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re: Spring Football News & Info
Posted on 4/6/19 at 10:24 pm to RollTide66
Posted on 4/6/19 at 10:24 pm to RollTide66
Alabama Football: Six Tide players could surprise this spring by Ronald Evans SIAP
quote:
As Alabama football Spring Practice begins, look to these six lesser-known players to step up and elevate themselves into key roles for 2019.
With only 13 starters returning on offense and defense, Alabama football offers many opportunities for lesser-known players to earn key roles. The six Crimson Tide players discussed below could make a big step forward, either as starters or as second-unit players frequently rotated into game action.
The list does not include any of the true freshmen. Fifteen of them will participate in spring practice. Placekicker Will Reichard is considered a near-lock to earn a starting role. Others, like Antonio Alfano, Justin Eboigbe and Scooby Carter could work their way into the two-deep by the end of fall camp.
The list does include four redshirt freshmen, a sophomore and a redshirt junior.
Christian Barmore
As a recruit, Christian Barmore stood out for quickness and speed uncommon for a 6-foot-5 player. What he lacked physically was weight and strength. Reports out of Tuscaloosa are he improved his strength appreciably during his redshirt year. He is also up to 310 pounds. We expect Christian to have a key role in the defensive line rotation.
Chris Owens
Owens appears to be the replacement at center for Ross Piersbacher. As a redshirt junior, he has some playing experience. His playing roles have been at center, guard and tackle. He is well sized for center at 6-feet-3 and 315 pounds. He will have to earn the starting role over Emil Ekiyor.
Emil Ekiyor
As mentioned above, the redshirt freshman will be in consideration at center. We expect he can earn a starting role at guard, at least until the end of Deonte Brown’s suspension. Ekiyor came to Tuscaloosa with a good bit of bad weight. He has trimmed down to 338 pounds.
Xavier Williams
Four Crimson Tide wideouts are set for a regular rotation as long as they remain healthy. Rotational opportunities exist for two more. Williams a chance to the fifth guy. At 6-foot-1 and 195 pounds, the redshirt freshman can become the Tide’s most physical receiver.
Slade Bolden
Bolden is another redshirt freshman receiver who can earn a rotational role. Bolden has versatile skills, having played both running back and quarterback in high school. He can develop into a solid possession receiver for the Crimson Tide.
Eddie Smith
Sophomore Eddie Smith did not come out of high school as highly rated as most of his Alabama football teammates. Nick Saban has always rated him higher than his 3-Star recruit ranking. Although he can play corner, Smith has been developed to play safety. The Crimson Tide needs a new starting safety in 2019. Devonta Smith’s cousin, Eddie could earn a starting role in the nickel or dime. He will have to beat out Daniel Wright first.
That is who we see as a surprise six to watch during spring practice.
This post was edited on 4/6/19 at 10:28 pm
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Posted on 4/6/19 at 10:41 pm to RollTide66
LINK LINK ]Alabama Football: What we hope to learn from Saturday’s scrimmage by Ronald Evans Follow @revansbama
quote:
Alabama football has spring scrimmage No. 2 Saturday afternoon. Fans are hoping the scrimmage provides some answers about the team, particularly on defense.
...
Does Alabama football have a competent and consistent punter and kicker? If so, who or whom among Bulovas, Reichard and DeLong will it be? With Mike Bernier placing his name in the graduate transfer portal, we assume he is out of the running.
How much is the drop off in the interior of the defensive line without Quinnen Williams? A drop off is somewhat inevitable but how close is Phidarian Mathis to being an All-SEC nose tackle? And when he rotates out, is there a much bigger drop off with the next man up? Rumor is D.J. Dale has looked very good in practice. We want to know how good in a game-like situation?
Can Alabama football field a capable second inside linebacker when needed? And though it is too soon to know, who is the most probable replacement should an injury befall Dylan Moses? The practice order in drills indicates the next three after Moses are Josh McMillon, Markail Benton and Shane Lee. Is Ale Kaho so far behind, the potential of him filling in for an injured Moses is a pipedream?
