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re: Class of 2018 Recruiting MEGATHREAD: So Long Old Friend Edition
Posted on 3/2/17 at 9:09 pm to narddogg81
Posted on 3/2/17 at 9:09 pm to narddogg81
LINK ]Evolution of a Process: Part I | TideSports.com
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For each of the last nine seasons, the University of Alabama has reached No. 1 in the AP poll, a feat which had never been accomplished for longer than seven straight seasons before Nick Saban came to Tuscaloosa.
How is that possible to keep such a large, ever-changing organization on top? To a large extent it’s due to Saban’s talents and philosophies in recruiting. To put it simply, Alabama has better players than everyone else, and Saban works night and day to keep that train of talent coming.
In a four-part series, The Tuscaloosa News examines what makes Alabama’s recruiting so strong and so remarkably consistent, and how recruiting has changed in Saban’s 10 seasons at UA. In the first installment, readers get a glimpse at how a player’s character weighs nearly as much as on-field talent.
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Posted on 3/2/17 at 9:12 pm to TidalSurge1
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The intangibles
So you want to play football for Saban and Alabama? Wondering what it will take?
To join the roughly 25 or so players who earn the opportunity each and every signing class, all it takes is natural athletic ability, being one of the best players at your position in the country, fitting into an artfully-crafted set of physical criteria by position and, coaches work to assure, character.
To put it more succinctly, UA outside linebackers coach Tosh Lupoi wrapped it up in this tidy phrase: “Bigger, faster, stronger, accountable and does a good job in the classroom.”
That may not fit on a T-shirt, but the point is clear. You have to be the best of the best, and the character aspect matters just as much sometimes as the 40-yard dash times.
Take for instance Jonathan Allen, one of the top projected players in the upcoming NFL Draft and a recent Alabama graduate. In a story at the Players’ Tribune website, Allen wrote that he arrived at Alabama, he thought, as just another cog in the football machine. He was going to play for three or four years and then go to the NFL. That’s what football factories do, is produce NFL players, according to his thinking. Somewhere along the way though, Allen realized it was less about him and more about the team.
That realization, the end result of putting the team’s goals ahead of his own, is a characteristic of players who succeed at Alabama over others who never see much playing time. Those types of things – discipline, mental toughness, competitiveness – are not always easily measured, but when you add those characteristics to the sheer talent that Alabama brings in, what you get is the most consistent program in the country.
It’s the things Saban talks so frequently about – the relentless effort, mental toughness, discipline to do things the right way – that sets his teams apart.
Posted on 3/2/17 at 9:13 pm to TidalSurge1
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Character counts
There is a price for greatness and the cost never changes. The athletes brought in each and every year do change, however, and some get it while others don’t. That “it” is what the coaching staff pounds the pavement to find.
“You’re looking for a certain level of character, a certain level of maturity, a certain level of toughness,” former wide receivers coach Billy Napier said last December. “The intangibles are important, especially at a place like Alabama, where there’s a high expectation in those areas. The most critical part of our team this year is the intangible part. We’re always going to have a talented roster. We’re always going to have pretty good concepts of the type of scheme that we have. More than anything, it’s about the intangibles.
“It’s about the discipline, the intensity, the effort and the toughness they play with. The chemistry and the unity that we have, a sense of brotherhood, a sense of loyalty. When we’ve had that in the past, we’ve had pretty good outcomes. I would say (Saban) probably values that more than anything. We’re all pretty smart. We all understand the Xs and Os and what routes to run and what plays to run, but more than anything it’s about the intangibles. If we can do that here, we have a good football team.”
Those intangibles aren’t always easy to quantify during the recruiting process. UA coaches can talk to the player, his high school coaches, guidance counselors and parents, and sometimes those character traits are visible. But those UA coaches never know how a player will respond until he’s in the program.
