🏈 Pete Golding fall press conference

[footballer]

 

[50+yeartidefan]

U,mmmmmmm.......
pretty bad D to have 4-5 drafted .....
But got X Texas coach in the wind in Saban- rehab center...

 

[18Champs]

Alabama defensive coordinator Pete Golding spoke to the media via Zoom Thursday evening and said he is happy with the veteran leadership on the defense after three practices. Thing is, Golding is also happy with some of his young guys, too.
Two veterans who have impressed Golding have been senior Ben Davis and junior Chris Allen at the outside linebacker slots. According to reports, they’re both running with the ones for now.

"When I hear those two names,” Golding began, “Man, those guys have taken a leadership role. They've worked their tails off.”

He added that Davis and Allen have been “like coaches on the field.”

Word from practice observers in years past was that Allen had tons of ability but had not mastered the thick Tide defensive playbook. That seems to not be the case now.

All of that should be music to Bama nation ears, particularly concerning fifth-year man Davis, who teammates say is determined to earn and keep a starting role after four years on the sidelines.

Another stanza of sweet music should be the health of middle linebacker Dylan Moses. It's certainly sweet to Golding.

"Dylan Moses, seeing him fly around, it's good to have him back,” said the second-year Tide defensive boss. “He's done an exceptional job with these young guys.

“What a man. This off-season during those Zooms he had his pen and paper out every day, getting the freshmen (and) quizzing them, sending tests. When he decided to come back, it was that Dylan that I saw that day after practice and he said, ‘If I come back, I’m all in and I’m going to bring everybody with me,’ and so that’s been really awesome to see.”

Obviously, Moses was missed badly as the 2019 Tide stop troops didn’t get enough needed stops.

“A lot of ups and downs,” Golding said. “Obviously I’ve got a great coaching relationship with Dylan being close to home. (2019) was a tough year for him. I think obviously the expectations going into the year, the media hype, them knowing what a good player he was, but also the amount of work that he had put in that spring and that summer going into that fall.

“The day before he got hurt, it was the first time we meet as linebackers after practice, this was the first time I ever saw him grab somebody by the face mask and really get in their stuff and let them know ‘That’s not how we do it here,’" Golding recalled. “That’s what I had been waiting on. That’s what we had been waiting on ... and that’s what those young guys needed last year. We were a young room and they wanted somebody to be able to do that for them, and for them to follow. And that was the first time since I had been here for him. I really saw him wear his emotions on his sleeve and just pour it out. He came to my office after practice and I said ‘Look, that’s it, man. That is it. You busted your butt and you’ve done everything you were supposed to up to this point, but if he doesn’t, it don’t matter. You’ve got to bring the other 10 guys with you and you’ve got to get them invested with you.

“It was just unfortunate for him that that next day for him was when he had the injury.”

Golding added that safeties Jordan Battle and Daniel Wright have both played like they've been in the program, which they have, but both have limited game experience. Battle battled his way into the rotation as a freshman last year, partly due to Wright’s season-ending surgery.

Golding added, “I think we'll have a couple freshmen that you'll see early,” he said. Some good guesses are outside linebackers Drew Sanders and Will Anderson, along with safety Brian Branch, as TI has reported.

As Golding put it, "The recruiting class we brought in, up to this point in camp, has been everything we thought it would be."

 

[18Champs]

Two veterans who have impressed Golding have been senior Ben Davis and junior Chris Allen at the outside linebacker slots. According to reports, they’re both running with the ones for now.

 

[BamaFan334]

Good for Ben Davis. He's caught enough shit the last four-five years. I'm ready for him to see some success as a young guy, that way he can go out into the world afterwards and have some positivity in his life.

 

[bearsnest]

This=Evil smile

Interestingly enough, Drew’s elite production came without him participating in live reps during practice. Coaches learned early on that it was better to keep the 6-foot-5, 230-pound wrecking ball on the sidelines during “good-on-good” drills in order to keep the rest of the team healthy.

Tolleson recalls one of Drew’s initial practice reps where he was lined up at receiver. After catching a slant over the middle he squared up against an unfortunate teammate and “ran smooth over the guy.”

“We could not put that guy up against our starting offensive tackle,” Tolleson said. “I jumped his butt so many times because he didn’t have a three-quarter speed… ‘I said, ‘Drew, what the hell is wrong with you? We need that kid. What are you doing?’ When he has that helmet on, he’s different. Every time he tackles a guy, he tries to break them.”

The man is so intense that they wouldn’t even let him run against the ones. Put him in, Coach. Of course, there are others competing, too.

 

[Elderfalsedemigod]

1 good year is all I’ve ever wanted from Ben I’ve defended him in person to some harsh critics. I just wish him a good season to quiet the critics. Dylan Moses excites me in my old non excitable age

 

[TerryP]

1 good year is all I’ve ever wanted from Ben I’ve defended him in person to some harsh critics.

He's had his issues and at the same time people have not acknowledged he's had his bad luck on the injury front as well. He's certainly not been 100% his time at Bama.