🏈 Spring Camp - 2017

[TUSKtimes]

 

[Sgt. Lincoln Osiris]

 

[Sgt. Lincoln Osiris]

That first clip screams what I've been saying since Daboll was hired.

Straight. From. The. Horse's. Mouth.

 

[Sgt. Lincoln Osiris]

And then this veiled STFU from Saban for the folks screaming on Tua's behalf...

 

[TUSKtimes]

That first clip screams what I've been saying since Daboll was hired.

Straight. From. The. Horse's. Mouth.

True enough. You do what your QB does best, not your OC.

 

[EasyTider]

Great attitude!!!

 

[Sgt. Lincoln Osiris]

Great attitude!!!

Now his jersey number choice makes more than face-value sense.

 

[Tidestalker]

Al.com - Biggest story lines from Practice #1

The takeaways from an eventful Day 1 of Alabama spring practice

 

[TerryP]

• I've almost been in depression, not being able to see y'all.
  
• Everybody has to decide what type of player they want to be.
  
• Every great team we've had around here has had a lot of chemistry.
  
• We had a good offseason program. I was pleased with that. The energy level was good for the first day.
  
• Jared Mayden (hip surgery), Shaun Dion Hamilton (knee), B.J. Emmons and Bo Scarbrough. All limited during spring.
  
• We have three new coaches on staff. All have worked for us before.
  
• We've got a lot of good players to replace. That creates a lot of opportunity.
  
• Trevon Diggs in secondary is an experiment.
  
• Minkah and Anthony were the corners. There you have it (for the moment) re: Fitzpatrick
  
• There's problems when high school coaches are not being allowed to work college summer football camps.
  
• Lester Cotton worked at right guard today.
  
• We've got one-year experience for all of our quarterbacks combined.
  
• I think Isaiah Buggs can be a good player for us.
  
• Saban wants tackles "who can come through and play for us."
  
• Saban reiterates that Jalen Hurts is Alabama's starting quarterback.
  
• Saban not happy with assumptions of 'ball-control' offense while claiming reporters "throw shit on the wall to see if it will stick."

 

[TerryP]

Saban not happy with assumptions of 'ball-control' offense while claiming reporters "throw **** on the wall to see if it will stick."

I have a few comments I've considered posting about this blurb here including words like "lie" or if I'm going to satiate the PC crowd "misinformation."

I'm going with how Cassagrande put it.

 

[TerryP]

That first clip screams what I've been saying since Daboll was hired.

"No one in this building has said that." (Referring to "we're moving to a ball control offense.") Is that what you're referring to here?

If so, see Cassagrande tweet above.

Bottom line: He isn't telling the truth.

Coach Saban's in a good mood

Adrenaline flowing. No. Doubt. About. It.

He's fired up after the first camp and it's something I don't mind seeing, at all. You know if he's "feeling it," he's absorbed it from the practice field.

 

[Alabama17Tide]

Here are some updates from Alabama's opening practice of spring camp

— Alabama's running back order was: Damien Harris, Josh Jacobs, Najee Harris, Brian Robinson, Chadarius Townsend with Bo Scarbrough bringing up the rear. Scarbrough (leg) and B.J. Emmons (foot) were in black no-contact jerseys. I saw Emmons, but he stepped away when they were going through drills.

— It's also worth noting that Scarbrough didn't seem limited in any of the drills.

— Joining Emmons and Scarbrough in black jerseys were Shaun Dion Hamilton (ACL) and Jarod Mayden, both of whom were on stationary bikes to start the practice. Hamilton worked on leg extension drills and was walking gingerly.

— Outside linebackers order was: Chrisitan Miller, Anfernee Jennings, Jamey Mosely, Terrell Hall, Mekhi Brown and Ben Davis. It's interesting to see Davis listed as an outside linebacker. Many, including me, predicted him inside.

— Five-star early enrollee, Dylan Moses was wearing No. 7 and was with the inside linebackers group. He's was listed as an outside linebacker coming out of college, but it isn't surprising to see him move inside. He's been compared to Reuben Foster and is already a chiseled dude. Also worth noting, Evans was at inside linebacker. There was some talk about him possibly moving outside.