Posted on 3/2/17 at 9:15 pm to TidalSurge1
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Toughness required
How does a coach gauge a 17- or 18-year-old football player’s mental toughness? It’s important to keep in mind that the players Alabama recruits don’t often experience much failure during their high school days, at least not personal failings. Nearly every player Alabama recruits is the best player on his respective team.
Toughness, though, is oftentimes spotted much easier than other attributes, and toughness is a must-have characteristic if you’re going to suit up for the Crimson Tide.
“Because of the brand and because of the regimen here, we look for tough sons of guns; guys that really love the game of football, because this is one place where you’re going to be facing the best competition,” former offensive line coach Mario Cristobal said.
“Football is a developmental game, like Coach (Saban) always says, and we’re going to develop you. We don’t know if you’re coming ready out of the box or if you’re going to need some assembly required. So guys that are willing to tuck aside their ego for the betterment of the team … guys that play with toughness and finish – we’re looking for guys that are trying to be relentless competitors, guys that are trying to drive (their opponent) off the screen and put guys through the ground.”
The ability to put aside one’s ego is a learned skill, one that comes easier to some over others. When Alabama brought in four running backs in the class of 2013 (Derrick Henry, Altee Tenpenny, Tyren Jones and Alvin Kamara), it wasn’t easy for most of those backs to put their egos aside. Only Henry stuck with the team, eventually winning the Heisman Trophy and nearly every other major offensive award in 2015. The other three running backs transferred.
It’s a delicate balance, because the coaching staff also wants to recruit a player not afraid of competition. When 2017 quarterback commitment Tua Tagovailoa verbally pledged to Alabama, Jalen Hurts hadn’t yet rose to stardom as the SEC’s Offensive Player of the Year.
Tagovailoa didn’t waiver from his commitment and enrolled early at Alabama. Asked about the quarterback competition that lies in front of him, Tagovailoa’s reply revealed why Alabama recruited him so heavily.
“I’m not trying to worry about any of that,” Tagovailoa said. “I’m just going to try and do what I do and let the other guys do what they’ve got to do. We’re just trying to move as one, move as a team, and I’m not trying to dog on anyone on my team or my teammates. This is my new team, this is my new family.”
Posted on 3/2/17 at 9:20 pm to TidalSurge1
LINK ]Evolution of The Process: Part 2 | TideSports.com
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Offensive recruiting
If you need an illustration of how the University of Alabama’s offensive recruiting has evolved over the last decade under head coach Nick Saban, just look in the backfield.
That’s where you’ll find 6-foot-2, 228-pound running back Bo Scarbrough. Or, a couple of seasons ago, Heisman Trophy winner Derrick Henry, who stood 6-3 and weighed in at 242. Next season, Alabama will add freshmen Najee Harris and Brian Robinson, who average 6-1 1/2 and 220 pounds.
Back up 10 years and check out the running backs Alabama brought in as part of the 2008 recruiting class, and you’ll see a trio who averaged a shade over 5-10 and right at 202 pounds. That group included another Heisman winner, Mark Ingram.
The Process, as Saban’s all-encompassing method is known, starts with recruiting. And on offense, Alabama is getting bigger – and, arguably, faster – across the board.
But there is far more to it than size and speed. Each position has physical parameters that recruits must meet to get on Alabama’s priority list, but assistant coaches also evaluate prospects for a specific list of attributes.
Ankle flexibility, for instance, is a key component in the offensive trenches.
“Offensive linemen that end up being on their toes, that can’t slide, typically have a tough time rolling out of their hips and typically have a tough time recovering,” said Mario Cristobal, who coached linemen at UA from 2013-16 before taking a position as co-offensive coordinator at Oregon in January.
In running backs, Alabama looks for more than just speed and power.
“Even running the ball between the tackles you need lateral quickness: You’ve got to change directions and then get north and south as fast as you possibly can,” said longtime running backs coach Burton Burns.
Receivers not only have to be fast, but provably so.
