Coach Saban cleared the freshmen to talk to the media after the SEC Championshio game apparently..here's an article of an interview with Tony Brown and Marlon Humphrey.
" Article below and linked: "Tuscaloosa - Alabama cornerback Tony Brown took some lumps in his freshman season this past year, but he won't let that define him as a player. Brown, a former five-star prospect, isn't used to being picked on. But during his time on the field this year, opposing quarterbacks often went after him.
He said getting "beat on national TV in front of a lot of people" helped him grow a lot.
"Definitely an adjustment from high school," Brown said after the SEC Championship Game. "In high school, you know they're not going to throw your way. When you get to college, they might throw your way all the time."
Brown always will be linked with fellow freshman cornerback Marlon Humphrey throughout his career, as both came to campus as highly regarded defensive back recruits. They haven't spoken with reporters since arriving at Alabama, in keeping with Tide coach Nick Saban's long-standing policy of not allowing freshman to do interviews. But after the SEC Championship Game, the two were allowed to talk publicly about their experiences so far at Alabama. The league has a policy that every player in the locker room can answer questions from reporters.
Brown was the No. 2 overall recruit from Texas and the No. 2 overall cornerback, according to 247Sports Composite rankings, while Humphrey was the top prospect from Alabama and the No. 3 overall cornerback.
The duo has been close since their junior years of high school when they met while running track.
With the season nearly over, Brown and Humphrey experienced two different paths as first-year players.
Brown played in 12 of the Tide's 13 games. He earned two starts (Florida and Ole Miss) at cornerback and has seen time on special teams as well. Brown played well in the Florida game and appeared to be headed toward locking down a starting spot full time. But then the Ole Miss game happened.
"We lost that game, and I gave up that last post (route)," Brown said. "That was a bad feeling, but I grew from it, I got better from it and I'll probably never let it happen again."
Brown, who enrolled in January, has nine total tackles including a tackle for loss. He is also credited with a quarterback hurry and a pass break-up.
"I think it helped him a lot," Humphrey said of Brown enrolling early. "When I got here, I was still learning stuff. He pretty much already knew the defense."
Of Humphrey, Brown said he's been "helping him out as much as I can," adding that "he's getting better."
Humphrey, who arrived in the summer, redshirted his first year on campus. Humphrey ran track his final year of high school, and said he "never really tried to come (to Alabama) in the spring."
Humphrey said that at about the same time as Alabama's game against LSU, he had a meeting with the coaches in which they informed him he would be redshirting. He was told that wasn't the original plan, but things changed as the season went on.
For Humphrey, redshirting "wasn't too tough."
"There are a lot of people that have done it here," Humphrey said. "Here, it's a lot different than other places. At most places, even if you're not going to play, you just play on special teams and things like that. It's hard to soak up, but once I found out I was (going to redshirt), I just soaked up the idea that this would be the year I can learn and get better."
Brown's season was more of a roller coaster. He went from playing little, to starting, to playing little again. Brown said Tide safety Landon Collins helped him with the transition by giving him "uplifting" messages. Still, Brown added that being in and out of the lineup wasn't tough because "I'm a team player."
"Whatever my team needs me to do, I'm going to do it," Brown said. "If my coaches feel like I'm not the best to be out there, then they're the coaches and I know they're right. If I need to be on special teams, then that's where I'm going to make an impact on the team."
Brown suffered a shoulder injury while running track for Alabama during the spring, which put his track career on hold. He said he had the surgery to fix the issue, which has left a big scar on his left shoulder. But he added he doesn't have any problems with the shoulder.
Both Brown and Humphrey said they plan to run track this spring.
As for football, there's no telling when they'll both be able to play the cornerback spots together. Alabama is slated to return all of its cornerbacks next season, including starters Cyrus Jones and Eddie Jackson.
Still, Humphrey is holding out hope for the day he and his friend can play together at the same time.
