re: Spring Football News & Info

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Of course no other team could have handled the injuries we had last year either so it's not like we are behind anybody. I could literally see a situation between four or five teams that the healthiest team could win the title just due to that.

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Dylan Moses is entering his third spring at Alabama and second as a full-time starter. But the rising junior is now one of only two veterans in the inside linebacker room. The thought isn’t overwhelming him, however. Moses is embracing the new challenge. “It’s crazy,” Moses said Monday afternoon around local reporters. “I remember when I first came in as a freshman, a puppy, having to sit back and watch the older guys to see how it’s done. Now that I’m the older guy in the room, aside from Joshua McMillon, it’s a great feeling.”

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With Mack Wilson choosing to enter the NFL draft a year early, Moses will step into the Mike linebacker role of the Crimson Tide’s defense this spring and offseason ahead of the 2019 campaign. After playing alongside the future pro for all of last season, Moses will now be the voice of UA’s defense as a junior. And he was all smiles when discussing making the move to Mike this spring. “I’m really excited to be able to have that position. I always wanted it,” he said. “That’s something me and Coach (Nick) Saban spoke about when I first came into the program and when I was recruited. So, to finally be the Mike linebacker to quarterback the defense, I’m happy and I’m excited. “... I’ve always been natural at it because ever since little league and high school, I’ve always played Mike linebacker. So, it just gave me free range to run from sideline to sideline, and pretty much all I have to do is make the calls. Playing the position here, all you’re doing is covering a running back when you’re dropping in coverage if it’s not a zone coverage. For me, there’s less to think about. All I have to do is make the calls and then run wherever I’ve got to run. Like I said, I’m really excited. I’m happy. I’m overjoyed to be playing the position again.”

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UA’s starting Will linebacker in its 2018 base and nickel defenses, Moses recorded a team-high 86 tackles, including 10 tackles for loss (-41 yards) and 3.5 sacks (-29 yards), while adding one pass breakup, one forced fumble and one quarterback pressure to his sophomore totals. Moses earned second-team All-America recognition from the Walter Camp Football Foundation and was selected as an All-SEC second-team honoree by the league coaches. He was also one of the finalists for the Butkus Award, presented annually to the nation’s top linebacker.

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He emerged as the Tide’s most consistent inside linebacker last year and is eager to start making calls “I'm really comfortable with it,” Moses said. “My freshman year, I struggled with it at first. I’m more sort of a perfectionist. I try and get everything right, and you know you are going to mess up from time to time. But it took me 11 months to learn the defense. My entire sophomore year, that pretty much secured it. I for sure know it now. So this year, like going through this spring, I’m really looking at it like as like a business. I’m not really worried about the plays, not worried about anything else. So, every time I step on that field it’s a business-type environment. “I literally flip a switch in my head and leader mode, linebacker mode -- I got to do what I got to do.” Moses has noticed his teammates have started watching his every move in drills and seeing how he handles adverse situations. As a leader of the 2019 defense, he knows he has to be more vocal and carry himself the right way through the Crimson Tide’s next 14 spring practices

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The former 5-star recruit will be making the journey alongside first-year defensive coordinator Pete Golding. The two will be the new voices of the defense, and Moses couldn’t be more excited. “I’m really happy that he’s the defensive coordinator because he’s my position coach,” Moses said. “I’m really comfortable with him. I have a good relationship with Coach Pete. He’s from Louisiana, from Hammond, La. That’s about 30-45 minutes away from Baton Rouge. So, we have strong ties. “For him to be defensive coordinator now, I’m really proud of him, and I’m happy. And I’m ready for the season.”

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TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- After nine days off for spring break, Alabama returned to the field for its second of 15 spring practices Monday. The..

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Alabama returned to the practice field Monday, going through its second practice of spring ball and its first since March 8. Here are some notes from the media viewing period: — Second-year linebacker Ale Kaho wasn’t at practice again. Kaho, who is working through “some issues," had tweeted after missing the Crimson Tide’s first spring practice that he’ll “be back real soon.”