“Documented speed is a big deal for us,” said Billy Napier, who coached Alabama wideouts for the past four seasons before being hired as Arizona State’s offensive coordinator in late January, “whether it’s track times or a 40-time or GPS measurement at our camp.”
Those GPS times – where a player’s speed and acceleration can be precisely determined by use of a tracking device strapped to his chest – are an example of the importance of evaluating recruits when they visit for camps. Alabama coaches are able drill prospects in all crucial skill sets.
“I think the first thing is natural ball skills are key,” Napier said of what UA looks for in wideout prospects. “It’s really a skill that you can evaluate pretty well, and we’ve got a way that we do that when they come to our camp and watch them in (high school) spring practice.”
Linemen also have to demonstrate a number of abilities. That ankle flexibility that Alabama seeks is a measurable.
“We really examine that if we have guys into camp, we put them in pretty rigorous workout, test them,” Cristobal said.
It doesn’t end there.
“We watch every bit of film that you could ever imagine,” Cristobal said. “We’re on the road filming them as well.”
The film study, the in-person camp drills and game observations when coaches go on the road to see recruits play all create a composite from which Alabama coaches decide which prospects to offer, and which to vigorously pursue.
Here’s a position-by-position look at what UA coaches value as they assess recruits:
This post was edited on 3/2/17 at 9:27 pm
Posted on 3/2/17 at 9:23 pm to TidalSurge1
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Receivers
Napier first looks for the obvious: How well does a wideout catch the ball?
“Sometimes what you see is a guy’s got that or he doesn’t,” the former UA assistant said. “He certainly can make improvement in that area, but you’re really looking for that.”
After that, big-play ability, the capacity to run after making the catch and top-end speed are priorities.
Then there’s what the player actually does in games.
“Production to me is one of the most important factors,” Napier said. “I’m going to watch the film and I’m going to compare. Their junior seasons are big for me, I watch that junior season as a whole and what type of production they had.”
Physically, Alabama has seemed to settle on a certain body type. Amari Cooper, Calvin Ridley and ArDarius Stewart – the top three pass-catchers over the last three seasons – are all 6-1, ranging in weight between 188 and 210 pounds.
That doesn’t rule out players with different statures.
“Really, the approach we take within that receiver room is like we have a basketball team. We don’t want all the same type,” he said. “We like to have a couple of centers, power forward, a two guard, a point guard.
“We’re trying to put together a blend of players in that room and then build our system around who we have each season. I think it comes down to the combination.”
Napier likes variety within each recruiting class, as well as on the roster. Alabama’s No. 1-ranked 2017 class includes the top-rated group of wideout prospects in the nation, and ranges from 6-foot Henry Riggs to 6-6 Tyrell Shavers, with weights from 160 to 200 pounds.
Even so, there’s little room for a guy who’s too small.
“If a guy’s smaller, he better have elite speed and he better be put together right,” Napier said.
Recruiting decisions are also based upon need at the position.
“You’ve got to kind of anticipate who you’re losing, what you need to replace: If we’re losing some speed, hey, we need to go acquire some speed. If you’re losing a big guy, red-area type guy, a good blocker and physical player, you need to go get one of those guys,” Napier said.
To an outsider, Alabama wideouts have a certain look.
“They’ve got good length and they’ve got good speed and athleticism,” said Washington defensive coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski, who coached against UA in the Peach Bowl national semifinal last season. “That’s the basic that stands out.”
Posted on 3/2/17 at 9:29 pm to TidalSurge1
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Running backs
The emergence of Henry – a big and powerful back with breakaway speed – seems to have given Alabama a new prototype.
But just being big isn’t enough.
“Obviously there’s critical factors of running backs like good feet, balance, body quickness, those things, irregardless of their size,” Burns said. “If they have those type things and they’re competitive and they play the game with toughness, you can see that when you watch them play. So you’re looking for those type things.”
