| FTBL andre smith

[4th-and-1]

has he made any comments about his plans for next year?.. he will be a force in the nfl, and his stock cannot go any higher. i really expect him to go and, would love to see him excell at the next level.


i'm sure an injury would be a factor in his decision. there would be nothing worse than to loose a couple mil because of an injury after staying another year.

he will deffinately go down as one of the greatest in alabama history.

 

[TerryP]

Injury wise...even if it happens he's already taken out an insurance policy against it happening this year so he'll get paid regardless. (not sure the $ amount)

NFL next season.

 

[Guest]

Would love to see him stay but I understand the lure of the NFL.

 

[Guest]

I hope he stays...We need him to keep that O-line anchored

 

[imported_Porter]

I hope he stays...We need him to keep that O-line anchored

It would be great if he stayed, but if we get Bobbie Massie (and it appears we will) and they keep Fluker on the OL (as I suspect they will) to go along with Tyler Love and John Michael Boswell... we are looking good for the future. Barrett Jones is going to be very good too, but I think he goes to center. Obviously, none of those guys are of Andre Smith's caliber, but he can't stay here forever. We are in better shape to move on without him now though than we would have been in recent years.

 

[Crimson Hawk]

It will be interesting to see exactly what happens with Andre, & I would not be surprised to see him return for his Senior year. From what I have heard, his family is financially stable, & money may not be the deciding issue. No real inside info. JMO.

 

[imported_Porter]

It will be interesting to see exactly what happens with Andre, & I would not be surprised to see him return for his Senior year. From what I have heard, his family is financially stable, & money may not be the deciding issue. No real inside info. JMO.

I learned a LONG time ago that there are no absolutes and certainties in the college football world, but Andre's plan for a while now has been to leave after this season. About the only thing I could see that might possibly change his mind is if BAMA narrowly misses out on a national championship, he might want to come back and finish it off next year. Regardless, I feel comfortable saying that there is a 95% chance he is going pro. It would be a very unwise decision for him to stay another year. He is already the top lineman on most every board, and has nothing left to prove. He has had 2 close calls with severe injuries this year too, and insurance or not, if he returned and got hurt bad, it would cost him dearly in terms of money.

 

[TerryP]

I hope he stays...We need him to keep that O-line anchored

It would be great if he stayed, but if we get Bobbie Massie (and it appears we will) and they keep Fluker on the OL (as I suspect they will) to go along with Tyler Love and John Michael Boswell... we are looking good for the future. Barrett Jones is going to be very good too, but I think he goes to center. Obviously, none of those guys are of Andre Smith's caliber, but he can't stay here forever. We are in better shape to move on without him now though than we would have been in recent years.

True freshman to Junior, I'd agree with.

But, I have to admit I look at Fluker and could easily see him as a more heralded prospect (NFL) his Jr year than Andre is now. (Yeah, I know, how can you be more heralded than the top lineman on the board)

Frosh to frosh...very little difference in strength, Fluker is faster, taller, his basketball skills lead me to believe he's got better footwork...of course, this is comparing freshman to freshman.

Caveat: I have to admit, as far as our commitments to date, he's my favorite so my point of view is obviously a little biased.

 

[Guest]

I hope he stays...We need him to keep that O-line anchored

It would be great if he stayed, but if we get Bobbie Massie (and it appears we will) and they keep Fluker on the OL (as I suspect they will) to go along with Tyler Love and John Michael Boswell... we are looking good for the future. Barrett Jones is going to be very good too, but I think he goes to center. Obviously, none of those guys are of Andre Smith's caliber, but he can't stay here forever. We are in better shape to move on without him now though than we would have been in recent years.

True freshman to Junior, I'd agree with.

But, I have to admit I look at Fluker and could easily see him as a more heralded prospect (NFL) his Jr year than Andre is now. (Yeah, I know, how can you be more heralded than the top lineman on the board)

Frosh to frosh...very little difference in strength, Fluker is faster, taller, his basketball skills lead me to believe he's got better footwork...of course, this is comparing freshman to freshman.

