🏈 BAMA lands another #1 JUCO commit

[UAgrad93]

Ty Flournoy-Smith, the #1 JUCO TE in the country has committed to play for the TIDE. 6'3" 235 3* TE originally signed and played for UGA back in 2012. He transferred out after having a run in with the police for falsifying a report on having textbooks stolen which he resold.

 

[JoshB]

Oh damn this guy has H-Back written all over him... supposedly he was a dominant run blocker in JUCO. Imagine Fowler at fullback with Henry in the tailback... a few plays later Ty Smith at fullback with Fowler at tailback... and then cap that off with Yeldon as a single black with Ty Smith and Vogler bunched to one side... yikes...

 

[TerryP]

A couple of notes/thoughts:

• As soon as Kiffin was hired one of the areas he wanted another player for was the TE position. H-back? I have doubts...touch on that in a minute.

• It's interesting, to me at least, that we look at the defensive staff and see the same group of coaches we had in '08 and '09—the only change is Smart is now DC versus Steele in 2008. On offense, we're getting back to the same type of approach as well. CLK has told recruits, among them Ty, that he wants more of a two tight end set look/approach with our offense.

• Outside of OJ, we've not had the production we've needed out of a the TE position. Sure, we've had some issues with injury, etc. We've got some depth there as well, but like a lot of other position groups it's young and inexperienced.

• Kiffin wants to move to a true fullback in the offense as well. When I consider that, I leads me to think we'll see Fowler (as one example) in a true FB role versus that of a H-back. I wonder if the era of the H-back in our offense is on its way out.

 

[BamaFan334]

Man, this is the second athlete we have brought to the team that was released from a program initially for committing a crime. I will never second guess our Coach, as he has done so much positive it can't be questioned and because he's a much smarter guy than I, but I feel as if this type of stuff will create a negative picture of our program. I understand second chances and all, but anyone willing to do the things these guys have done make me feel a little uneasy about their character and ability to do the right thing if ever put in a delimma.

I mean, how much crap do we give Auburn, LSU, and Georgia for their legal issues with players? We are always making snide remarks regarding their suspensions and their welcoming of athletes with criminal issues since they've been in college. Maybe this guys has turned a corner like Pettway, but still makes me think. I would never have taken a Nick Marshal or Cameron Newton on to my team after they stole from their own teammates and such. Stealing is the worst kind of non-life threatening crime in my eyes, and from your own teammates?

In the end, I agree with TerryP, and that a true fullback will emerge in our sets. Maybe we get that yard or two on third down at Auburn will a true fullback paving the way. I like the two tight ends look as well, because it's simply another dynamic and matchup problem. With Cooper and Foster on the outside, it leaves the secondary forced to cover OJ Howard who is just as fast as them but 40 pounds heavier and five inches taller, but also leaves another big bodied playmaker to cover.

 

[TerryP]

[MENTION=19550]BamaFan334[/MENTION]

I mean, how much crap do we give Auburn, LSU, and Georgia for their legal issues with players? We are always making snide remarks regarding their suspensions and their welcoming of athletes with criminal issues since they've been in college. Maybe this guys has turned a corner like Pettway, but still makes me think. I would never have taken a Nick Marshal or Cameron Newton on to my team after they stole from their own teammates and such. Stealing is the worst kind of non-life threatening crime in my eyes, and from your own teammates?
​

Strong statement. It'll fall on deaf ears with a lot of fans—but if there's any reason to be hesitant?

There's a fine line between being intrigued and making snide remarks. As example, one of my pet peeves about Mark Richt is how many people laud his character citing the number of players he disciplines by suspension. It's an annual occurrence. I've brought news of those suspensions here because, lo and behold, it's happened again. (FWIW, he's already suspended a player for the first few games of next season.) At some point people have to question the environment.

 

[UAgrad93]

[MENTION=19550]BamaFan334[/MENTION] From what I read somewhere, Flournoy-Smith's parents went to Richt requesting a transfer to get their son out of a "certain" environment. Evidently, they felt he was around some less than desirable people that they felt steered their son into falsifying a police report.

 

[TerryP]

<!-- BEGIN TEMPLATE: dbtech_usertag_mention --> @uagrad93 <!-- END TEMPLATE: dbtech_usertag_mention --> I recall reading that as well.

I ran a quick google search to see if I could track down where it came from, and happened to run across this link talking about the story.

<!-- BEGIN TEMPLATE: dbtech_usertag_mention --> @BamaFan334 <!-- END TEMPLATE: dbtech_usertag_mention --> Earlier, when I mentioned UGA and Richt's reputation...click on the article linked, then click on comments. Lo and behold...

 

[BamaFan334]

I couldn't agree more with your assessment of Coach Richt and Georgia. I grew up a Georgia fan until I went to Alabama, so I grew up seeing all of this continue to happen. He is a great Christian guy (I respect that and his willingness to talk about his faith in public), but he is also soft. I also don't believe he is a great leader, because it seems like he is always too late to act, mainly with defensive coordinator issues and even Mike Bobo before his last two decent years. The reoccuring problem in Athens with players and trouble is unbelievable, and most of the town and fans don't believe it's a problem, yet they salivate over instances where those four boys on our team did what they did. It's be a pretty isolated event since Coach Saban came here, atleast from my knowledge. Do I think Athens is a bad town full of trouble, of course not. I have been to Athens countless times and have never seen the back of a cop car, even though I easily should have a time or two. So I'm not sure what kind of "situation" his folks are talking about getting him out of, but a lot of it falls on personal responsibility as well, which is something that is almost non-existant in today's culture, just blame someone else.

Anyways, I am all for a second chance, but I would definitely keep a strong eye on these type of kids to make sure they keep their nose clean and actually turn their lives into a positive.

 

[PhillyGirl]

Ty Flournoy-Smith, the #1 JUCO TE in the country has committed to play for the TIDE. 6'3" 235 3* TE originally signed and played for UGA back in 2012. He transferred out after having a run in with the police for falsifying a report on having textbooks stolen which he resold.

Big fella. Hope he keeps his nose clean.