Scarbrough shared the rushing load with Damien Harris and Josh Jacobs, who are of a more conventional stature.
“Most running backs, the good ones, are in that 6-foot range, compact, and that’s what those other two guys sort of look like,” said Kwiatkowski.
Burns said the move to a larger back comes down to durability. Defenders are faster now, even along the line.
“The evolution is … get a big, physical guy to be able to handle the physical confrontations that he’s going to have from the defensive guys, but at the same time having that ability to maneuver around it, too,” Burns said.
With Lane Kiffin running Alabama’s offense the past three seasons, Alabama moved toward more spread principles in its offense. UA also utilized more zone-read concepts last season with Jalen Hurts at quarterback due to his running ability.
Still, the Crimson Tide hasn’t gone completely the way of the spread, particularly in regard to the type of running back it has recruited. Many spread teams prefer smaller, scat-back type rushers.
“Well, what’s happened to us the last couple of years we’ve been able to open (defenses) up and still have the ability to play between the tackles – so you still want a guy who can do both,” Burns said. “We haven’t gone that way where we’re just going to get this little guy, because we’re not going to be just a space team.”
Posted on 3/2/17 at 9:31 pm to TidalSurge1
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Tight ends
Alabama utilizes both traditional tight ends and H-backs, who are more in the mold of fullbacks.
For tight ends, who often line up adjacent to a tackle, height is required since they have to have the blocking ability to act as an extra lineman.
“At the line, a line-of-scrimmage guy, you want them to be 6-4 and up, a lot of length to them, and be versatile enough to go out there and run some individual routes,” Cristobal said.
Those who play at H-back can be 6-footers as they line up in the backfield and play more as blocking backs.
Intangibles are important at these positions.
“Those guys have got to be physically tough now because they’re off the ball, moving around, they’ve got to hunt up the guys that they’re going to block,” Cristobal said.
Posted on 3/2/17 at 9:35 pm to TidalSurge1
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Linemen
Alabama’s offensive line in the College Football Playoff national title game averaged 6-5 and 308 pounds. That’s half an inch taller and six pounds lighter, on average, than the line that started for the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl.
Studying the Crimson Tide on film, Washington’s Kwiatkowski saw more than just NFL size.
“I think they’re big and strong, but they’re athletic,” he said. “They run the wide zone, they can pull. They’re not stereotypic space-eater linemen.”
Athleticism is a top criteria. That goes along with the ability to recover, length, power, foot and body quickness, size and growth potential and football intelligence.
But there are still more specifics.
“Heavy hands,” Cristobal said. “Like when they put their hands on you, you feel it, you go backwards.”
Saban’s offensive lines over the years have had interchangeable parts. Barrett Jones, for instance, started at left tackle, guard and center in his career. That’s by design.
“Versatility, being able to play different positions in the line, not being just stuck at one position,’ said Brent Key, who coached interior lineman last season. “The more versatile you are, the better opportunity you have to get on the field.”
There’s also a preferred body type.
“The cutoff point for tackles is 6-4,” Cristobal said, “and he’s got to be unique at 6-4.”
Long arms and legs are also desired.
“It’s really not as much the height as it is the length,” Key said. “There’s 6-4 guys who have long arms and have that length to protect.”
The stereotypical big, blubbery lineman isn’t for Alabama.
“The leaner the better. Guys that are lean and are able to put on good weight, they naturally possess more stamina on the field,” Key said.
Having the ideal size, however, still isn’t enough. There is a checklist that predicts success, and it includes more than measurable attributes.
“With any lineman, I think toughness is something that’s very high up there,” Key said. “You’ve got to be a tough guy, a physical guy, you’ve got to love football. You’ve got to love playing offensive line, you can’t do it for the notoriety and the self-gratification. Passion is high up there. Those are the more intangible things: the toughness, the passion, the character and intelligence.
