re: Bama Football Tidings

Nick Saban On: Antonio Alfano, LaBryan Ray, Tackling, Justin Ebogibe
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BamaInsider - Alabama Football
Published on Sep 18, 2019
Alabama Crimson Tide Football videos from Tuscaloosa, Alabama from the staff at BamaInsider.com. Get the latest Nick Saban Press Conference and more Alabama Football coverage at BamaInsider.com.

Nick Saban shares recovery timeframe for injured DL LaBryan Ray By Charlie Potter

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TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- After further testing, Nick Saban provided the latest on junior defensive end LaBryan Ray, who reinjured his foot in the South Carolina game and underwent surgery.

“I would say that LaBryan Ray is probably going to be out for at least six weeks,” Saban said. “And then it will be how is he responding to treatment and therapy and all that type of things. So, I’m not saying he’s going to be back playing in six weeks. I’m just saying I know he’ll be six weeks before he can even start back to doing things. So, we’ll just have to see how he responds.”

Six weeks would put Ray back on the practice field in Alabama’s preparation for LSU for its home game on Saturday, Nov. 9. But that does not mean the former 5-star recruit will be ready to play.

Ray stepped into the starting lineup this fall and started all three of Alabama’s games up to this point. From his defensive end position, the former 5-star recruit registered nine tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, 1.0 sack and forced one fumble. He left the South Carolina game with the injury.

As a true sophomore in 2018, Ray provided depth along the Crimson Tide’s defensive line. He saw time in all 15 of Alabama’s games last season, making one start against Tennessee. Ray recorded 39 total tackles, including 5.5 for loss (-13 yards) and 2.5 sacks (-9 yards), and added two pass breakups and two quarterback hurries coming off the bench a year ago as a sophomore.

The Madison, Ala., native was the nation’s No. 28 overall prospect in the 2017 recruiting cycle, according to the 247Sports Composite. He was also the No. 1 player in the state of Alabama and the No. 2 strong-side defensive end. Ray was 247Sports’ No. 15 overall recruit in that cycle.

Alabama is already without defensive starters Dylan Moses and Joshua McMillon, linebackers who suffered significant knee injuries before the season started that left them out indefinitely.

Freshman Justin Eboigbe is listed as Ray’s backup at defensive end on Alabama’s depth chart. If he does start in place of Ray this weekend, the Tide could have four freshmen in its front seven.

“We knew we were going to have to have a lot of depth in our defense with the freshmen and we’re really pleased with the freshmen that we were able to recruit last year,” Saban said. “And they’ve done a nice job of working, developing and continuing to improve.

“But we’ve had some unfortunate bad luck or whatever you want to call it, losing players at certain positions -- a couple of inside ‘backers, a defensive lineman. These guys have had to be thrust into duty before we thought they would. We’re working hard to try to get them to gain the confidence they need to play well on a consistent basis.”

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Contact Charlie Potter by 247Sports' personal messaging or on Twitter (@Charlie_Potter).

WATCH: One full period with Alabama's quarterbacks (BamaOnLine)

Najee Harris was missed by three tacklers on TD run vs. South Carolina (Photo: Streeter Lecka, Getty)
Can’t Anyone Tackle Any More? By Kirk McNair

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Blocking and tackling. For decades, at least, that has been the mantra of football coaches, the distillation of the formula for success.

Tackling, though, seems to be a diminishing art in college football.

Did you see Najee Harris’s run for a touchdown following his pass reception against South Carolina in Alabama’s 47-23 win Saturday? It started with him throwing off a potential tackler. The next Gamecock in the path of Harris only heard him go high, as in high hurdle. And not to point a finger, but was that a placekicker or a cheerleader or something trying to knock Harris out of bounds? It was more like, “Tag! You’re it!” (if he even tagged Harris).

Maybe rules have something to do with it. Has fear of the targeting disqualification made defenders hesitant?

Watch any college football game and it’s almost a certainty there will be missed tackles.

Alabama Coach Nick Saban said he agrees with the perception that tackling in college football is not what it should be; or, at least, it’s not what he wants it to be on his team.

Saban said, “I don’t see everybody, but I know that I’m really on our players on our team because I think we missed far too many tackles in the last two games. And I think it comes down to the way you practice.

“Now, I’m not complaining about the way we have to practice, because I think you can still practice tackling if you do it the right way without putting yourself at risk of injury, without anybody getting on the ground.

“But you have to put yourself in position to tackle a guy every time you get an opportunity, and if you’re not willing to do that then it’s going to lead to poor tackling habits.

“So, I’m not complaining about the way we need to practice in this day and age for play safety, and I don’t think it’s attributed to that.”

Saban explained that even though tackling may not be a part of practice, that the players need to be in position. The players know they are not going to tackle in practice, he said, “so rather than doing that, they just run by and tag the guy. They’re not in position to tackle, so when they get in the game, they’re not in position to tackle the guy.”

That doesn’t mean, “oh, well.”

Saban said, “We work really, really hard on that, and we’ve been harping on it really a lot this week.”