Is Eyabi Anoma stepping up enough to be more than a pass rushing specialist and what about Anontio Alfano? The pair play different positions but along with Terrell Lewis, the three were expected to terrorize opposing quarterbacks next fall. Lewis is still recovering from injury. There has been a positive buzz about Eyabi. In terms of chatter, Alfano has all but disappeared. Alabama football fans want answers.
Our ‘somethings’ turned into a deluge of questions. There will never be complete answers after Saturday’s scrimmage or next week’s a-Day game, and probably not even after the first scrimmage of fall camp.
We have questions about the offense as well, but not with the same sense of urgency. As long as Nick admits his offense is ahead of his defense, we’ll look for defensive answers first.
Posted on 4/6/19 at 10:51 pm to RollTide66
LINK ]Alabama Football: Listening to Nick Saban scrimmage comments by Ronald Evans Follow @revansbama
a couple things, I have not seen anywhere else today, for what they are worth:
a couple things, I have not seen anywhere else today, for what they are worth:
quote:
Alabama football coach Nick Saban had much to say after the second Crimson Tide scrimmage of the spring. Players and fans needed to pay attention.
Nick Saban’s problem this spring is not enough second and third unit guys are pushing the presumed starters. Some are, true freshman, D. J. Dale is one who has pushed himself into a possible first unit role at nose. The top four wide receivers are set, barring injury. If Sark is like recent offensive coordinators, up to six wide receivers will get playing time. Another freshman, John Metchie is pushing hard enough, he might reach a group of six.
Nick Saban’s challenge with the young 2019 roster is having a solid two-deep that fit the description above. So far, he has not seen it in all the first units. Defensive line and inside linebacker are a work in progress. It appears Markail Benton got the first call next to Dylan Moses in the scrimmage. Freshman Shane Lee is rumored to have seen some time with the first group as well. Nick could not come up with much good to say about the young linebackers.
Posted on 4/6/19 at 11:30 pm to RollTide66
Knew Dale would be good but not this good
Posted on 4/7/19 at 2:41 am to Tide or Die87
BamaOnLine Tweet re: DJ Dale
BamaOnLine @BamaOnLine247
#Alabama true freshman DJ Dale works with first-team defense in second scrimmage of the spring
“He’s got good initial quickness, good power, seems to be pretty conscientious, shows a little maturity about being able to go out there and do his job.”
BamaOnLine @BamaOnLine247
#Alabama true freshman DJ Dale works with first-team defense in second scrimmage of the spring
“He’s got good initial quickness, good power, seems to be pretty conscientious, shows a little maturity about being able to go out there and do his job.”
Posted on 4/7/19 at 8:49 am to RollTide66
Since most everyone has seen the major things,
Dale is a beast
Offense looks awesome etc
I’ll just post stuff that I haven’t really seen out.
Looks like they are sticking with the Diggs to safety/star move. This is the second time I’ve seen him not on outside corner.
Punter notes:
Practice kicks, from around the 50-52
Kick 1- hit the goal line
Kick 2- hit the trainers hands in the middle of the end zone
Kick 3- hit the crossbar
Kick 4- goal line
Kicks 5-7 were pin kicks from short yardage
I’m slightly concerned with the Will position, I like McMillan but he needs to study up as does Benton.
I actually like the OL, think it will be a good unit.
Dale is a beast
Offense looks awesome etc
I’ll just post stuff that I haven’t really seen out.
Looks like they are sticking with the Diggs to safety/star move. This is the second time I’ve seen him not on outside corner.
Punter notes:
Practice kicks, from around the 50-52
Kick 1- hit the goal line
Kick 2- hit the trainers hands in the middle of the end zone
Kick 3- hit the crossbar
Kick 4- goal line
Kicks 5-7 were pin kicks from short yardage
I’m slightly concerned with the Will position, I like McMillan but he needs to study up as does Benton.
I actually like the OL, think it will be a good unit.
Posted on 4/7/19 at 8:54 am to CrimsonBoz
Thanks Boz. How is Barmore looking?
Posted on 4/7/19 at 10:08 am to CrimsonBoz
Who was doing the punting?
Posted on 4/7/19 at 11:49 am to Panthers4life
Delong
Posted on 4/7/19 at 11:50 am to CrimsonBoz
Thanks for the info on our mystery punter.....now are you shitting me on those short punts????? Remember how much credit Delong received after A-Day for kicks downed inside the 20?....what we learned is he couldn't kick the ball far enough to even make the endzone. I will assume Delong was the guy actually kicking the ball 55 yards from toe to receiver?