“Then you get into the more physical characteristics. Obviously you’ve got to have size, you’ve got to have some weight to you, you’ve got to have body quickness and body control. The more you have of those, the more physical you can play, and if you have the intelligence to go along with it then the faster you can play and really put it all together.”
Posted on 3/2/17 at 9:37 pm to TidalSurge1
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Quarterbacks
If there is a template for what Nick Saban looks for in a quarterback, it starts and ends with eliminating turnovers. Whether the starter is in the pro-style mold of AJ McCarron, Greg McElroy or Jake Coker, or the more mobile, dynamic athletic type like Blake Sims or Jalen Hurts, Saban emphasizes decision-making over playmaking. The head coach is fond of saying that any series that ends in a kick is a good series.
Over the last three seasons, Kiffin developed first-year starters Sims, Coker and Hurts into winning quarterbacks.
“Very different players, obviously,” Kiffin said at a news conference before UA’s semifinal game against Washington. “Again, I think what we always do is we always game-plan to our players, so our offense has looked different all three years and it’s always been about what do our players do best.”
With a new offensive coordinator on board in longtime National Football League assistant Brian Daboll, there’s no telling at this point what direction Alabama’s quarterback recruiting will take. Hurts returns as a sophomore and highly-touted freshmen Tua Tagovailoa and Mac Jones are on the roster, so any major shift in philosophy will play out over the long term, rather than immediately.
Posted on 3/2/17 at 9:40 pm to TidalSurge1
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Eye test
As detailed and specific as Alabama’s offensive recruiting philosophy is, it still boils down to trying to recruit the best prospects in the country at every position. Saban has done that, with eight signing classes in a row that have been ranked No. 1 in the country by at least one major recruiting service.
Figuring out which prospects have the best chance of success isn’t as hard as it sounds. Talent shows.
“I like to think of it as if I had my son watch this tape, he should be able to pick out the guy that needs to go to Alabama,” Cristobal said.
Difference in a Decade
Here is a position-by-position comparison of the average size of offensive signees between Alabama’s 2008 recruiting class and the 2017 signing class:
Offensive line
Year: Height, Weight
2008: 6-6, 282
2017: 6-5, 296
Tight end
2008: 6-4 1/2, 230
2017: 6-5 1/2, 242 1/2
Running back
2008: 5-10 1/3, 202
2017: 6-1 1/2, 220
Quarterback
2008: 6-3, 182
2017: 6-2, 183
Wide receiver
2008: 6-2 1/4, 194 1/2
2017: 6-2 1/4, 176 1/2
Posted on 3/2/17 at 9:49 pm to TidalSurge1
LINK ]Evolution of a Process: Part 3 – New defensive philosophy | TideSports.com
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For a stretch of time, no defense was as large and fierce as the University of Alabama’s. Not coincidentally, it was the most feared defense in the country during that period, too.
Terrence Cody came to Alabama weighing more than 400 pounds, and big-bodied players flying around became the norm, although none were as large as Mount Cody. At its frightening height in the Nick Saban era, the Alabama defense regularly had linebackers weigh more than 260 pounds.
It was a time of league and national dominance for Crimson Tide defenders, who threw that weight around.
Then along came Kevin Sumlin and Johnny Manziel into Tuscaloosa in 2012 and things began to change. Offenses got faster and used the entire width of the field. They made defenses uncomfortable and flat-out exhausted with their pace.
And it wasn’t just Texas A&M. Ole Miss, under Hugh Freeze, adopted the spread, hurry-up attack, and so did Auburn under Gus Malzahn. Suddenly, Alabama’s big bodies became a big problem when offenses kept those bodies on the field, with the defense unable to substitute.
Then came a philosophical change of streams for the Alabama defense.
This development didn’t occur overnight, but as sure as a Reuben Foster tackle, it occurred.
Foster and the linebacking corps is a good place to start in examining this change. Once a position held by guys who weighed sometimes as much as 270 pounds, it didn’t have a starter in 2016 at more than 253.