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— Tight end Kedrick James was also missing from practice again.
— A few former Alabama coaches who are currently working in the NFL were in attendance for practice — Brian Daboll, Karl Dunbar and Jeff Stoutland. They’re likely in town for the Tide’s pro day, which is Tuesday. Daboll spent some time talking to Tua Tagovailoa’s father, Galu.
— The first four inside linebackers during drills were Dylan Moses, Josh McMillon, Markail Benton and then Jaylen Moody.
— Henry Ruggs and DeVonta Smith led the two outside receiver lines during drills. Slade Bolden and Tyrell Shavers were the second group. The third group consisted of Xavier Williams and freshman John Metchie. Jerry Jeudy was first in the slot receiver line, followed by Jaylen Waddle and walk-on Chris Herring.
— Cameron Latu is still working at tight end. He was fourth in line for tight end drills behind Miller Forristall, Major Tennison and walk-on Giles Amos.
— Nickel back Shyheim Carter, who had sports hernia surgery in January, is still in a black non-contact jersey. Matt Zenitz

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...depending on the coordinator and QB, it seems that the tight end group is used significantly differently every year. Sometimes they’re more in-line blockers, sometimes they’re receivers, and sometimes they’re hybrid fullbacks. It’s yet to be seen what direction Steve Sarkisian will end up taking the position.

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Returners
#87- Miller Forristall The redshirt junior is a 6’5” 235 -pound athletic specimen who played QB up until his senior year of high school before moving out wide as a hybrid receiver/tight end and hauled in nearly 1000 yards in his first year as a pass-catcher. He played in all 15 games at Alabama as a true freshman, being used mostly as a blocker if Hentges or Howard needed a break. He did have a few receptions in critical moments though, and left most Alabama fans excited about his potential. Unfortunately, his sophomore year was cut short just a couple of games in with a severe knee injury, and he got a medical redshirt. Last year, he worked his way back but still looked slower than he had in the past, and he had been passed up on the depth chart by the meteoric ascendance from Irv Smith. Now that Smith and Hentges are gone, Forristall is the frontrunner to take over the job. He still has to prove that he’s totally recovered from his knee injury two seasons ago and recover the athleticism that made him a top recruit.
#88- Major Tennison About 10 pounds heavier than Forristall, the redshirt sophomore is more known for his blocking than his receiving. Tennison was forced into Forristall’s role as the back-up 3rd blocker his freshman year he went down with the knee injury. Then in 2018, Tennison actually redshirted as a sophomore and never played.
#44- Kedrick James The 260-pound bowling ball of a tight end is also in his third year with the team. He’s played some defensive line in the past, and bulked up to as high as 280 pounds before. He’s known as a devastating blocker and is often used as a fullback in goal line situations. He’s only played in 10 total games so far in his first two years on campus, and was suspended for the playoffs at the end of 2018— a suspension that will most likely carry over into the first couple of games of 2019.
#80- Michael Parker At 6’6” and under 220 pounds, Parker took a redshirt as a freshman and never saw any action last year. He’s not much of a blocker, and more of another one of those receiver/tight end hybrid types with nice hands and the ability to box people out for jump balls. He’s still mostly an unknown though.

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Projected A-day depth chart
Though the nature of the position changes,Saban usually uses two different tight ends as “starters,” one of which is an H-back and the other is a traditional Y-TE (the H usually lines up off the LOS like an offset full back, and the Y is usually on the line somewhere). Those two positions aren’t really separated by receivers vs blockers though, so it’s kind of hard to predict who will be which spot... and they’re mostly interchangeable anyway.
TE-H: Miller Forristall, Michael Parker
TE-Y: Major Tennison, Kedrick James The tight ends are usually a position that wins starting jobs by seniority, since it’s generally much more focused on playing assignment football and consistency than on athleticism. Forristall is pretty much a sure bet to be one of the starters, and the other will probably be a battle between James and Tennison. James’ looming suspension is the tie breaker though, relegating him to the second team with the younger and still a bit undersized Michael Parker.

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Here's a useful link for those that want it: The Alabama youtube channel from AL.com. They usually have all the press conferences, practice videos, and such.

Alabama youtube channel

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