Caveat: I have to admit, as far as our commitments to date, he's my favorite so my point of view is obviously a little biased.

Our OL is a lot different now than it was when Smith was inked...and that is a good thing.

 

[UAgrad93]

I too see Andre moving on after this season. As stated before, the chance of him coming back would be if we miss out by the slimmest of margins in winning it all.

 

[imported_Porter]

I hope he stays...We need him to keep that O-line anchored

It would be great if he stayed, but if we get Bobbie Massie (and it appears we will) and they keep Fluker on the OL (as I suspect they will) to go along with Tyler Love and John Michael Boswell... we are looking good for the future. Barrett Jones is going to be very good too, but I think he goes to center. Obviously, none of those guys are of Andre Smith's caliber, but he can't stay here forever. We are in better shape to move on without him now though than we would have been in recent years.

True freshman to Junior, I'd agree with.

But, I have to admit I look at Fluker and could easily see him as a more heralded prospect (NFL) his Jr year than Andre is now. (Yeah, I know, how can you be more heralded than the top lineman on the board)

Frosh to frosh...very little difference in strength, Fluker is faster, taller, his basketball skills lead me to believe he's got better footwork...of course, this is comparing freshman to freshman.

Caveat: I have to admit, as far as our commitments to date, he's my favorite so my point of view is obviously a little biased.

Yeah, I think Fluker has the most upside and could be the next Andre in a couple of years, I was just talking more about next season. I do think there is going to be a fight by some staff to keep Fluker on D, but it is a fight I don't see them winning. It is a shame he doesn't have a twin. :lol:

 

[BamaGradinTN]

Get used to it...Andre will leave early this year, Rolando will leave early next year, and Julio will leave early the year after that.

This is what we want. This is what we need. As much as I might like for them to return, seeing juniors get taken as top 10 draft picks helps recruiting tremendously. Contrast with Fulmer. If they nad gone to Tennessee, Jones, Ingram, and Hightower probably would not have even gotten on the field yet. 5 star recruits will be more likely to come to Bama because they know they will play immediately and they know they have a better chance to play on Sundays after just three years.

 

[Guest]

Just playing the "what if" game. If Andre leaves, as most of us expect, would Mike Johnson move to LT for next year?

 

[imported_Porter]

Just playing the "what if" game. If Andre leaves, as most of us expect, would Mike Johnson move to LT for next year?

I think the other guys would have to fail miserably (which I don't see happening) or several of them get hurt of him to make the move.

I do think the OL will experience some major growing pains though, especially this spring going up against the DL that they are going to have to face. It will almost assuredly be a pretty ugly spring game, from an offensive standpoint, especially when you factor in greenhorn QB's.

 

[thebutcher]

Would hate to see him go, but who could blame him. I just hope he has a nice ring to take w/him when he goes.

 

[Crimson Hawk]

It will be interesting to see exactly what happens with Andre, & I would not be surprised to see him return for his Senior year. From what I have heard, his family is financially stable, & money may not be the deciding issue. No real inside info. JMO.

I learned a LONG time ago that there are no absolutes and certainties in the college football world, but Andre's plan for a while now has been to leave after this season. About the only thing I could see that might possibly change his mind is if BAMA narrowly misses out on a national championship, he might want to come back and finish it off next year. Regardless, I feel comfortable saying that there is a 95% chance he is going pro. It would be a very unwise decision for him to stay another year. He is already the top lineman on most every board, and has nothing left to prove. He has had 2 close calls with severe injuries this year too, and insurance or not, if he returned and got hurt bad, it would cost him dearly in terms of money.

At any rate, I wish the best for him, whichever way he goes. He's been a great player & a great person as well as a team leader since he's been here. Couldn't ask for much more in a student athlete than what Big Andre has given.