The change came in the form of the type of defensive athlete Saban recruited. Alabama will never turn down a big, freakishly-fast player, but more and more the focus has shifted to quick-twitch speed and versatility that allows one player to play multiple roles.
It also changed the way the defensive coaches ran practice.
“I think one thing that’s maybe a little different now than when I was here before, we have a lot of periods in practice that are no-huddle, fast-paced,” defensive coordinator Jeremy Pruitt said. “For our guys, we don’t huddle anymore. Everybody used to huddle. …. That’s been going on for a while. The practice part of it, when we go good-on-good, is probably a lot faster than it was four or five years ago.”
That November loss to Texas A&M in 2012 was the start of Alabama’s new-look defense: one that features the same toughness and strength as before, but now with the speed, depth and versatility to play any style of football it faces.
This post was edited on 3/2/17 at 9:52 pm
Posted on 3/2/17 at 9:56 pm to TidalSurge1
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Linemen
Not too long ago, Cody, who played at well over 350 pounds, was exactly the type of nose guard Alabama sought to take on blocks, hold ground and allow linebackers to roam free and make tackles. The defense is now anchored by Da’Ron Payne, a 6-foot-2, 319-pound strongman who has uncanny lateral quickness and burst for a guy his size.
At Shades Mountain High School, Payne pushed the scales at 350 pounds. But he arrived in Tuscaloosa having lost weight and ready to work. After his first summer, he lost even more weight and has become one of the SEC’s best interior defensive linemen.
Alabama also began employing an all-hands-on-deck mentality along the defensive line too, playing as many guys who were ready to play as possible. The more an opposing offense tries to go fast to wear a defense out, the more defensive linemen are needed to combat it.
For example, examine two years ago when Alabama had the deepest defensive line in the country with A’Shawn Robinson, Jarran Reed, D.J. Pettway, Jonathan Allen, Davlin Tomlinson, Darren Lake, Da’Shawn Hand and Josh Frazier. All of those players were able to play and helped keep the unit fresh.
Such specimens aren’t easy to find, but Alabama does as good a job as anyone in the country at locating and developing them.
“I remember this thing I heard from Nick when I was back at LSU with him,” defensive line coach Karl Dunbar said. “He’d say, ‘Big guys are just like pretty women. There’s not a lot of them and everybody wants them.’
“It’s amazing how you scour the earth for guys. I found this to be true coaching pro ball, I’ll get a kid who wants to come try out for a pro team who’s 24, 25 years old who’s 6-foot-5, 285-290 pounds but he played basketball. Once he found out he wasn’t a basketball player, it’s too late. He didn’t go to college to play football, he played basketball, and all of a sudden he grows up into a man and it’s too late. That’s the thing. You go out and you talk to all these AAU (basketball) coaches and you trying to find guys who are 6-4, 245-250 at 15 or 16 years old and then all of a sudden when they hit that 17, 18 they’re 6-5, 290 and that’s the guy you’re looking for.
“They’re out there, you just have to do a great job looking.”
What does Alabama look for in defensive lineman now? They want Allen, Tomlinson and Payne types. They want it all.
“You want athletes who are physically gifted who can run, but we also like big guys who are strong and powerful,” Dunbar said. “I think that’s the thing we strive to get when we’re out recruiting guys. You look at their bodies and see if they can gain weight, gain muscle mass and at the same time be athletic enough to chase down these running backs and quarterbacks in these spread offenses.
“It changes. You don’t have a whole bunch of guys, 365-370, but I got a guy now who’s 6-7, 320 (Raekwon Davis). But he can move. That’s the kind of body types and athletes you look for and you look to get and you wish they would come to your school.”
Sometimes a player doesn’t fit the mold body-type wise, but his film becomes too much to ignore.