The Tide coach did note, “The game has changed, too. think that contributes to it because now there are a lot more space plays to be made in a game, whether it’s bubbles, RPOs, balls on the perimeter, rocket sweeps, broom sweeps, all the different kinds of things that people do now. That’s all harder to tackle the guy than when they run up the middle and you’ve got 11 guys in a wad with leverage on the ball.

“I call that wad ball. We don’t see any wad ball anymore. It’s spread.”

In Alabama’s case, tackling woes could be in part because of personnel missing in action. Before the season started, the Tide lost both its projected inside linebackers, Dylan Moses and Josh McMillon to what are presumed to be season-ending injuries. They’ve been replaced by true freshmen, Shane Lee and Christian Harris.

Saban knew that young players, notably freshmen, would be called on this year. Freshman DJ Dale is the Tide’s starting nose tackle. With the loss for at least six weeks of LaBryan Ray, freshman Justin Eboigbe is expected to be the second true freshman on the starting defensive line.

Saban was asked about progress in preparing young defensive linemen to participate.

“It really doesn’t matter where we are,” he said. “What matters is we're working with these guys every day. And we’ve got to try to get them to play to a standard and then to understand what the standard that we play to around here is in terms of their ability to execute, the toughness that they play with, the effort that they give, all these things.

“I don't think you can teach experience. But I do think you can teach people the standard and the expectation and we have an expectation that these guys are going to play to just like everybody else. And that's what we're working toward. And those are the habits that we're trying to create.”

It’s a tough task that Saban and his coaches are tackling.

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After just a couple of months, offensive lineman Landon Dickerson already has a huge presence on the Crimson Tide.T.G. Paschal/BamaCentral
Why Landon Dickerson is the key to Alabama’s offensive line by Christopher Walsh

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Graduate transfer from Florida State injecting at lot of energy into Crimson Tide’s front five

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — It’s a love/hate thing. There’s really little in between when it comes to Alabama offensive lineman Landon Dickerson.

He’s relentless, no-nonsense and doesn’t shy away from anyone or anything.

Dickerson the kind of football player that everyone wants to have on his team, and absolutely doesn’t want to see on the other side.

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pretty long article; click on the link, you may find it interesting....

Alabama Crimson Tide defensive lineman Justin Eboigbe attempts to block a kick against South Carolina. Photo | Alabama Athletics
Self-motivated Justin Eboigbe prepared for starting debut at Alabama Tony Tsoukalas • BamaInsider @Tony_Tsoukalas

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Martez Edwards didn’t expect Justin Eboigbe to already be starting for Alabama. Then again, he’s used to his former player getting things done sooner than expected.

Eboigbe is set to make his first start for the Crimson Tide this weekend as he fills in at defensive end for injured LaBryan Ray. It comes a week after the four-star freshman returned from a foot injury of his own and just nine months after he arrived at Alabama as an early enrollee. A quick turnaround, but nothing Eboigbe isn’t used to.

A month before arriving at Alabama, the Georgia native became one of the first players to graduate early from Forest Park High School.

Edwards didn’t start coaching Eboigbe until the end of his sophomore year. It wasn’t until then that the promising recruit first entertained the possibility of graduating early to give him a head start on his college career.

At that point, Edwards didn’t think it could be done. Eboigbe was already too late in the process and would essentially have to double his workload by taking online classes on top of his regular classes and football.

“The work that he had to turn in, even me as an above bachelor-degree educated man, I looked at that work and I wondered how they expected a high-school kid to be able to complete this and master it,” Edwards said. “They were online courses, so he basically had to teach himself, and the timelines were intense… It would have been easy for him to quit or flunk those courses. He really wanted it though. He’s a kid that truly wants to be great.”

The hard work paid off as Eboigbe was able to join the Crimson Tide in time to participate in spring camp. Over the next few months, he demonstrated the same amount of dedication to the weight room, filling out his 6-foot-5 frame to the 294 pounds he weighs today.

"I got to come watch him this spring, and his body has just transformed from a high school athlete to a college athlete,” Edwards said. “I didn’t expect to see him starting as a freshman at a place like Alabama, but it just kind of manifested to be that way. He’s a kid that’s going to give it his all every day, and he’s been busting his butt to get where he needed to be over the last few months.”

Eboigbe flashed his potential this spring, recording four tackles and a sack during the A-Day game. He carried that momentum into the fall where he was working with the second unit before suffering a stress fracture in his foot during practice leading up to the season-opener against Duke.

While the setback kept Eboigbe out of Alabama’s first two games, he was able to make his Crimson Tide debut during last week's game against South Carolina as took Ray’s spot in the first-team defense after the starter left due to injury.

“He’s a very young guy, but I think he knows the standard for what the D-Line guys do and I feel like he’s going to hold to that standard,” senior defensive lineman Raekwon Davis said. “I feel like he’s one of the young guys who has stepped up and is ready to show the world he can play big boy football.

“He’s got a fast get-off. He’s a twitchy guy. He likes to locate the ball fast. He’s very fun to watch.”