— What appeared to be the first-team defensive line included: Da'Shawn Hand, Da'Ron Payne and Raekwon Davis. The second team appeared to be Quinnen Williams, Joshua Frazier and Johnny Dwight. Buggs was with the third group.

— It's hard to tell about quarterbacks in these early workouts. All seemed to be throwing fine. Hurts wasn't throwing much at the beginning of practice, but was throwing at the end. I'll get more on that on Thursday

— I saw JK Scott before practice. He's cut off the long hair and is going with more of a crew cut.

I didn't get a good look at the offensive line, but after looking at Kyle's video, the first team from left to right is: Jonah Williams, Ross Piershbacher, Bradley Bozeman, Josh Casher and Lester Cotton.

Practice no. 1 - Notes from Tsoukalas/Video of QBs | BamaInsider.com

 

[Alabama17Tide]

The University of Alabama football team opened spring practice on the outside practice fields in shorts Tuesday afternoon. It is the first of 15 practices/scrimmages during the spring which culminates in the A-Day spring game.

Here are a few opening-day observations from the first day.

Outside linebackers
Redshirt freshman Ben Davis worked with the outside linebackers. The group went through drills in the following order: Christian Miller, Anfernee Jennings, Jamey Mosley, Terrell Hall, Mehki Brown and Davis.

Defensive line
The defensive line worked in groups of four. In the first group was Da’Shawn Hand, Da’Ron Payne, Josh Frazier and Raekwon Davis. In the second group was Quinnen Williams, O.J. Smith, Isaiah Buggs and Johnny Dwight.

Inside linebackers
The group worked in the following order during drills: Rashaan Evans, Keith Holcombe, Joshua McMillon, Mack Wilson, Dylan Moses and Shawn Jennings.

Wide receivers

The group went through curl routes in the following order: Calvin Ridley, Cam Sims, Robert Foster, Tyrell Shavers, Jerry Jeudy and Derek Kief.

Secondary
I couldn’t see much of the group’s work but Trevon Diggs was working with the unit and not with wide receivers. Minkah Fitzpatrick was going through tandem drills with Anthony Averett. Jared Mayden was on the exercise bike alongside middle linebacker Shaun Dion Hamilton.

Alabama practice report: Tuesday, March 21 | TideSports.com

 

[TUSKtimes]

It's hard to say spread option and ball control in the same sentence. And so far Nick Saban hasn't. I do think we are going to do a lot better job in showing power in short yardage and goal line situations and that should contribute to longer drives. But it doesn't sound like time-of-possession is going to be priority one.

 

[PhillyGirl]

via SDS:

 

[rick4bama]

If it his does it have gold flake in it?

 

[Sgt. Lincoln Osiris]

It's hard to say spread option and ball control in the same sentence. And so far Nick Saban hasn't. I do think we are going to do a lot better job in showing power in short yardage and goal line situations and that should contribute to longer drives. But it doesn't sound like time-of-possession is going to be priority one.

That's exactly, nearly verbatim, what I've been saying...lol.

 

[Sgt. Lincoln Osiris]

One thing I did notice in the QB video posted is that you can tell Jalen has worked on his footwork this off-season. He appears to be much more fluid and comfortable in his 3 and 5-step drops.

Tua, on the other hand, looked a little awkward and choppy. Mac Jones looks a little more comfortable with pro pass drops than Tua does. Different systems they ran in HS, I'm guessing.

 

[Alabama17Tide]

Spring practice notebook: Saban addresses injured players, new positions
Tony Tsoukalas | Staff

Alabama linebacker Shaun Dion Hamilton was limited in the Crimson Tide's first practice of spring camp on Tuesday. Photo | BamaInsider
Laura Chramer
Alabama opened spring camp Tuesday with four players donning black, no-contact jerseys during practice. Running backs Bo Scarbrough (leg) and B.J. Emmons (foot), as well as linebacker Shaun Dion Hamilton (ACL) and defensive back Jared Mayden (hip), were all limited during the media viewing period.

Following practice, Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban gave an update on the statuses of all four players.

“Jared Mayden had a hip injury from last season that required surgery, so he’s going to be limited throughout the spring and probably will be able to participate very little but should have a full recovery,” Saban said. “Shaun Dion Hamilton had an ACL in the SEC Championship Game, so he’s doing some things … running but probably will also be limited throughout the spring. But we also anticipate a full recovery.

