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Bama News
Alabama OC Nick Sheridan gives update on Crimson Tide's progress with installing a new offense
"We’re certainly going to have a big menu," Sheridan said this week.
247sports.com
Alabama offensive coordinator Nick Sheridan is installing a new offense in Tuscaloosa this offseason and provided an update on where the Crimson Tide stands with the new playbook with two weeks until its spring game.
"We're early on," Sheridan said this week, via McElroy and Cubelic in the Morning. "This is a calendar process, a full-year calendar process. You're building toward the season. Spring ball is part of it. Winter was a bit of it, although it was a bit short this year, being new. You're building from Jan. 1 through the end of the season and developing a menu, skill set and fundamental scheme so they can execute in the biggest moments against the toughest competition and be confident."
Sheridan said he intends for Alabama's playbook to be chock full of plays next season and wants to lock in the majority of plays before the season so the team can limit adding new plays during game week.
"What you're always trying to do is develop a menu of plays that you can pull from throughout the year at any point," Sheridan said. "You don't know when you're going to need them, and you want the players to have some reference to them. We're not afraid to install a new play in a game week that the kids have not practiced before. But you don't want to have too many of those."
New head coach Kalen DeBoer and his staff have installed complex playbooks at past stops. Sheridan said they're doing the same at Alabama so the Crimson Tide can pull plays out of its back pocket and surprise opponents late in the season.
"The most important thing is that there's familiarity with the scheme when you draw back on those plays Week 8, Week 9," Sheridan said. "Maybe you hadn't run those plays since fall camp or spring ball, but the kids remember them. They know they've executed them. You've just got to tighten up the execution in a game week… We're certainly going to have a big menu. We still believe in execution and fundamentals. We still have core plays that we're going to lean on each and every week, but there are certain situations that call for different types of schemes, certain fronts, and certain coverages, and you want to make sure that you have answers for your players."
"It's different," Milroe said. "There's more periods that go on, whether it's competitive reps, individual periods, special teams. We have a lot of thing that's going on. We're always on the move. We're trying to be as in-shape as much as possible and just lock-in. It's a little different but we're all adjusting. I'm excited because we're going to be successful… Coach Sheridan is pushing me. We're constantly growing."
