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re: Spring Football News & Info
Posted on 4/2/19 at 11:13 pm to RollTide66
Posted on 4/2/19 at 11:13 pm to RollTide66
LINK ]SB Nation - 2019 Alabama Crimson Tide Spring Football unit preview: Quarterback — the best player in the country Enjoy him for 15 more games. By Erik Evans Apr 2, 2019, 7:45am CDT Continued...
***I am not sure Hatcher is actually on Schollarship? and there is talk that Tyson is also not on Schollarship. Seems my numbers show that at least one of these guys is on Schollarship and would think it well may be Hatcher...have to wonder who will be the 1st to check out the Transfer Portal in the next few years
quote:
The Looming Battle
Taulia Tagovailoa
See that list of accomplishments up there for Tua? Meet his little brother, Taulia (‘Lia); a player that NFL teams were planning on becoming a First Round draft pick as a Junior...in high school. Purported to be even better than his older brother, Lia has a tall task in front of him, but perhaps even more potential talent: same size, same speed, same escability, and a bigger arm. And that is not faint praise, considering that Tua has been called “the quarterback of the present and the future...one who will revolutionize the position.”
Lia’s impact was immediate: Thompson had gone 5-5 in the season before ‘Lia. As a Jr. starting QB for the Warriors, Lia led Thompson to a 12-1 record and a 7A runner-up season. And he had a great year doing so (3820 yards, 66% comp., 36 TD/8 INT, 30 carries for 155 and 5 TDs.) As a senior, he posted a comparable season, though he ran a bit more and was able to drop his interceptions (3684, 62%, 35/5, 64 for 428 and 6 TDs.) After dropping a 31-12 decision to national power Hoover as a junior, ‘Lia was able exact some revenge in 2018, staging a late two-touchdown rally and upending Hoover 31-28 for the 7A title. He was named the national high school player of the year, to go with his national high school QB of the year award.
It remains to be seen if the mental part of his game is where Tua’s was at this stage in his career. But, the fourth quarter against Thompson is encouraging — we love our comeback Tagovailoas. And, halfway through Spring, ‘Lia is already turning heads, having vaulted to the second team with Mac Jones, as well as manning the third team. So, we’ll definitely see him on A-Day. But, his goal this spring will be to learn the offense as fast as possible to try and get a little separation Paul Tyson and gain on Mac Jones for the backup spot.
Paul Tyson
Lia’s competitor on the depth chart is Paul Tyson. More than the great grandson of Paul “Bear” Bryant, Tyson is an outstanding QB in his own right. Like ‘Lia, Tyson was an Elite 11 4-star QB prospect. He has a surprisingly athletic and physical side to his game, and the prototype size and quick release you like to see in a drop-back passer.
Competing with Taulia is nothing new, though. The two committed at roughly the same time. Tyson was a second-team 7A selection...behind ‘Lia. And the two had a nationally-televised slobberknocker on ESPN2 where they put on an absolute show — over 100 points scored, over 1200 yards of offense, and a Taulia-led comeback win for Thompson...despite falling down 28-0.
Seriously, this is the best 15 minutes you’ll spend this week.
Much like Tua and Jalen before them, Tyson and ‘Lia have a close relationship — and this will be an outstanding competition to watch over the next two seasons, if their prior meeting is any indication.
For now, Tyson is practicing on the fourth team — someone has to do it. But, competition against Lia has brought out the best of Tyson in the past, so don’t expect him to surrender the third team job to Tagovailoa without a fight.
—
We will cover the complete roster as we get closer to Fall and spitball a depth chart (Layne Hatcher, for instance, is an intriguing player on the roster, though not perhaps for this Spring — he was, after all, given a redshirt last season and he remains on scholarship** in 2019, despite four other scholarship players on the roster at his position.)
But, for now, we have seen the future, and it is good...as good as the present.
***I am not sure Hatcher is actually on Schollarship? and there is talk that Tyson is also not on Schollarship. Seems my numbers show that at least one of these guys is on Schollarship and would think it well may be Hatcher...have to wonder who will be the 1st to check out the Transfer Portal in the next few years
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Posted on 4/3/19 at 12:00 am to RollTide66
LINK ]Al.COM - Alabama pleased with progression of current backup QB Posted Apr 2, 1:03 P By Matt Zenitz | mzenitz@al.com
quote:
Tua Tagovailoa wasn’t the only quarterback to throw a touchdown with the first-team offense on Saturday.