“If a kid can play, he can play,” Dunbar said. “I coached a kid at LSU and coached him at Buffalo, Kyle Williams. Nobody wanted him because he was short, short-armed. He’s been playing in the league for 12 years now. So the film don’t lie. Scales lie sometimes, but not the film. I think that’s the thing as coaches you’ve got to really watch the film and see what a kid can do and go from the there.”
This post was edited on 3/2/17 at 9:57 pm
Posted on 3/2/17 at 9:59 pm to TidalSurge1
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Linebackers
At no other position is Alabama’s change in defensive recruiting philosophy more evident that at linebacker.
For years, the UA linebackers were a big group. Not in terms in numbers or depth, although that has been quite impressive to watch throughout the years, too, but in sheer size.
Rolando McClain played at 258 pounds. Dont’a Hightower started at 260. Courtney Upshaw was 265. Xzavier Dickson was 265, Reggie Ragland and Denzel Devall both played at 252 and Trey DePriest started at 250. Even a smaller-body guy like Nico Johnson was 245 pounds.
The five main linebackers who played the most in 2016 averaged a weight of 234.2 pounds and that includes the 252-pound Ryan Anderson. The most effective linebacker, Reuben Foster, played at 225. Tim Williams was 230, Rashaan Evans was 231 and Shaun Dion Hamilton was 232.
Two years ago, the starting middle linebackers averaged 252 pounds. This past year the starters averaged 228.5.
“I think you have to recruit to what you’re going to play against,” Pruitt said. “When you look at when you’re recruiting a linebacker or a defensive lineman, to me the first thing you have to figure out is, can he play all three downs? What’s his role on third down? What’s happening is, to me, it used to be you had first and second down and then third down changed.
“Well, the way the game is now, a lot of times probably, nine out of 12 weeks, first and second down is just like third down. These athletic quarterbacks, you have to have guys who can get them on the ground. I think yeah, when you start evaluating, you do have to recruit guys who can play all three downs.
“You have to have them all. You have to have all types.”
In 2014, the outside linebackers were Dickson, Devall and Anderson. Dickson paced the team in sacks with nine and the team recorded 32 sacks on the season.
A season later with a slimmer, more speedy Tim Williams on the outside, the team’s sack numbers began to change. Williams registered 21.5 sacks over the past two seasons as the team recorded 107 total.
Anderson is a perfect example of what an outside linebacker is expected to do now in Alabama’s defense. He had a career-best nine sacks in 2016 but was also expected to play the run and even cover downfield.
“It’s important these days is a linebacker where you really have to be a versatile player,” outside linebackers coach Tosh Lupoi said. “With the way these offenses are allowed to perform at such a rapid and fast pace, you have to have a guy who can set the edge and thump and be a physical player and at the same time be an effective edge pass rusher and have the versatility to drop in coverage, as opposed to just having certain guys that can perform their certain duties.
“You’re really looking for a guy these days who can kind of perform at a high standard with all those duties because of the way the pace of the game is allowed to go at such a high speed. It’s certainly a challenge.”
Posted on 3/2/17 at 10:01 pm to TidalSurge1
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Defensive backs
When Alabama began its dynasty run, it ran a base 3-4 defense. Now thanks to the proliferation of spread, hurry-up offense, the Crimson Tide is now a nickel base defense, playing with five defensive backs on the field approximately 80 percent of the time.
That change necessitated the recruitment of a defensive back who can do it all. The perfect illustration of what Alabama now looks to recruit is Minkah Fitzpatrick, who plays cornerback, safety and the star position.
Here are the critical factors that the defensive coaching staff weighs when recruiting a defensive back.
“The main things we really stress on are can he open-field tackle, can they play man to man, can they play the ball in the deep part of the field?” defensive backs coach Derrick Ansley said. “We think those three critical factors will translate well to the next level. We drill those three things and we demand everybody be able to tackle.
“Outside corners are in man-to-man a lot. So those have to be comfortable having their back to the ball. Most of the guys we get have those kinds of skill sets. Nobody’s perfect. Some guys are better than in two of the three. You may have to work on one, but as close as you can get to those three trifectas you’ve got your DB.”
