Fluker learning , waiting for his chance
<script type="text/javascript"> var collab_title = 'Fluker learning , waiting for his chance'; </script> <!-- /HEADLINE --> <!-- MAIN PHOTO -->
D.J. Fluker
<!-- /MAIN PHOTO --> <!-- BYLINE --> By Aaron Suttles Sports Writer <!-- /BYLINE --> <!-- PUBDATE --> Published: Friday, January 22, 2010 at 3:30 a.m.
Last Modified: Friday, January 22, 2010 at 12:07 a.m.
( page 1 of 3 )
<!-- /PUBDATE --> Coming into the 2009 season, the offensive line situation for the University of Alabama football team could best be described as transitive.
<!--
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--> <!-- GRAY BOX ARTICLE CONTENT--> <style> .art_main_pic { width:250px; float:left; clear:left; } </style> <!-- /GRAY BOX ARTICLE CONTENT--> The unit that was the strength of the Tide’s 12-2 2008 season had lost three of its five starters, including two All-Americans, one of whom was the Outland Trophy winner.
The loss of Outland winner Andre Smith, Antoine Caldwell and Marlon Davis from that team meant Mike Johnson and Drew Davis were the only returning starters. What figured to be a weakness for the 2009 team turned into a strength when sophomores Barrett Jones and William Vlachos played well at right guard and center, respectively, and junior college transfer James Carpenter effectively replaced Smith.
With spring practice right around the corner, Alabama must now replace Johnson, an All-American, and Davis.
With the right tackle and left guard spots open to competition, D.J. Fluker will be working to fit into the mix as a redshirt freshman. The 6-foot-6, 340 pound lineman said he’s lost 55 pounds since reporting to Alabama last summer and expects to compete for a role on the line in the 2010 season.
“First of all, it’s been a lot of hard work since day one, getting ready to condition and working hard every single day, losing just a ton of weight, basically, so I feel a whole lot better, a lot faster, a lot quicker,” Fluker said in California before Alabama’s national title victory over Texas. “It’s easier to run now. I feel a whole lot lighter on my feet than usual.
“I can play right tackle or left tackle. It’s just understanding the offense, really. If they want me to play guard, I’ll play it. Wherever they tell me to play, I’ll do it.”
Fluker was the top-ranked player in Alabama in the 2009 recruiting class, committing to Alabama as a junior in 2008.
He was the nation’s No. 1-ranked offensive line prospect and the overall third-ranked player in the country by Rivals.
Even for such a highly-rated prospect, it is rare that a true freshman offensive lineman sees significant action, especially in the Southeastern Conference.
“If you look at all those guys on that offensive line, most of them are a lot bigger than anybody they blocked in high school,” UA offensive line coach Joe Pendry said. “So they can get by with blocking that guy individually with doing it about anyway they want, really. And once they get to the SEC, those guys they’re playing against are all better athletes than the offensive line.
“So now they’ve got to figure out ... because the defensive linemen are the best athletes and the linebackers, and when you look at our guys they’ve got to figure out the play, what their job is in the play and, ‘Do I have him by myself or am I working with somebody else, where’s the running back?’ They’ve got to figure out all those components and still go block the guy.
“And now I’ve got to know snap count, are we going to audible, did we change the play? Now all of a sudden the defense shifts. So all those things fit together and it just gets cloudy for them. It’s hard. It takes them a while.”
Fluker wasn’t on the two-deep depth chart this past season. Instead, Tyler Love was the backup at right tackle, John Michael Boswell at right guard, David Ross at center, Brian Motley at left guard and Alfred McCullough at left tackle.
With all of those players expected to be back this season, it is by no means a given Fluker will see the field.
“I don’t know what my role will be this (upcoming) season,” Fluker said. “I can’t really see a future yet. I just hope to have a good spring.”
Pendry said projecting offensive linemen is problematic and, quite frankly, unfair to the athlete.
“It’s like when I was in the NFL and you drafted a guy in the first round and if he wasn’t a first-rounder, it wasn’t his fault,” Pendry said. “He was still a good player. I know this, D.J. Fluker will work to be as good as he can be. He has a great passion for the game and we’ll see where that goes. I don’t want to put that pressure on him or anybody else to say, ‘He should be this.’ We’ll see where he goes. He has the potential.”