Mac Jones did, too.
With Jalen Hurts now in Oklahoma, Jones is in position to take over as Tagovailoa’s backup at quarterback for Alabama and — by all accounts — the redshirt sophomore seems to be off to a good start to spring ball and seems to have done well during the team’s first spring scrimmage on Saturday.
“He’s grown a lot,” Tagovailoa said. “I think the biggest word I could describe Mac Jones in up to this point is confidence. He’s very confident in what he does now. He understands the playbook almost inside-out. He understands where people need to line up. So when you know that, you can go out there and you can just play fast. And Mac’s been playing really fast and he’s been playing really good as well.”
As Nick Saban probably realizes even more after last season, you never know when you’ll need your backup quarterback to step in and play. So Jones has been getting some reps with the Tide’s first-team offense, including during the scrimmage on Saturday.
Jones had at least one touchdown pass while working with that first-team group, a ball he zipped in to Jerry Jeudy for a red zone TD against Alabama’s second-team defense.
Jones, who threw for 123 yards and a touchdown as the Tide’s third-string quarterback last season, is competing against freshmen Taulia Tagovailoa and Paul Tyson for that backup QB spot.
"Tua is obviously the starter. Mac is the guy that has the most experience (out of the other guys) and got some playing time last year and has made a lot of progress,” Saban said. “He's the guy that can execute best right now as the next best player. ... So we need to kind of see who's going to be the next best guy and if anybody can challenge the first two guys. That's kind of where we are today and that's how we had it planned.”
Posted on 4/3/19 at 12:05 am to RollTide66
TIDER INSIDER TV: 4-2-19 By WVUA 23 Sports on April 2, 2019 Sports, Tider Insider - 22:03
Gary Harris and Rodney Orr breakdown the hiring of Nate Oats as the new Alabama basketball coach plus more on football’s first spring scrimmage.
Gary Harris and Rodney Orr breakdown the hiring of Nate Oats as the new Alabama basketball coach plus more on football’s first spring scrimmage.
Posted on 4/3/19 at 12:12 am to pmacattack
LINK ] Strange Happenings on the Alabama Football Roster - Who is on/off the team? By CB969@CB969 on RBR
quote:
A FIFTH YEAR? First off, there is the inclusion of punter Mike Berner. He had always been identified as a “Senior” last season and everyone rightfully assumed that meant 2018-19 was his final season. Erik Evans even wrote an eloquent “Senior Salute” about him. However, it appears his Alabama career may not be over just yet. Bernier is listed on the 2019 roster as “ Redshirt Senior”.
Bernier transferred from Eastern Illinois. Their website listed him as a true freshman in 2015. He is not on their 2016 roster. Alabama lists him on the 2017 roster but having not played during the campaign. Eligibility of walk-ons has always had some nebulous rules. Regardless, this all adds up to only four years since high school graduation and who knows how many seasons of football have been counted. Did he get a hardship waiver?
Is Alabama required to give him a scholarship for the coming season? We reached out to the Alabama SID and to Bernier himself but got no responses. It could be all this is pending but it appears that the Tide will have their starting punter back for another season.
Posted on 4/3/19 at 12:18 am to RollTide66
quote:
***I am not sure Hatcher is actually on Schollarship? and there is talk that Tyson is also not on Schollarship. Seems my numbers show that at least one of these guys is on Schollarship and would think it well may be Hatcher...have to wonder who will be the 1st to check out the Transfer Portal in the next few years.
I asked Boz months ago to try to find out if Hatcher is on a scolarship. Boz was able to determine that he is not. This Note from the 2019 Signing Class post (4th post) in the Football Recruiting & Roster thread explains about Tyson and Reichard not signing NLIs in order to get voluntary withdrawal replacement scholarships which didn't count against annual signing and initial counter limits.
