Aaron Suttles
TideSports.com Senior Writer
One of the keys to the offense not taking a step back this season is the health of senior running back Kenyan Drake.
Drake wore a black, no-contact jersey throughout the spring, but has been full speed since the opening of fall camp.
Junior running back Derrick Henry said Drake is just as explosive as he was before he leg injury last season.
University of Alabama head coach Nick Saban, clearly weary of answering questions about his running back's health, said Drake is fine.
"How many times do I have to say that?" Saban said. " I've been asked about Kenyan Drake since the first day of spring practice. He was full speed all spring, he was full speed all summer, and he's full speed now. And I think he'll be full speed next week, God willing, and nothing happens to him." It should be noted that Drake did participate during the A-Day spring game, but at the time Saban said the plan was to keep him on a "pitch count" during the spring.
Coming back
He's out the first part of the season with a NCAA four-week suspension to an issue concerning his amateurism, but true freshman running back Bo Scarbrough has made great strides in his rehabilitation from a major knee injury during the spring.
Scarbrough, a 6-foot-2, 240-pounder, is expected to play this season, a major plus for an offense that had running back depth issues during the spring.
Henry said Scarbrough is like all the other backs on the team, just working hard, competing and trying to get better.
Saban said Scarbrough could make a contribution by the time fall rolls around.
"I think he's a little ahead of schedule in terms of his rehab, what he was able to do.
"He's had no-contact practice. He's four months. Most of the time when they cut a guy loose to cut and do those types of things," Saban said. "We sort of don't want to hit him. He'll probably be awhile before he can play. "Our target for him is to be able to practice, increase his workload over the next what amounts to two months and hopefully by the end of September he'll be able to start making a contribution."
At odds
At the end of his first press conference of fall camp, Saban read a statement aimed at a new book on his life entitled, "Saban: The Making of a Coach."
The unauthorized biography, written by author Monte Burke, details Saban's life, from his childhood to his rise in the coaching ranks.
Saban wants people to know his doesn't approve of the book.
"I just want everybody to know that I'm opposed to an unauthorized biography on anybody," Saban said. "If some person that you don't even know (is) trying to profit by your story or someone else's story. One of these days when I'm finished coaching at Alabama, I'll write an authorized book because there's only one expert on my life and guess who that is … me. And there won't be any misinformation. There won't be any false statements. There won't be any hearsay. There won't be any expert analysis from anybody else. It will be the real deal.
"And I'm not really ready for that to happen and it's a little amazing to me that the timing of all this happening right when we're starting camp. I just want everybody out there and all of our fans to know, it's not going to be a distraction to us and it's never going to get discussed again.
"But since I'm not finished yet at Alabama, we're not writing any books yet. But when we decide to write an authorized book, it will have the truth ― the whole truth and nothing but the truth."
Burke said he informed Saban of his intentions to write the book years ago, and that he never experienced any pushback from the Alabama coach or anyone in his camp.
"They were pretty gracious the whole way through," Burke told The Tuscaloosa News. "I actually called him before I even started on the proposal. He was, I don't know if OK is the right way to describe it, but it kind of felt that way to me. As far as I know, he didn't tell anyone specifically not to talk to me.
"I talked to the best man in his wedding and his college roommates and a golfing buddy, who lives in Birmingham. And then I kind of kept him up to date as I was doing it and called him when I was done and went through some parts of it just so he knew what was coming. You don't want the subject to be blindsided by the material that you write."
- See more at: https://alabama.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1790322#sthash.Qdw6e9Mn.dpuf
TideSports.com Senior Writer
One of the keys to the offense not taking a step back this season is the health of senior running back Kenyan Drake.
Drake wore a black, no-contact jersey throughout the spring, but has been full speed since the opening of fall camp.
Junior running back Derrick Henry said Drake is just as explosive as he was before he leg injury last season.
University of Alabama head coach Nick Saban, clearly weary of answering questions about his running back's health, said Drake is fine.
"How many times do I have to say that?" Saban said. " I've been asked about Kenyan Drake since the first day of spring practice. He was full speed all spring, he was full speed all summer, and he's full speed now. And I think he'll be full speed next week, God willing, and nothing happens to him." It should be noted that Drake did participate during the A-Day spring game, but at the time Saban said the plan was to keep him on a "pitch count" during the spring.
Coming back
He's out the first part of the season with a NCAA four-week suspension to an issue concerning his amateurism, but true freshman running back Bo Scarbrough has made great strides in his rehabilitation from a major knee injury during the spring.
Scarbrough, a 6-foot-2, 240-pounder, is expected to play this season, a major plus for an offense that had running back depth issues during the spring.
Henry said Scarbrough is like all the other backs on the team, just working hard, competing and trying to get better.
Saban said Scarbrough could make a contribution by the time fall rolls around.
"I think he's a little ahead of schedule in terms of his rehab, what he was able to do.
"He's had no-contact practice. He's four months. Most of the time when they cut a guy loose to cut and do those types of things," Saban said. "We sort of don't want to hit him. He'll probably be awhile before he can play. "Our target for him is to be able to practice, increase his workload over the next what amounts to two months and hopefully by the end of September he'll be able to start making a contribution."
At odds
At the end of his first press conference of fall camp, Saban read a statement aimed at a new book on his life entitled, "Saban: The Making of a Coach."
The unauthorized biography, written by author Monte Burke, details Saban's life, from his childhood to his rise in the coaching ranks.
Saban wants people to know his doesn't approve of the book.
"I just want everybody to know that I'm opposed to an unauthorized biography on anybody," Saban said. "If some person that you don't even know (is) trying to profit by your story or someone else's story. One of these days when I'm finished coaching at Alabama, I'll write an authorized book because there's only one expert on my life and guess who that is … me. And there won't be any misinformation. There won't be any false statements. There won't be any hearsay. There won't be any expert analysis from anybody else. It will be the real deal.
"And I'm not really ready for that to happen and it's a little amazing to me that the timing of all this happening right when we're starting camp. I just want everybody out there and all of our fans to know, it's not going to be a distraction to us and it's never going to get discussed again.
"But since I'm not finished yet at Alabama, we're not writing any books yet. But when we decide to write an authorized book, it will have the truth ― the whole truth and nothing but the truth."
Burke said he informed Saban of his intentions to write the book years ago, and that he never experienced any pushback from the Alabama coach or anyone in his camp.
"They were pretty gracious the whole way through," Burke told The Tuscaloosa News. "I actually called him before I even started on the proposal. He was, I don't know if OK is the right way to describe it, but it kind of felt that way to me. As far as I know, he didn't tell anyone specifically not to talk to me.
"I talked to the best man in his wedding and his college roommates and a golfing buddy, who lives in Birmingham. And then I kind of kept him up to date as I was doing it and called him when I was done and went through some parts of it just so he knew what was coming. You don't want the subject to be blindsided by the material that you write."
- See more at: https://alabama.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1790322#sthash.Qdw6e9Mn.dpuf