Fitzpatrick led the team with six interceptions on his way to an All-American season in 2016. He’s the prototypical defensive back Alabama now recruits. A player who could play a similar role this upcoming season is Tony Brown, another versatile, extremely athletic defensive back. Brown is ideal because he can play any style the defense faces.
“In our league you basically have to have two teams,” Ansley said. “You have to be able to play Ole Miss and A&M and then turn around and go play Arkansas and LSU. You have to kind of have two teams. We try to teach guys at least two positions. You may see Tony play corner and star and Minkah may play corner, star, safety. As much as you can do of that, you build your roster because you only have 85 scholarships. As much as you can dual-teach guys, it creates a lot more versatility.
“The game’s definitely evolved since I played. You don’t just want to recruit a guy who can play box safety. Because the game is not played in the box. There’s a couple of teams that still try to run the ball directly at you and play in the box, but most teams are going to spread you out and make you play 53 1/3 (the width of the field) every snap. So you have to play guys who can play well in space. We try to recruit guys who can cover and tackle. But they also have to have enough size to play against the teams that want to play in the box.”
Posted on 3/2/17 at 10:03 pm to TidalSurge1
quote:
Slimmer and faster
Here is a position-by-position comparison of the average size of defensive signees between Alabama’s 2008 recruiting class and the 2017 signing class:
Defensive line
2008: 6-4 1/2, 284.6
2017: 6-4 1/2, 268.75
Linebackers
2008: 6-2 1/3, 229.3
2017: 6-3, 225.7
Defensive backs
2008: 6-1 1/5, 191.8
2017: 6-0 1/3, 179
Posted on 3/3/17 at 12:09 am to TidalSurge1
quote:
Quarterback
2008: 6-3, 182
2017: 6-2, 183
Seems like a short average height for a position where most of the NFL type talent is 6'3" or taller.
Posted on 3/3/17 at 7:48 am to Evolved Simian
The averages are probably for the 2008 & 2017 recruits -- when they were high school seniors. The author probably used Rivals recruiting data, which has Tua at 6-1 and Mac Jones at 6-3.
This post was edited on 3/3/17 at 8:42 am
Posted on 3/3/17 at 8:50 am to TidalSurge1
LINK ]Alabama offers 5-star USC quarterback commit | AL.com
quote:
For the third day in a row, Alabama has offered a quarterback from California.
Thursday's went out to Matt Corral, a five-star ranked as the nation's No. 9 recruit, per Scout.com and other reports. The Long Beach, Calif., native, though, has been committed to USC for nearly 13 months.
The 6-foot-2, 185-pound Corral is the No. 2 pro-style quarterback.
He becomes the fourth quarterback to report an offer after new offensive coordinator Brian Daboll was hired. The others include:
* Utah commit Jack Tuttle
* Four-star uncommitted pro-style passer Tanner McKee
* Las Vegas four-star dual-threat Dorian Thompson-Robinson, who is also uncommitted
Check out Corral's highlights.
Posted on 3/3/17 at 10:30 am to TidalSurge1
quote:
Florida State fans know all about the wild ways of recruiting. They’ve dealt with big flips, and also some big loses, but one flip that will always be remembered is when defensive end DeMarcus Walker switched his commitment from Alabama to FSU.
Walker’s flip will also be remembered for it’s timing.
Walker appeared on the podcast Big 3 Roll Up and talked about the circumstances of his flip to FSU at the 18:10 minute of the show.
"It was 99% coach (Jeremy) Pruitt. He's the reason I came to Florida State," Walker added. "I couldn't fight it, once it was out there, it was out there."
While the confetti was still falling during Alabama’s 2012 National Championship win, news abruptly broke that Walker was heading to Tallahassee, rather than Tuscaloosa.
LINK
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