This post was edited on 4/3/19 at 8:25 am
Posted on 4/3/19 at 12:20 am to RollTide66
Strange Happenings on the Alabama Football Roster - Who is on/off the team? By CB969@CB969 on RBR
I know, needless appearance of bashing of a kid who has for whatever reason failed to reach the field of play for any meaningful moments. So much promise and so much talent... When he came in with Mack Wilson, and Mack had to have surgery during the summer before their 1st season, I know I was thinking... that is terrible but, at least Ben seems to be healthy and will add some thump to the middle.... oh well, it shows what the heck I knew/know.
I am hoping for a grand awakening (tho, not being able to work during the spring is not helping) or a transfer to another school where he can get a new start and hopefully some planing time.
All positive thoughts for Ben, we hardly knew you
quote:
OTHER NUGGETS
Ben Davis is still on the team...
I know, needless appearance of bashing of a kid who has for whatever reason failed to reach the field of play for any meaningful moments. So much promise and so much talent... When he came in with Mack Wilson, and Mack had to have surgery during the summer before their 1st season, I know I was thinking... that is terrible but, at least Ben seems to be healthy and will add some thump to the middle.... oh well, it shows what the heck I knew/know.
I am hoping for a grand awakening (tho, not being able to work during the spring is not helping) or a transfer to another school where he can get a new start and hopefully some planing time.
All positive thoughts for Ben, we hardly knew you
Posted on 4/3/19 at 6:22 am to RollTide66
LINK ]New offensive coordinator doesn’t mean new Alabama offense TideSports.Com By Ben Jones - April 2, 2019
quote:
Another offseason brought another change at offensive coordinator for Alabama. Another spring practice brings queries about how that will change the Crimson Tide offense.
Alabama has had four changes at offensive coordinator since the start of the 2016 season. The previous three offensive coordinators – Mike Locksley, Brian Daboll and Steve Sarkisian – held that position for one season or less. Don’t expect to see wholesale changes with Steve Sarkisian running things in 2019, though.
“We kind of do what we do,” coach Nick Saban said. “I think the new coordinator brings new energy, new enthusiasm, new ideas. Sometimes we make tweaks and adaptations to what we do. But we’re pretty successful on offense, especially last year. So why would we change it a lot?”
The Crimson Tide offense finished 2018 with the kind of production that any offensive coordinator would be proud to claim: first nationally in passer rating and passing touchdowns, second in yards per play, third in points per game, sixth in yards per game and ninth in first downs per game, just to name a few.
Much, but not all, of Alabama’s production from its skill position players is returning. Players said there hasn’t been any overwhelming shift in philosophy this spring.
“We have implemented a good amount of things that Sark likes to run and he has run in the past,” quarterback Tua Tagovailoa said. “But we still have a good amount of the things that we have had last year. So, it’s not too much of a learning curve.”
Sarkisian, of course, is also familiar with much of Alabama’s foundation. He was part of Alabama’s staff of analysts in 2016 before his one-game tenure as offensive coordinator at the end of the season.
Offenses can shift not just because of changes in coordinator, but changes in personnel. Lane Kiffin called plays in 2014 and 2015. The 2014 offense had run attempts on 55.7 percent of plays and pass attempts on 44.3 percent of plays. The 2015 offense had runs on 59 percent of plays and passes on 41 percent of plays. Game situations, injuries and myriad other factors also determine what an offense looks like in addition to the coaching staff.
Defensive coordinator at Alabama has seen changes as well. The Crimson Tide will have its fourth coordinator since the 2015 season with Pete Golding now in charge. But there hasn’t been any overwhelming philosophically shift on that side of the ball, and Alabama’s defense has remained among the nation’s best through those changes.
“Defensively, Pete was here,” Saban said. “We definitely need to improve. We slipped and we continue to try to replace a lot of personnel, year-in and year-out, whether guys leave the program early for the draft or whatever it might be.”
No college football team remains perfectly intact from one season to the next. No two coordinators will call exactly the same plays.
But even with another new coordinator, Alabama’s 2019 offense could be just a short evolution away from its 2018 edition.
“There is some stuff being put in, of course, because we have a new system,” wide receiver Henry Ruggs III said. “But you always want to build on last season so we did good things and we just want to build on it.”
Posted on 4/3/19 at 7:09 am to BamaReb
quote:
BAMAREB
Anybody have any comments insight into Daddy Tagovailoa and Paul B Jr being at practices? Seems a little unusual and an added distraction. Both must have a presence about them. I don't necessarily think either would impact Saban, but the team and other coaches?
