Coach Saban on the First Scrimmage

by outsidethesidelines on Aug 15, 2009 7:38 PM CDT in Football

Nothing major here, but I just figured it would be a good idea to compile some of the quotes that Saban had after the first scrimmage today. These come from a variety of reports, such as the official release on RollTide.com, the 'Bama Beat blog of Gentry Estes, and the write-up at 'BamaOnline, among others:

"I was really pleased with the way the first offense executed. They moved the ball effectively and went down and missed a field goal on the first drive. The second drive we went down a scored a touchdown. From a quarterback standpoint, Greg McElroy clearly showed poise out there and moved the team effectively."

"Greg McElroy clearly showed poise, did a nice job out there today, moved the team effectively. For the most part Greg did a really good job in the red zone, moved the field, all those types of things."

"I thought Star Jackson did a decent job today, showed some command and leadership in what he was doing."

"Barrett Jones played there [at right guard] today, he's been doing the best job to this point, but we've got a lot of competition at a lot of positions. I don't know what five guys are going to end up playing in the offensive line. I really don't."

"We'll evaluate the film and I think some of the guys will play a lot better next week than they did this week. And I think we'll probably put them in better positions to play better next week than they did this week."

"Trent Richardson is really a good running back, but he didn't really play with the first team today. I'm sure if he did he would have played better."

"Kevin Norwood has probably showed the most consistency of the young guys. Not that he's any better than the rest of them, he just has a little more maturity and is able to handle the circumstances that he's in, trying to learn and managing the two-a-days and the heat and everything else. He's probably shown the most consistency at this point."

"Julio had some big plays out there."

"I thought the first team defense played pretty well after they got settled down. The defense was pretty good on third down, I don’t think they allowed many (conversions) in that situation."

"AJ McCarron has showed some potential as a young quarterback. If we would have played him with the best receivers we have, he probably would have had a better chance to show some efficiency and effectiveness."

All in all, some pretty good stuff from our beloved Nicktator. In particular, I found the quote regarding Trent Richardson to be particularly intriguing. First and foremost, it's very rare to see Saban put that kind of praise on any player, much less a freshman who has all of ten days of practice under his belt. More to the point, though, it seems to me like he is effectively saying that Richardson played well, but was hampered by a subpar showing with the second (or third) group of offensive linemen. Put that together with the aforementioned quote about players moving around next week, I wouldn't be all that surprised if Richardson makes a much bigger impact next week. Ditto goes for AJ McCarron, who Saban spoke of in very much the same fashion.

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Would you say Star

is running #2 right now? The comment about AJ makes me think he may edge Star out. Clearly he is showing something as a freshman that we have not seen from a freshman since I don’t know when.

I hate the NCAA more than UT & AU combined. At least with UT & AU you got a fighting chance.

by 5026 on Aug 15, 2009 9:20 PM CDT reply actions

Eh, maybe...

Honestly it’s probably a toss-up right now between the three, and I doubt anything has been decided just yet. I’m sure the staff is still in evaluation mode, and honestly will be all year. I would probably say that it’s most likely a bit rare for any of the three to seriously distance themselves from the rest of the park until next year, so it may very well be a race that legitimately carries on into the season.

As for who is where, it’s really hard to say. Again, they all had effectively equal snaps today, so that really tells you nothing particularly insightful. I do think we can safely say that, if all else is equal with Darrah and McCarron / Jackson, then McCarron / Jackson will probably get the nod just because their upside is greater and they have more eligibility remaining. Of course, though, that’s not really telling us anything ground-breaking.

