re: Bama Football Tidings

LINK ]Photos: Day 4 of Alabama's fall camp (BamaOnLine)


Jahleel Billingsley

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What's that on Slade and Ruggs' foreheads?

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I think it's just an adhesive strip to prevent chafing. Might aid in preventing sweat in the eyes as well.

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preventing sweat in the eyes

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Confirmed.

LINK ]Why Alabama RB says he’ll run ‘mad, angry’ after waiting his turn By Michael Casagrande|mcasagrande@al.com

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Brian Robinson knew the deal when he signed with Alabama in February 2017.

An already-crowded Crimson Tide backfield wasn’t just getting his National Letter of Intent that day with No. 1 running back Najee Harris already on campus. In fact, another five-star in Cam Akers was committed when the Hillcrest senior made his pledge to move across Tuscaloosa to the university.

Two years later, the traffic on Alabama’s depth chart is clearing. And this looks to be the year Robinson steps into a prominent role in this offense with Damien Harris graduating and Josh Jacobs leaving early for the NFL.

The first two seasons in crimson have involved mostly spot duty for Robinson, the fourth option last year. He played a fullback role in short-yardage situations as well as after things got out of hand on the scoreboard. His sophomore stat line included 63 carries for 272 yards and a pair of scores.

“It’s been a time for me to reflect and just think about what I want for me future,” Robinson said. “I know Coach Saban has a process and a way he likes to do things around here and I trust Coach Saban and his process. If it was for me to sit for two years or wait my time, that’s what I was willing to do.”

Patience and competitive environments don’t always play nice, though.

The former was tested when the later got intense.

“It is hard to be patient at times when you prepare hard and you go out and work hard every day and await your opportunity, you never know when it’s going to come,” Robinson said Saturday. “You sit around waiting, thinking like ‘When is it ever going to come.’ Sometimes it can be a little … you can get a little impatient but I try to keep my poise and remain focused on the bigger picture.”

The fact Alabama made Robinson available for interviews during the brief media day Saturday speaks to the expanded role for 2019.

The 6-foot-1, 226-pound ball carrier is known for his bruising running style. Expect to see that unleashed this fall, he said.

“Most people are just going to see a mad, angry running back that most people have not seen in Brian maybe since I was in high school,” Robinson said. “I just feel like I haven’t really been granted the opportunity to really show my full potential and I’m just waiting for my opportunity.”

And that’s the reason for the angry style?

“You know how it is sometimes when you sit around and you have to wait,” Robinson explained, “you feel like you deserve more than what you’re getting at the time and when you feel like you’re not getting it but you prepare for it, it builds anger but you can grow from it. That’s all I’ve done. I’ve just grown from it. That’s the way I play football. That’s the attitude I bring to the game. It’s just a hard-nosed attitude and just physical type player.”

Underdog status was not denied by Robinson speaking just after signing his scholarship papers on signing day back in 2017.

And it’s not like he was a complete afterthought as the No. 8 running back in the class. The pursuit of Najee Harris and the late competition from Michigan just consumed much of the oxygen in the running back discussion of that recruiting cycle.

It was also a class that had seven of the top-34 overall players in 247Sports’ composite of recruiting rankings

“Most players aren’t afraid to compete,” Robinson said on signing day in 2017. “That’s really not a question to them. I wasn’t worried. The day I committed, I knew they had two nice five-star running backs already committed.

“It didn’t terrify me. I wasn’t worried. I committed because I knew I was going to have to compete regardless.”

Looking back now, Robinson’s thought process hasn’t changed.

I never backed down from the competition,” Robinson said Saturday. “I hit that head on. That’s what I wanted to do when I came here and I knew that’s what it was going to be. So, when it comes to competition, we’re going to compete every day and we’re going to continue to compete.”

Henry Ruggs III, a receiver also part of that heralded 2017 signing class, called Robinson a “patient guy” who doesn’t complain.

He remembers a conversation they had a few games into their freshman season when Robinson was thinking a redshirt might be the best option with Damien Harris and Bo Scarbrough getting most of the action followed by Najee Harris.

“I was just telling him to be patient because at the time, he wasn’t getting the snaps that he wanted or that he felt he deserved,” Ruggs said Saturday. “I just told him to stay patient and wait your turn and it will come to you.”

That was before the Week 4 trip to Vanderbilt. Robinson actually made his debut in that historic 59-0 blowout with five carries for 51 yards and a touchdown.

Another 2017 signee Jedrick Wills played a limited role on the offensive line until winning the starting right tackle job last fall. He’s seen an explosive Robinson in practice the last few years.

Wills’ description of Robinson’s running style was brief.