I am so Far from an "Insider" I hardly qualify as an "Outsider"; but the only thing I see are the practice reports mentioning their presence. I remember that Daddy Tag was at practice many times last year and would expect that he now has twice as many reasons to be there (impact on the other players or the coaches????) I would think that if this was a big distraction or considered clutter, HCNS would ask him to cut it back.
As far as PB,Jr's presence, it seems from the posted pictures, he is trying to stay on the fringes and not create a scene... given his status I would have expected that he also attended many practices in the past and now has a real reason to attend.
Here again I would expect HCNS to speak to the distracting party about maybe moving to the press box or suite to watch.
The next year is going to be big for both of the freshmen QB's. I wonder if the late night film study with the Tag Boys would not benefit both of them "best way to learn something is to teach it"
This post was edited on 4/3/19 at 7:52 am
Posted on 4/3/19 at 7:25 am to RollTide66
On the subject of Tua and the Heisman, not that this has anything to do with how our season will go but in my opinion he has no chance at winning it. The media controls that award and they aren't interested in picking the best player they are only interested in selling controversy so Tua will begin the season as the favorite and then the media will elevate the 2nd or 3rd or some dark horse guy and there will be a fourth quarter win it at the end to add clicks to websites and eyeballs to TV sets. It's a total scam. The only way this wont happen is if another player is not even CLOSE to Tua.
This post was edited on 4/3/19 at 7:26 am
Posted on 4/3/19 at 9:21 am to slammer66
espn controls the heisman trophy now. has ever since they pushed so hard for woodson over manning. i like bama guys winning it, obviously. but for the most part its a distraction.
as for big ben davis. cns said he was suffering from shin splints and would miss spring practice. hope he can get to a point with this issue, that he can play, at least a little bit.
as for big ben davis. cns said he was suffering from shin splints and would miss spring practice. hope he can get to a point with this issue, that he can play, at least a little bit.
Posted on 4/3/19 at 9:24 am to RollTide66
quote:
After dropping a 31-12 decision to national power Hoover as a junior, ‘Lia was able exact some revenge in 2018, staging a late two-touchdown rally and upending Hoover 31-28 for the 7A title.
Slightly inaccurate.
Posted on 4/3/19 at 9:50 am to RollTide66
quote:
Tua is obviously the starter
Kinda odd hearing Saban say this
Posted on 4/3/19 at 10:19 am to bbeck
[quote]
"Tua is obviously the starter "
Kinda odd hearing Saban say this[quote]
After last year's endless question...
Jalen or Tua,
tell us true...
which will be starting for you...
who is it now...
So, getting it over early? with no harassment of the female analyst on the field after the game?
"Tua is obviously the starter "
Kinda odd hearing Saban say this[quote]
After last year's endless question...
Jalen or Tua,
tell us true...
which will be starting for you...
who is it now...
So, getting it over early? with no harassment of the female analyst on the field after the game?
This post was edited on 4/3/19 at 12:55 pm
Posted on 4/3/19 at 10:25 am to crimsontater
I figure the early buzz will be "redemption for Tua's late season injuries and lost Heisman" then will keep Sunshine in the picture until nearer the end of the season and push him over the finish line. (would also help hype the CFB assuming that both Bama and CU are in the race... (CU is assured a position... who on their scheudle can beat them?)
Bama on the other hand has a hard row to hoe
But, I agree, don't see ESPN/Media pushing Tua to a win
Bama on the other hand has a hard row to hoe
But, I agree, don't see ESPN/Media pushing Tua to a win
Posted on 4/3/19 at 11:07 am to RollTide66
Nick Saban, players explain what really changes when Alabama gets 7 new coaches
Updated 9:29 AM; Today 6:40a Michael Casagrande is an Alabama beat writer for the Alabama Media
Updated 9:29 AM; Today 6:40a Michael Casagrande is an Alabama beat writer for the Alabama Media
quote:
This should feel familiar inside the walls inside the Alabama football complex. They’re halfway through the spring practice season as part of a semi-annual acclimation period.
Replacing seven of 10 assistant coaches is practically a hockey line change not unlike the one last spring. That time six new faces arrived in the aftermath of the 2nd-and-26 national championship. The tone is a little different coming off what happened with Clemson in California back in January. Still, there’s always the talking point about how much is changing at Alabama when there’s almost wholesale changes in the offices at the complex.