Posted on 4/7/19 at 12:16 pm to JoseyWalesTheOutlaw
Delong has improved drastically.
His short yard punts were good.
His long punts were good.
His short yard punts were good.
His long punts were good.
Posted on 4/7/19 at 12:23 pm to JoseyWalesTheOutlaw
Here is a picture of Longshanks from Braveheart. If we have to photoshop Delong's face here, we might be in trouble 
Posted on 4/7/19 at 12:36 pm to Cobrasize
Posted on 4/7/19 at 12:40 pm to CrimsonBoz
if the season starts today how do you see the OL due to the one suspension until after game 4 and how do you see the starting DL and then the starting FG kicker.
Posted on 4/7/19 at 12:46 pm to mrbroker
Good question considering Wills just got banged up
Posted on 4/7/19 at 2:25 pm to CrimsonBoz
Thanks for the kicking info, would be nice if Bama had someone who could compare to Scott...
Were there any punts/kicks under duress in the scrimmage? or were these just practice kicks?
Were there any punts/kicks under duress in the scrimmage? or were these just practice kicks?
Posted on 4/7/19 at 2:53 pm to RollTide66
LINK ] Home Football Nick Saban not pleased with backups after Alabama’s second scrimmage Nick Saban not pleased with backups after Alabama’s second scrimmage By Terrin Waack - April 7, 2019
quote:
A standard surrounds Alabama football. Lately, it has been publicly dubbed the “Alabama factor.” But, regardless of what it’s called, Alabama coach Nick Saban expects his players to live up to it.
So, when the Crimson Tide held its second spring scrimmage Saturday in Bryant-Denny Stadium, what Saban saw made it clear who on his team understands that standard and what it truly entails.
“The guys that have played around here and been good players know how to compete,” Saban said. “They’ve been in big arenas before. They have mental toughness. They play with discipline. We have high expectation for how those guys play, and those guys don’t disappoint us. And they didn’t disappoint us today.
“But the big thing we wanted to see today is we have a lot of young players on our team that have a chance to contribute to the team and play winning football.”
It’s their turn not to disappoint, and it doesn’t sound like their holding up their end of the bargain so far.
Saban was happy with the first-teamers on both sides of the ball. Beyond that, there’s “a lot of work to do.” Alabama needs to develop and strengthen its depth offensively and defensively.
“Now I haven’t watched the film yet, but I wasn’t pleased with the way some of those guys made improvement and came along,” Saban said. “Look, it’s a work in progress. So wherever they are, we’re going to keep working with them to try to get them where they need to be, but we were hopeful that we would make a little more progress.”
The Crimson Tide has two more spring practices left – Tuesday and Thursday – before it heads back to Bryant-Denny Stadium for its A-Day game Saturday at 1 p.m. Then, it won’t have any actual competition until Aug. 31 when Alabama officially opens up its 2019 season against Duke in Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
By then, there will some even newer faces on the Crimson Tide. The only 2019 signees on campus right now are the early enrollees. There are even more to come.
Competition is far from over.
“We’ve got nine players coming on defense and three more guys coming in on offense, and all of those guys are going to get every shot over the summer and fall camp to be able to compete with the guys that are here,” Saban said. “So, nobody’s going to be entitled to anything when it comes to next fall.”
Posted on 4/7/19 at 3:14 pm to mrbroker
OL would be fine. With Wills being a question mark I’m curious to see how they would fill that gap I’m checking into that.
The kicker from Hoover is pretty good and that has in turn made Bul compete harder.
The DL is good but have struggled some with stopping the run which, royally pissed off Saban. I have no doubt it will be fixed.
The kicker from Hoover is pretty good and that has in turn made Bul compete harder.
The DL is good but have struggled some with stopping the run which, royally pissed off Saban. I have no doubt it will be fixed.
Posted on 4/7/19 at 3:21 pm to CrimsonBoz
Any reasons for Alfano “cooling off” according to articles posted here?
Posted on 4/7/19 at 3:31 pm to pmacattack
More than likely not following directions
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