BAMANEWSBOT
Staff
Players from Ohio State, Arkansas, Auburn, West Virginia, LSU can speak freely about facing the Crimson Tide now that their college careers are over.
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When you put 300-plus former college football players in one place, there will be a few who've faced Alabama.
The NFL Combine in Indianapolis was crawling with former Crimson Tide opponents, both from the SEC and elsewhere. So we decided to talk to a few of these players to get their post-college impression of facing Alabama.
Here's a sampling of what they said this week at Lucas Oil Stadium:
Michael Bennett, DL, Ohio State
Who's the best offensive lineman he's faced all year? Alabama's left guard Arie Kouandjio.
"I thought that he had the whole mixture. He was fast on the field. He was very athletic on the field. He recovered quickly during pass rush then at the same time, he can move you in the run. I think I did a good job, but I think he was one of the strongest offensive linemen I went against."
How much did Ohio State prove against Alabama in the Sugar Bowl?
"Obviously, we proved we were better than that team, but the media really hypes up some stuff about teams just kinda like start building on each other. One person will say Alabama is better, then the media runs to it and really just track on Alabama. If you legitimately watched the film, people would think we were better than them. So it was a confidence people didn't expect us to have, but we had that confidence. We know we're better than this team, just go out and prove it."
Trey Flowers, DL, Arkansas
How was facing left tackle Cam Robinson?
"He's a good guy. I told him on the field he's going to be a good player."
Arkansas' defense was effective stopping Alabama that night. What did you take away from that?
"Beside the fact we lost and I really wanted that one, it was a game that I felt we should have won. But on an individual standpoint, I put us in a good position to win. Just our defense put us in a position to win. Offense played well but we just came up short."
Was the plan to double down on Amari Cooper?
"Yeah, we knew if get him out of his game and disrupt Blake Sims, then we will have a chance."
Jermaine Whitehead, DB, Auburn
Who was the best receiver you faced all year?
"Amari Cooper. He single-handedly defeated us."
What was it about Cooper?
"The first half he really didn't do as much as he did in the second half but we knew he was a great player. We thought we had a game plan for him but he came out and was able to make a lot of big-time plays when they did catch us in one-on-one situations."
What was different in the second half?
"They came out and just launched it at him and told him to go out and make a play, it seemed like."
Kevin White, WR, West Virginia
How important was the Alabama game to your season?
"That was huge. That was probably the most important game of our season just to show the world what we can do and obviously what I can do as a receiver and it worked out well."
Jalen Collins, DB, LSU
You've played some legendary games against Alabama, what are your memories?
"Just the atmosphere of the game. You can't go in there not wanting to win. It's always a fight every play going up against the best guys in the nation every play. It's helped me a lot."
Was last year's 20-13 overtime loss haunting considering the way Alabama came back in the final minute?
"Every loss is haunting. I feel like we always lose it in the last couple minutes and this past year in overtime. It's really tough."
Darius Philon, DL, Arkansas (former Alabama commit from Mobile)
Looking back on recruitment to Alabama and Arkansas, how do you remember it?
"It's a blessing that I had two SEC schools that wanted me in their corner. Basically I look at it as they gave me an opportunity to go to school and get my degree, while I didn't get but I plan on going back to school to finish. Basically it gave me a chance to pursue my dreams."
Do you ever think back to signing day confusion?
"All of that is behind me. I focus on what I can control."
What do you remember from game against Alabama last year?
"I just remember the days we prepared with each other every day on the practice field and how we just stuck together as a unit no matter what we went through and how people looked at Arkansas football. We always stuck together."
Continue reading...
————
When you put 300-plus former college football players in one place, there will be a few who've faced Alabama.
The NFL Combine in Indianapolis was crawling with former Crimson Tide opponents, both from the SEC and elsewhere. So we decided to talk to a few of these players to get their post-college impression of facing Alabama.
Here's a sampling of what they said this week at Lucas Oil Stadium:
Michael Bennett, DL, Ohio State
Who's the best offensive lineman he's faced all year? Alabama's left guard Arie Kouandjio.
"I thought that he had the whole mixture. He was fast on the field. He was very athletic on the field. He recovered quickly during pass rush then at the same time, he can move you in the run. I think I did a good job, but I think he was one of the strongest offensive linemen I went against."
How much did Ohio State prove against Alabama in the Sugar Bowl?
"Obviously, we proved we were better than that team, but the media really hypes up some stuff about teams just kinda like start building on each other. One person will say Alabama is better, then the media runs to it and really just track on Alabama. If you legitimately watched the film, people would think we were better than them. So it was a confidence people didn't expect us to have, but we had that confidence. We know we're better than this team, just go out and prove it."
Trey Flowers, DL, Arkansas
How was facing left tackle Cam Robinson?
"He's a good guy. I told him on the field he's going to be a good player."
Arkansas' defense was effective stopping Alabama that night. What did you take away from that?
"Beside the fact we lost and I really wanted that one, it was a game that I felt we should have won. But on an individual standpoint, I put us in a good position to win. Just our defense put us in a position to win. Offense played well but we just came up short."
Was the plan to double down on Amari Cooper?
"Yeah, we knew if get him out of his game and disrupt Blake Sims, then we will have a chance."
Jermaine Whitehead, DB, Auburn
Who was the best receiver you faced all year?
"Amari Cooper. He single-handedly defeated us."
What was it about Cooper?
"The first half he really didn't do as much as he did in the second half but we knew he was a great player. We thought we had a game plan for him but he came out and was able to make a lot of big-time plays when they did catch us in one-on-one situations."
What was different in the second half?
"They came out and just launched it at him and told him to go out and make a play, it seemed like."
Kevin White, WR, West Virginia
How important was the Alabama game to your season?
"That was huge. That was probably the most important game of our season just to show the world what we can do and obviously what I can do as a receiver and it worked out well."
Jalen Collins, DB, LSU
You've played some legendary games against Alabama, what are your memories?
"Just the atmosphere of the game. You can't go in there not wanting to win. It's always a fight every play going up against the best guys in the nation every play. It's helped me a lot."
Was last year's 20-13 overtime loss haunting considering the way Alabama came back in the final minute?
"Every loss is haunting. I feel like we always lose it in the last couple minutes and this past year in overtime. It's really tough."
Darius Philon, DL, Arkansas (former Alabama commit from Mobile)
Looking back on recruitment to Alabama and Arkansas, how do you remember it?
"It's a blessing that I had two SEC schools that wanted me in their corner. Basically I look at it as they gave me an opportunity to go to school and get my degree, while I didn't get but I plan on going back to school to finish. Basically it gave me a chance to pursue my dreams."
Do you ever think back to signing day confusion?
"All of that is behind me. I focus on what I can control."
What do you remember from game against Alabama last year?
"I just remember the days we prepared with each other every day on the practice field and how we just stuck together as a unit no matter what we went through and how people looked at Arkansas football. We always stuck together."
Continue reading...
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