It’s not a question so easily answered because there are levels to this.
From the macro perspective, it’s the same machine with Nick Saban on top of the pyramid.
“Only so much changes around here,” Alabama tight end Miller Forristall said. “The process is still the process.”
Over the years, there have been some philosophical shifts like dabbling in the hurry-up, no-huddle when Lane Kiffin entered the picture in 2014. Every new coordinator brings a flavor to the mix from Brian Daboll’s NFL influence in 2017 and Mike Locksley’s multiple college stops before leading the offense in 2018. Now it’s Steve Sarkisian’s turn.
Saban on several occasions said the personnel on the field will dictate more about style than who is holding the play sheet. And with so many weapons back, things should have a similar feel. It’s just the route to get there that will change somewhat inside meeting rooms and on practice fields, from what players said this spring.
This post was edited on 4/3/19 at 11:56 am
Posted on 4/3/19 at 11:07 am to RollTide66
LINK ]Nick Saban, players explain what really changes when Alabama gets 7 new coaches Continued... Updated 9:29 AM; Today 6:4 Michael Casagrande is an Alabama beat writer for the Alabama Media
quote:
On defense, Pete Golding becomes the official coordinator after effectively taking over last season. There’s been a little more continuity from the leadership on that side of the ball with each of the last three defensive coordinators being internal promotions or a former assistant in Jeremy Pruitt.
“We kind of do what we do,” Saban said. “I think the new coordinator brings new energy, new enthusiasm, new ideas. Sometimes we make tweaks and adaptations to what we do. But we're pretty successful on offense, especially last year. So why would we change it a lot?”
First, the reasons behind the changes must be explained.
There was certainly a strategy behind some of the moves, though not all were part of the plan. Two assistants -- Craig Kuligowski and Joe Pannunzio -- had contract years remaining when replacements were hired at defensive line and running backs, respectively. Others like receivers coach Josh Gattis and quarterbacks coach Dan Enos took offensive coordinator jobs at Michigan and Miami, respectively.
This post was edited on 4/3/19 at 1:36 pm
Posted on 4/3/19 at 11:18 am to RollTide66
LINK ]Nick Saban, players explain what really changes when Alabama gets 7 new coaches Continued... Updated 9:29 AM; Today 6:4 Michael Casagrande is an Alabama beat writer for the Alabama Media
quote:
The theme in the pre-2018 hires was youth who had the recruiting credentials to pump some energy into the effort after seeing diminished results there the previous cycle.
The hires made in 2019 had a different feel. Saban said there were issues with the “limited amount of experience” of the previous staff in a few areas. It became clear some of those gaps were exposed in the 44-16 national title game loss to Clemson. Saban noted the recruiting success of the previous staff but wanted more. “I think that the guys that we hired are good recruiters, but I do think in some cases we have more experience and I think knowledge and experience is always something that is really beneficial to teach players,” Saban said. “So, I’ve been pleased so far with the people that we have and the progress that we’ve been able to make and how the players have responded to the coaches.”
Adding a second defensive backs coach in Charles Kelly had a few functions. Saban said he’s always respected his work and he already knew some of the concepts and terminology working with Pruitt at both Florida State and Tennessee.
Saban also wanted a coach with roots in the state of Alabama like Kelly, an Ozark native who graduated from Auburn in 1990.
“I really felt like last year's staff we really didn't have that connection with some of those local folks like we've had in the past,” Saban said.
Safety Xavier McKinney said Kelly made an immediate impact on his game with the extreme attention to detail be brings to the room.
“Yesterday, we were watching film and he was just talking about me coming out of my breaks and not being wide because when your hands go wide your feet go wide,” McKinney said March 22. “That’s just kind of the little things he tells me about to get me better.”
This post was edited on 4/3/19 at 1:34 pm
Posted on 4/3/19 at 11:19 am to RollTide66
LINK ]Nick Saban, players explain what really changes when Alabama gets 7 new coaches Continued... Updated 9:29 AM; Today 6:4 Michael Casagrande is an Alabama beat writer for the Alabama Media
quote:
There comes a getting-to-know-you period with these sweeping changes.