"I'm excited for when me and him can get on the field together," Humphrey said.
http://m.annistonstar.com/sports/article_5f6cfa00-80af-11e4-888f-879b4a58f018.html?mode=jqm
" Article below and linked: "Tuscaloosa - Alabama cornerback Tony Brown took some lumps in his freshman season this past year, but he won't let that define him as a player. Brown, a former five-star prospect, isn't used to being picked on. But during his time on the field this year, opposing quarterbacks often went after him.
He said getting "beat on national TV in front of a lot of people" helped him grow a lot.
"Definitely an adjustment from high school," Brown said after the SEC Championship Game. "In high school, you know they're not going to throw your way. When you get to college, they might throw your way all the time."
Brown always will be linked with fellow freshman cornerback Marlon Humphrey throughout his career, as both came to campus as highly regarded defensive back recruits. They haven't spoken with reporters since arriving at Alabama, in keeping with Tide coach Nick Saban's long-standing policy of not allowing freshman to do interviews. But after the SEC Championship Game, the two were allowed to talk publicly about their experiences so far at Alabama. The league has a policy that every player in the locker room can answer questions from reporters.
Brown was the No. 2 overall recruit from Texas and the No. 2 overall cornerback, according to 247Sports Composite rankings, while Humphrey was the top prospect from Alabama and the No. 3 overall cornerback.
The duo has been close since their junior years of high school when they met while running track.
With the season nearly over, Brown and Humphrey experienced two different paths as first-year players.
Brown played in 12 of the Tide's 13 games. He earned two starts (Florida and Ole Miss) at cornerback and has seen time on special teams as well. Brown played well in the Florida game and appeared to be headed toward locking down a starting spot full time. But then the Ole Miss game happened.
"We lost that game, and I gave up that last post (route)," Brown said. "That was a bad feeling, but I grew from it, I got better from it and I'll probably never let it happen again."
Brown, who enrolled in January, has nine total tackles including a tackle for loss. He is also credited with a quarterback hurry and a pass break-up.
"I think it helped him a lot," Humphrey said of Brown enrolling early. "When I got here, I was still learning stuff. He pretty much already knew the defense."
Of Humphrey, Brown said he's been "helping him out as much as I can," adding that "he's getting better."
Humphrey, who arrived in the summer, redshirted his first year on campus. Humphrey ran track his final year of high school, and said he "never really tried to come (to Alabama) in the spring."
Humphrey said that at about the same time as Alabama's game against LSU, he had a meeting with the coaches in which they informed him he would be redshirting. He was told that wasn't the original plan, but things changed as the season went on.
For Humphrey, redshirting "wasn't too tough."
"There are a lot of people that have done it here," Humphrey said. "Here, it's a lot different than other places. At most places, even if you're not going to play, you just play on special teams and things like that. It's hard to soak up, but once I found out I was (going to redshirt), I just soaked up the idea that this would be the year I can learn and get better."
Brown's season was more of a roller coaster. He went from playing little, to starting, to playing little again. Brown said Tide safety Landon Collins helped him with the transition by giving him "uplifting" messages. Still, Brown added that being in and out of the lineup wasn't tough because "I'm a team player."
"Whatever my team needs me to do, I'm going to do it," Brown said. "If my coaches feel like I'm not the best to be out there, then they're the coaches and I know they're right. If I need to be on special teams, then that's where I'm going to make an impact on the team."
Brown suffered a shoulder injury while running track for Alabama during the spring, which put his track career on hold. He said he had the surgery to fix the issue, which has left a big scar on his left shoulder. But he added he doesn't have any problems with the shoulder.
Both Brown and Humphrey said they plan to run track this spring.
As for football, there's no telling when they'll both be able to play the cornerback spots together. Alabama is slated to return all of its cornerbacks next season, including starters Cyrus Jones and Eddie Jackson.
Still, Humphrey is holding out hope for the day he and his friend can play together at the same time.
"I'm excited for when me and him can get on the field together," Humphrey said.
http://m.annistonstar.com/sports/article_5f6cfa00-80af-11e4-888f-879b4a58f018.html?mode=jqm