<script type="text/javascript"> var collab_title = 'Fluker learning , waiting for his chance'; </script> <!-- /HEADLINE --> <!-- MAIN PHOTO -->
<!-- /MAIN PHOTO --> <!-- BYLINE --> By Aaron Suttles Sports Writer <!-- /BYLINE --> <!-- PUBDATE --> Published: Friday, January 22, 2010 at 3:30 a.m.
Last Modified: Friday, January 22, 2010 at 12:07 a.m.
( page 1 of 3 )
<!-- /PUBDATE --> Coming into the 2009 season, the offensive line situation for the University of Alabama football team could best be described as transitive.
<!--
AC =
--> <!-- GRAY BOX ARTICLE CONTENT--> <style> .art_main_pic { width:250px; float:left; clear:left; } </style> <!-- /GRAY BOX ARTICLE CONTENT--> The unit that was the strength of the Tide’s 12-2 2008 season had lost three of its five starters, including two All-Americans, one of whom was the Outland Trophy winner.
The loss of Outland winner Andre Smith, Antoine Caldwell and Marlon Davis from that team meant Mike Johnson and Drew Davis were the only returning starters. What figured to be a weakness for the 2009 team turned into a strength when sophomores Barrett Jones and William Vlachos played well at right guard and center, respectively, and junior college transfer James Carpenter effectively replaced Smith.
With spring practice right around the corner, Alabama must now replace Johnson, an All-American, and Davis.
With the right tackle and left guard spots open to competition, D.J. Fluker will be working to fit into the mix as a redshirt freshman. The 6-foot-6, 340 pound lineman said he’s lost 55 pounds since reporting to Alabama last summer and expects to compete for a role on the line in the 2010 season.
“First of all, it’s been a lot of hard work since day one, getting ready to condition and working hard every single day, losing just a ton of weight, basically, so I feel a whole lot better, a lot faster, a lot quicker,” Fluker said in California before Alabama’s national title victory over Texas. “It’s easier to run now. I feel a whole lot lighter on my feet than usual.
“I can play right tackle or left tackle. It’s just understanding the offense, really. If they want me to play guard, I’ll play it. Wherever they tell me to play, I’ll do it.”
Fluker was the top-ranked player in Alabama in the 2009 recruiting class, committing to Alabama as a junior in 2008.
He was the nation’s No. 1-ranked offensive line prospect and the overall third-ranked player in the country by Rivals.
Even for such a highly-rated prospect, it is rare that a true freshman offensive lineman sees significant action, especially in the Southeastern Conference.
“If you look at all those guys on that offensive line, most of them are a lot bigger than anybody they blocked in high school,” UA offensive line coach Joe Pendry said. “So they can get by with blocking that guy individually with doing it about anyway they want, really. And once they get to the SEC, those guys they’re playing against are all better athletes than the offensive line.
“So now they’ve got to figure out ... because the defensive linemen are the best athletes and the linebackers, and when you look at our guys they’ve got to figure out the play, what their job is in the play and, ‘Do I have him by myself or am I working with somebody else, where’s the running back?’ They’ve got to figure out all those components and still go block the guy.
“And now I’ve got to know snap count, are we going to audible, did we change the play? Now all of a sudden the defense shifts. So all those things fit together and it just gets cloudy for them. It’s hard. It takes them a while.”
Fluker wasn’t on the two-deep depth chart this past season. Instead, Tyler Love was the backup at right tackle, John Michael Boswell at right guard, David Ross at center, Brian Motley at left guard and Alfred McCullough at left tackle.
With all of those players expected to be back this season, it is by no means a given Fluker will see the field.
“I don’t know what my role will be this (upcoming) season,” Fluker said. “I can’t really see a future yet. I just hope to have a good spring.”
Pendry said projecting offensive linemen is problematic and, quite frankly, unfair to the athlete.
“It’s like when I was in the NFL and you drafted a guy in the first round and if he wasn’t a first-rounder, it wasn’t his fault,” Pendry said. “He was still a good player. I know this, D.J. Fluker will work to be as good as he can be. He has a great passion for the game and we’ll see where that goes. I don’t want to put that pressure on him or anybody else to say, ‘He should be this.’ We’ll see where he goes. He has the potential.”
