more. The former five-star who graced magazine covers as a middle schooler will need to be a presence and traffic cop in the middle of the defense. Behind him, there’s minimal game experience at a position that has been a calling card of this Alabama defense over the past decade.

Who will be a breakout star?

Running back Brian Robinson has a Josh Jacobs feel in some ways. Not the star of his recruiting class, the Tuscaloosa product has impressed behind the scenes for two seasons. And after Jacobs went pro, he figures to be in the rotation along with Najee Harris. The season-ending injury to five-star recruit Trey Sanders takes away from the depth at the position but both Harris and Robinson have plenty of tread on the tires after two seasons in Tuscaloosa.

Defensively, LaBryan Ray has all the potential to make noise up front after playing behind Isaiah Buggs the last two seasons. He has the size and athleticism to be a force in the backfield.

Don't sleep on ...

DJ Dale has been a standout from the moment he stepped on campus in the spring and he figures to be the man in the middle of the defensive line. Quinnen Williams was a dominant force over center last season, setting a bar higher than any true freshman could meet in Year 1. But the Clay-Chalkville product has drawn comparisons to Da’Ron Payne, another first-round pick from the Birmingham area.

A few other names:

Terrell Lewis saw little action two years ago with an arm injury and missed all of 2018 with a torn ACL. He has first-round talent and some built up aggression to prove that.

Evan Neal was the No. 1 tackle in the last recruiting class and is competing to be one of the starters at guard. With movement expected after the season, Neal is the tackle of the future for this offense.

Who Alabama will miss the most?

Stars like Quinnen Williams are obvious picks so we’ll go with Irv Smith Jr. It’s hard to explain how important his presence was in Alabama’s scheme. It went beyond the pure numbers that included 44 catches, 710 yards and seven touchdowns. Smith’s pure route-running changed how defenses accounted for him and the receiver rotation of Jeudy, Henry Ruggs III, DeVonta Smith and Jaylen Waddle. The 2019 offense doesn’t have that same threat in the passing game with former walk-on Giles Amos, converted linebacker Cameron Latu, Miller Forristall and Major Tennison competing for the two tight end roles.

Continued below...

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Michael Casagrande is an Alabama beat writer for the Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @ByCasagrande or on Facebook

Alabama offensive line adjusting to each other By Edwin Stanton - August 22, 2019

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Trust is going to be a key for the Alabama offensive line.

And it’s going to have to be earned.

Three starters must be replaced, leaving juniors Jedrick Wills Jr. and Alex Leatherwood as the experienced leaders of a unit stacked with talented replacement options.

Alabama has been rotating guys on the offensive line during fall camp trying to find a pairing that works and feels right. During camp, Wills, a right tackle, has worked alongside Matt Womack, Emil Ekiyor and transfer Landon Dickerson, who have been working at the guard spot.

“On the plus side, everybody knows the playbook so it’s been easy to communicate,” Wills said. “I guess you don’t have the same bond as everybody else. You have to trust the guy on the left of you and to the right of you.

“There are a whole bunch of guys that are going to play this year. Everyone has been doing really well. (Ekiyor) has played all three interior spots, and when he hops into center he really knows what he’s talking about and knows what he’s doing.”

The bonding part will come later, once Alabama finds a solid starting five. But Wills is liking what he sees from the ones who are trying to find their place on the depth chart.

“It’s been smooth,” he said. “You don’t even know that there are different guys in there from time to time. We are working to get better and we will let the coaches make the decision on who plays there.”

Last week Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban said he liked how the offensive line was progressing during preseason camp and is impressed with a few of the younger players.

That’s what Wills likes to hear.

“That means a lot because we have been working hard as a unit to develop, and under coach (Kyle) Flood everything has gone real smooth,” Wills said.

It’s been a change of pace for Wills and the rest of the offensive line working under Flood, who comes to Tuscaloosa via the NFL and the Atlanta Falcons. The Crimson Tide players have responded well to Flood’s coaching style.

“He has a lot of knowledge coming from the NFL,” Wills said. “There are some different things he’s teaching us like coverages and things to look out for that you don’t normally see beyond the offensive line.”

It’s an added bonus that when Flood needs to get a point across he can get the Crimson Tide to watch film from Falcons games.

“We have some protections and schemes that match up with what they do,” Wills said. “Whenever he goes to install something new or show us something that we do he can pull up the film from the Falcons and compare the two.”

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Saban probably shouldn't stand next to Raekwon for the team photo.

Jumbo Package (SBN/RollBamaRoll)

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Alfano is reportedly dealing with an undisclosed family issue. Hopefully everything works out for him. His father told Tony Tsoukalas at BamaInsider that Antonio is not considering a transfer, just to put any rumors to rest. Hopefully Saban will shed a little light as expected.

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Note: Saban speaking to media later today.

Who will be fielding kickoffs and punts?