“B.J. Emmons and Bo Scarbrough are both guys that are doing individual drills, are able to do some things and probably will make progress throughout the spring and probably be able to go in a short period of time. They’re all doing very well, and I don’t think we have any issues with that.”

Hamilton, who tore his ACL in the SEC Championship game last season, worked on the stationary bike and participated in leg extension workouts during practice. He was walking gingerly between drills and did not participate with the rest of the linebackers. Mayden spent practice working on the stationary bike.

Both Emmons and Scarbrough were with the running backs and took part in some drills despite their limitations. With both players at the back of the line, Damien Harris led the group during drills and was followed by Josh Jacobs, Najee Harris and Brian Robinson.

Minkah Fitzpatrick works with cornerbacks

In somewhat of a surprise move, Minkah Fitzpatrick was seen working with the cornerbacks during practice. Recruited as a cornerback out of high school, Fitzpatrick spent time at Star the past two seasons before taking over at strong safety late last year following a season-ending injury to Eddie Jackson.

The Tide’s most versatile defensive back, Fitzpatrick could seemingly line up at any position in Alabama’s secondary depending on where coaches feel the biggest need is.

“Well, we’d rather not have him change from one place to the other, but last year based on some of the things that happened, we had to do it,” Saban said. “So he’s played Star, he’s played safety and played some corner for us. He’s played all three of those positions very well. It’s nice to have a guy like that that if somebody came through as a starting corner he could play someplace else. If somebody came through as a really good safety then you could feel comfortable leaving him at corner. It’s really unique to have a guy that’s as smart as he is has a good understanding of the game that really can play all those positions.”

Another surprise at cornerback was Trevon Diggs, who spent time at both wide receiver and cornerback during practice. Diggs worked at both positions last fall as Alabama battled with a lack of depth in its secondary. After starting the year primarily on defense, he switched over to offense later in the season. Listed as a wide receiver on Alabama’s roster, the sophomore is expected to serve in more of an offensive role this season.

“That’s an experiment we wanted to go through,” Saban said. “Look, it’s twofold. We can see what he can do. He can learn the position. If we had issues later on from a depth standpoint, the guy would know enough to be an emergency player and play both ways if he was playing offense later on. So this is a time to try to do that.”

Saban says it’s too early to tell on defensive line

It’s no secret, Alabama will have its hands full trying to replace the production of departing defensive linemen Jonathan Allen and Dalvin Tomlinson this season. The duo combined for 13.5 sacks, 21.5 tackles for a loss and 22 quarterback hurries last year and were a big part of what many have called one of the greatest Alabama defenses of all time.

While Saban is optimistic about what the Tide has returning at the position, he said it's far too early to comment about where Alabama stands, especially since Tuesday’s practice featured players in shorts and shells participating in non-contact drills.

“We haven’t hit anybody yet. I don’t know,” Saban said. “I think Isaiah Buggs can be a good player. Da’Shawn Hand has been a good player for us. Da’Ron Payne has played a lot of football around here for two years and been a good player for us. Raekwon played some last year. Quinnen Williams is going to have to play some. Josh Frazier played quite a bit last year. We’ve got a couple other freshmen coming in. I mean, they all need to get better and they all need to improve, but we’ve played with worse.

“Look, I don’t compare anything to anything. We could’ve said when Dont’a Hightower and Rolando McClain were the two inside linebackers and they left, we don’t compare them to the next guys. That’s not fair to the next guys. And it’s not fair to compare these guys to who we had last year or who we had the year before. They have to develop an identity of their own – as a unit and individually – and we’re going to work hard to help them do that.”
BamaInsider.com - Spring practice notebook: Saban addresses injured players, new positions

 

[TerryP]

Mac Jones looks a little more comfortable with pro pass drops than Tua does. Different systems they ran in HS, I'm guessing.

Watch this video at the bottom of this post, SLO. In the five and a half minutes I'm guessing there's highlights of 50-60 plays in his junior season of high school. Out of those there's around seven or eight where he's not under center.

I can see why he's looking up to AJ. There's a lot about their games that are similar and that's not to mention they look like each other playing.