“Downhill,” Wills said. “He’s a hard hitter. That’s for sure. I wouldn’t get in his way.”

That’s linebacker Dylan Moses’ job in practice.

It isn’t fun.

“He’s like a truck, man,” Moses said.

Angry is an accurate way to describe the way Robinson runs, the middle linebacker said.

“He does,” Moses said. “He runs angry. Najee runs angry. That backfield is crazy.”

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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 football has seven players that are in the 6-foot-7 club
LINK ]Alabama's 'big uglies' are a tall order for opposing teams Tony Tsoukalas • BamaInsider @Tony_Tsoukalas

The trend of crimson giants is a recent one. During Womack’s freshman season in 2015, he was the only Alabama player taller than 6-foot-6. The next year, that number grew to four before climbing to five the past two seasons.

“Coming into Alabama I figured everybody was going to be my size kind of thing, so it was kind of weird for me,” Womack said. “But now, everybody, other people are coming in that are my size. So it’s kind of nice, like I’m not the only freak out there walking around, like everybody’s looking at me.”

Of Alabama’s 6-foot-7 players, five play on the offensive line. Freshman Evan Neal (6-foot-7, 360 pounds) is the biggest among the group which also includes Womack, redshirt freshman Tommy Brown (6-foot-7, 317 pounds), redshirt junior Scott Lashley (6-foot-7, 307 pounds) and freshman Amari Kight (6-foot-7, 302 pounds). Defensive end Raekwon Davis (6-foot-7, 312 pounds) and walk-on tight end Richard Hunt (6-foot-7, 235 pounds) round out the list.
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Alabama football has seven players that are in the 6-foot-7 club

While intimating, taller frames can often come with their own disadvantages. Earlier in his career, Davis admitted to struggling with keeping his hips low enough to create the necessary leverage needed at the defensive end position.

Length can also be a challenge on the other side of the ball, specifically for players like Womack and Neal who have made the switch from tackle to guard. One of the struggles taller interior linemen face is getting the knee bend needed to lower themselves to the height of their opponent in order to provide a more powerful push off the line.

“I know that I have to keep my pads down because I do have those extra few inches (on) other people,” Womack said, “but I don’t think it’s really going to affect me as much.”

Added Davis: “You’re just tall. You’ve got to know how to play with it.”

Of course, Alabama’s 6-foot-7 players aren’t the only towering figures on the roster. The Crimson Tide also features four more players who stand in at 6-foot-6. That includes 6-foot-6, 308-pound graduate transfer Landon Dickerson whose size immediately drew attention after arriving with the team this fall.

“We were standing next to each other and I think maybe Tommy Brown said, ‘You look really big today.’ It’s because he has these cleats on that I swear are about this big,” Womack said of Dickerson, positioning his thumb and finger about two inches apart. “We were like, ‘You’re like at least 6-6, 6-7 right now.’ But he’s big. He’s a big guy.”

Alabama’s first-team offensive line so far has consisted of Alex Leatherwood, Emil Ekiyor, Chris Owens, Womack and Wills from left to right. Collectively, that group averages out at 6-foot-5, 319 pounds, bigger than most NFL teams.

The Crimson Tide’s projected starters on the defensive line are no slouch either as Davis, D.J. Dale, and LaBryan Ray average out at 6-foot-5, 304 pounds.

This season, Alabama’s hoping that its myriad of mammoths can deliver a sizable advantage.

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Josh Jobe not practicing and in a Black Jersey

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Saban holds a presser after practice today, most likely there will be something then.

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-- Cornerback Josh Jobe was back in a full-contact crimson jersey after wearing a black top (reserved for non-contact players) Tuesday

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(see below)

LINK ]WATCH: Up close with Alabama's running backs on Wednesday (Video | BamaOnLine)



LINK ]Why Alabama RB says he’ll run ‘mad, angry’ after waiting his turn (al.com)

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... Wills’ description of Robinson’s running style was brief. “Downhill,” Wills said. “He’s a hard hitter. That’s for sure. I wouldn’t get in his way.”

That’s linebacker Dylan Moses’ job in practice. It isn’t fun. “He’s like a truck, man,” Moses said.

Angry is an accurate way to describe the way Robinson runs... “He does,” Moses said. “He runs angry. Najee runs angry. That backfield is crazy.”

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LINK ]Alabama Football Published on Aug 7, 2019 #TreySanders First look at Trey Sanders during Alabama football practice 2:06

Watch Najee Harris, Brian Robinson, Jerome Ford, and Trey Sanders at practice 10:35 Alabama Football
Published on Aug 7, 2019

Alabama running backs get some work in during fall camp drills Alabama Crimson Tide on AL.com
Published on Aug 7, 2019 0:54