Edwards is no stranger to elite talent, having coached former New York Jets first-round pick Vernon Gholston and current Philadelphia Eagles defensive end Brandon Graham. He compared Eboige to the latter, stating the two share the same ability to get off the ball fast.

The former head coach still remembers one play during a jamboree game before Eboigbe’s junior year when the athletic defensive lineman burst into the backfield to meet a running back right as he was receiving a handoff.

“We did a D-line stunt to the B gap, and he hit the running back so hard he knocked his helmet off,” Edwards said. “It was almost identical to Jadeveon Clowney’s Outback Bowl hit against Michigan.”

Edwards still keeps in touch with Eboigbe as the two talk three or four times a week.

“If I answered the phone for him, it’d probably be every day,” Edwards joked. “There are some times where I don’t answer him because I’m busy myself.”

The conversations center around a variety of topics but often fall back to football. While Edwards still looks to provide guidance when he can, he’s found his former player generally has the ability to self-diagnose any of his struggles on the field.

“He’s not really the type of guy to tell you about his problems unless it’s something he can’t figure out,” Edwards said. “I taught him to be solution-oriented, so when there is a problem, he’s always trying to fix it himself. Typically when he tells me about a problem, he’s already come up with a solution he’s going to take to fix it.”

After failing to record any stats over 34 snaps against South Carolina last week, Eboigbe will look to make a bigger impact during his first college start against Southern Miss on Saturday at 11 a.m. CT inside Bryant-Denny Stadium. Head coach Nick Saban expressed confidence in the freshman defensive end Wednesday, stating he expects him to develop as the season progresses.

“We like him as a player, and he’s shown a lot of maturity as a player to be able to sort of do the things the way you need to do it,” Saban said. “And he always seems to play a little better in the game or in the scrimmage than he did in practice, which is the sign of a really good competitor.”

As for Edwards, he now knows better than to doubt his former player.

“He’s a unique player with his athleticism and self-motivation,” Edwards said. “You can see how much he wants it. I think he’ll go out there and play great football.”

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Skyler DeLong is a sophomore punter at Alabama.

Field goals aren’t Alabama’s top special teams issue By Matt Zenitz |mzenitz@al.com

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Through three games, Alabama has more punts that have traveled less than 15 yards than ones that have gone at least 45 yards.

That’s not good.

While much of the focus outside the program seems to be on the Crimson Tide’s field goal kicking, the bigger special teams concern internally is the punting.

Alabama enters Saturday’s game against Southern Miss ranked 125th out of 130 FBS teams in punting average with an average of 36.6 yards per punt.

“We’ve got to get better execution,” Tide coach Nick Saban said.

Since freshman Will Reichard doubled as both the kicker and punter in game one against Duke, redshirt freshman Skyler DeLong has handled most of the punting the last two games.

It hasn’t gone great, though.

DeLong averaged 41 yards on his three punts in game two against New Mexico State. His only punt last week against South Carolina went just 14 yards and gave the Gamecocks the ball at Alabama’s 30-yard line.

For the year, DeLong is averaging 34.2 yards per punt. Reichard, who punted twice against Duke and then once vs. New Mexico State, is averaging 39.7 yards per attempt.

The longest punt for either was a 44-yarder for DeLong against New Mexico State.

Only one of the seven punts from the two has been downed inside the 20-yard line. And their combined average of 36 net yards per punt has Alabama tied for 105th nationally in net punting.

“We’ve got to get those guys to execute and they’re capable of executing,” Saban said. “They’ve done a really good job of doing it in practice. We just have not seen it in the game. How you drop the ball is very important to how you punt, and almost every punt we’ve had in a game so far the guy drops the ball inside, so you’re going to kick the ball low and not with good placement. So it’s something that we definitely need to improve on. That would be on the list of things that we need to improve.”

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Matt Zenitz is an Alabama and Auburn reporter for the Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @mzenitz.

Just A Minute: On the mysterious situation surrounding Antonio Alfano by Christopher Walsh

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Nick Saban, Crimson Tide no longer optimistic that prize prospect will return

Alabama has been trying to keep the door open for freshman Antonio Alfano, but Nick Saban’s frustration was on full display during his press conference Wednesday evening.

He's obviously not optimistic that the former prize prospect will return to the team.

Having gone off the grid, Alfano is no longer with the team, has not been attending classes and is no longer enrolled at the university.

"I just know that the guy basically quit," Saban said. "He quit going to class, he quit coming here. We tried to encourage him, we tried to help him. We had tried to set up counseling sessions with him to help him every way we could. And all those things are still available to him if he wants them, but he didn’t respond to any of the things, so until he responds, you just have to assume the guy quit.”

Alabama needs to know what to do with the roster spot, but is obviously ready to move on.

One thing is certain – had he stuck around Alfano might be starting this weekend against Southern Miss, and at minimum would have had a major role in the rotation following the injury to LaBryan Ray (foot).

Regardless, we wish Alfano the best at whatever he decides.

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