Offensive lineman Jedrick Wills chuckled when asked if they need nametags in meetings with new coaches early in spring. He has a new positional coach in Kyle Flood, the former Rutgers head coach who was most recently with the Atlanta Falcons.
“We’ll be in the meeting room,” Willis said “and he’ll see somebody on the film and it will be me and he’ll think it’s (Matt) Womack or Tommy (Brown),” Wills said. “So, he’s still learning, but I like him a lot.”
As far as changes to the offense itself, quarterback Tua Tagovailoa said early in spring they “have implemented a good amount of things that Sark likes to run and he has run in the past.”
Tight end Miller Forristall can see influences from a number of different places with Sarkisian on the headset now. It could be something Alabama did in the past or from “a random team,” he said.
“I mean, you can only run power so many different ways,” Forristall said. “You can only run zone so many different ways. There’s only so many concepts that are on the field. It’s like ‘Hey, I like this now. I’ve grown as a play caller. I like this now.’ I think that changes year to year now.”
It's a matter of adjusting to the way each coach communicates. Wills said the fact Sarkisian had been at Alabama previously (2016 as an analyst and one game as OC) “made things a whole lot simpler.” ..
This post was edited on 4/3/19 at 1:32 pm
Posted on 4/3/19 at 11:19 am to RollTide66
LINK ]Nick Saban, players explain what really changes when Alabama gets 7 new coaches Continued... Updated 9:29 AM; Today 6:4 Michael Casagrande is an Alabama beat writer for the Alabama Media
quote:
“They all have different styles,” Tagovailoa said. “Coach Locksley was one way. Coach Daboll was another way and with the offense we’re running now it’s different, too. It’s just getting used to what they’re doing and what they like and going with it.”
But will they come out with a completely reconstructed offense that looks different from the Locksley addition. Tagovailoa hinted at a few conceptual differences this week.
“Last year, we worked more on RPO, and we had that opportunity to perfect it,” he said Monday. “Now we’re trying to protect full-progression reads, so reading the entire field this year. I think implementing pure progression reads and RPOs is really going to be big for us this season.”
Over on defense, McKinney said the transition hasn’t been too jarring with new coaches art defensive line (Brian Baker), outside linebackers (Sal Sunseri) and defensive backs (Kelly).
“The signals can change up a little bit just with different coaches, because they might change them,” he said. “But other than that, it's the same thing. We do have to get used to the people calling it, but it's not too much of a difference."
Alabama is now in that transition between the first dry run in last Saturday’s opening scrimmage and the second one this weekend. Last week offered the first game-like situation where the new staff had to communicate with the field in real time and nobody reported any major wrinkles.
It’ll be another week before the public sees this version of Alabama football, though A-Day isn’t traditionally a statement with any bold strokes. Exactly 150 days separate the Crimson Tide from opening night in Atlanta when any tangible differences could be spotted
This post was edited on 4/3/19 at 1:30 pm
Posted on 4/3/19 at 12:42 pm to RollTide66
LINK ]BamaOnLine - How Tua Tagovailoa can better protect himself in 2019 By Charlie Potter
quote:Continued on next post/next page...
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- Tua Tagovailoa put together a record-breaking season in 2018. But in all likelihood, it could have been even more impressive had Tagovailoa stayed healthy the entire year.
This time last year, the stunning sophomore was dealing with a hand injury after the first day of spring drills. During the season, he sustained a lingering knee injury in Week 6 at Arkansas and an ankle injury that knocked him out of the SEC Championship Game against Georgia.
With that idea in mind, have Alabama head coach Nick Saban and new offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian reworked the Crimson Tide’s offense to reduce the exposure of the quarterback?
“No,” Saban said earlier this spring. “I mean, we can seven-man protect every time and send three guys out so that they could double cover them all.”
About the answer one would expect, right?
But in fairness, Alabama’s offensive line kept most of the pressure off Tagovailoa and the other quarterbacks last season. The Crimson Tide ranked 12th nationally in sacks allowed, giving up 16.0 in 15 games. That total was second-best in the SEC behind Missouri (13.0 in 13).
So, preventing some of those injuries from happening rests on the shoulders of the quarterback.
This post was edited on 4/3/19 at 12:49 pm
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