re: Bama Football Tidings

Hate to lose Romey Rome. Good luck to him.

LINK ]The many ramifications of Jake Fromm's NFL Decision (247Sports)

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Ford is Dee Hart made over.. good back and player.. just we don't have room for him. He will go start for another team and I will pull for him

Can Bryce Young win the starting QB job at Alabama this fall?

By GREG BIGGINS
101 minutes ago
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As expected, Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa decided to enter the NFL Draft and the question that now has to be asked is, can incoming freshman Bryce Young win the starting job?

For the sake of not being disrespectful to the current quarterbacks at Alabama, we’re going to focus solely on Young here and what he does well. For me, I think Young wins the starting job at some point during the season and I won’t be surprised at all if it happens before game one against USC, ironically the school he was originally committed to for much of his recruitment.

In my opinion, playing quarterback at a high level, is the hardest thing to do in any sport. I know playing PG in the NBA or hitting a 100MPH fastball are incredibly difficult but there is nothing quite like playing quarterback. It's such a unique position, where physical tools are important but even more so, the mental ability to process chaos in 2.5 seconds or less and get the ball out decisively and accurately, that separates the good from the great.


When you’re talking about a true freshman starting at quarterback in a major conference, the most important thing you have to have is an extremely high football sense, feel and IQ. The speed of the game is so dramatically different from high school and you see a lot of very good young quarterbacks just overwhelmed early on.

In covering football recruiting for the past 25+ years, Young is the best I’ve seen, from the state of California at least, in his his football sense and overall feel for the position. Going back to the basketball analogy again, picture that PG that just knows how to run a team, when to dish it at just the right time to the right player and that’s how Young plays the quarterback position. He just gets it, the game is so slow for him and he processes so quickly.

He’s so advanced in his ability to digest an offense, understand blocking schemes and read defensive fronts and coverage’s that he was the first quarterback the Mater Dei coaching staff has ever allowed to take total control of the offense, call the plays and change blocking protections.

For some perspective on that, Mater Dei is known as a quarterback football factory with names like JT Daniels, Matt Barkley and Matt Leinart being just a few notable alumni. All three were lauded for their smarts more so then their physical tools but only Young was given that kind of offensive freedom.


“He’s the best quarterback we’ve ever had here,” Monarch head coach Bruce Rollinson said earlier in the year. “I know that’s going to be a controversial statement because of some of the guys we’ve had here in the past but Bryce is just different.

“It’s not just the physical but his ability to understand the game is so high, we literally gave him the keys to the car and said, ‘go and do what you want, we trust you.’ We have never done that with any of our previous quarterbacks but we did it with Bryce.”

His ability to throw with timing and anticipation is off the charts. His subtle movement in the pocket to feel pressure and just make a slide step left or right to give him an extra half second while always keeping his eyes down the field is already at the college level.

His poise is off the charts as well and he always played his best in the biggest games. He never looks nervous or rushed when he plays and teammates feed off that confidence. Saying that, he’s still among the most competitive players I’ve seen with a burning desire to win and he has always been about the team over personal goals.

He’s a great teammate and leader and you’ll never see him chew out a teammate after a drop pass or missed block but rather, he's the guy to rush over with a pat on the back and encouraging word.

So mentally and emotionally, he’s ready but how about the physical side? It’s great to have the cerebral side but you still have to have functional football skill to step and play early and Young checks off every one of those boxes as well.

From his sophomore year to his senior year, Young made huge jumps in his arm strength, accuracy, ball placement and touch. His arm is very live now and he can make every throw on the field with plenty of velocity. He can fit the ball in the tightest of windows and his deep ball accuracy has really improved as well, to the point where he can hit a receiver in stride with ease, from anywhere on the field and make it look effortless.

He has always had a lightning quick release and has become much more comfortable staying and throwing from the pocket now. Early on in his career, there were times when he looked more comfortable outside the pocket then he did inside of it. Almost like he felt suffocated in the pocket and wanted out to use his instincts when a play was breaking down but no longer. Now he's cool and calm and has no issue throwing from anywhere.

He can get the ball out from different arm angles and throw around defenders. Saying all that, Young’s ability to make multiple defenders miss, extend plays and make something happen with his arm or his legs is a skill that really separates him from anyone I’ve ever seen. Whereas some quarterbacks take off at the first sign of pressure or can make a defender miss but are so sped up, they can’t complete a throw, Young thrives in those situations.

He just has an innate ability or instinct to feel where a defender is coming from and knows where his receivers are at once he breaks containment. He knows when to take off and run and has the athletic ability to pick up huge chunks but is more apt to use his arm in those situations, suck the defense in and then make a throw over the top. His decision making is special and again, for his age, he's so advanced in this area.

His toughness is unmatched as well and we’ve seen him routinely hang in and take a shot to get a throw off but he knows how to protect himself outside the pocket as well. When you combine all of his attributes- the advanced feel and high football IQ with the physical tools, the leadership and his winning pedigree, it’s really tough to imagine a scenario where Young isn’t the guy leading the Tide offense and it also won't surprise if he's able to lead them on a playoff run sooner then later as well.

Damn. Tough day for the Saban family with George Perles also passing away.

LINK ]Nick Saban releases statement on passing of mentor George Perles (BamaOnLine)



Prayers for Coach Saban, MS Terry, their families and all who mourn the losses today of their loved ones, Coach Perles and MS Terry's sister.

Based upon the way his recruiting went, I suspect that he will just show up to the NFL Combine without any notice.

Will Anderson...... will contribute as a pass rusher from day one

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Surge, out of all of the DE/OLB types coming this spring and or fall, who stands out the most? Who is the alpha that may get in there and take a job?

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Sanders could win a job in the base defense. Anderson could as well, but I expect him to be a nickel and dime rush specialist to start his career, and I expect that to happen in week 1.

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That's the rumor right now.

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Why? Isn’t he more of a spread qb?