At this point, I think it’s probably a battle between McCarron and Jackson, honestly. Jackson has more time in the system and can make some plays with his feet, but I don’t think there’s any question that McCarron is a better pure passer. I don’t know that I’d put my money on either one of them right now, but honestly I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if McCarron turned out to be the back-up.

by outsidethesidelines on Aug 15, 2009 11:15 PM CDT up reply actions

Its really an academic question anyway unless McElroy goes down. I think if McCarron is only slightly ahead of Star, they would send Star out for the mop up duties and save McCarron’s eligibility. If, however, McCarron were to put some real distance btw himself and the other backups then he would take the mop up duties to prepare himself for the unmentionable contingency. Thats my thinking anyway.

by bamainexile on Aug 15, 2009 11:55 PM CDT up reply actions

Depends on McElroy

Do you think it will likely depend on McElroy? As in, if he goes down in the first month of the season, and McCarron is viewed as the #2, he’ll come in. But if its Game 10 or later/never, they’ll preserve his redshirt and Jackson or Darrah will? It would just seem odd to me that even if he is the legitimate #2, they’d burn his redshirt just for some time in blowouts.

by Bobby Briggs on Aug 16, 2009 9:52 AM CDT reply actions

Eh...

That’s hard to say really. I do think it depends on McElroy to an extent because if he goes down with a serious injury early, then it’s going to throw everything into disarray. The back-up will take the snaps from there, obviously, but I’m sure he’ll be on a short leash, and if he struggles a bit I don’t think it would be a shock to see them try someone else. For example, if Star is the back-up and has a bad game or two, I don’t think anyone should be the least bit surprised if Darrah or McCarron were given a shot at that point.

As for McCarron playing late, though, I think you are probably right. If it’s late in the year and he has not played yet, and we need someone for mop-up duty, you should see either Darrah or Jackson regardless of who the back-up is. Unfortunately, it’s not going to be that simple. With lowly FIU and North Texas in weeks two and three on the schedule, you can bet the farm that someone will be getting mop-up duty at quarterback in those games, and that will be key. If McCarron is the back-up, it’s easy to say save the redshirt and let someone else play in the garbage time, but again it’s not really that simple. If he is legitimately going to be the back-up, you need to get him all of the live reps you can get him, so you really cannot save the redshirt because he’s going to need to get as many of those garbage time reps as he can get.

I don’t know, we’ll see how it works out. I imagine if McCarron wins the back-up job, they’ll probably get him some time early. Either way, though, again, with FIU and North Texas on the schedule early in the season, whoever the back-up is ought to be getting some playing time sooner rather than later, regardless of whether or not McElroy stays healthy.

by outsidethesidelines on Aug 16, 2009 2:44 PM CDT up reply actions

Rules on Redshirting

For some reason, I thought a player could perhaps participate in the first 1-3 games of a season and then still apply for and probably be granted a redshirt for that year as long as he didn’t play again that season. Apparently not, though according to this link.

http://www.ncaa.org/wps/ncaa?ContentID=420

So, if he comes in for a single play this year, its burned. You’re right, it will be a tough decision for the coaching staff. If McElroy stays as healthy as JPW did, then it will seem a shame if McCarron ultimately plays in just a chunk of garbage time on the year. However, if McElroy goes down in Game 5, and McCarron is the next best option and having no experience at that point, it will in hindsight look like a bad decision. All assuming McCarron is the #2 to begin with, and even at that, he’s even significantly better than #3.

by Bobby Briggs on Aug 16, 2009 3:54 PM CDT up reply actions

I know it's summer and all,

but why all the talk about “what if McElroy gets injured”? I don’t recall this about JPW last year, but correct me if I’m wrong. Is it just that we’re so anxious to see what Star and McCarron can do, or is it just a random thought that has just gotten a lot of play, or what? It’s true that the coaching staff need to worry about these type of what ifs, but when one gets this much discussion, it makes that superstitious side of me that I try to keep locked in the basement come out…I don’t like it. Just sayin’…

I bleed crimson and white...I puke Vol puke orange. RTR

by SugarBowl93 on Aug 16, 2009 4:19 PM CDT up reply actions

Its just summer

And I have nothing to do at work right now but wildly speculate as to various football scenarios for the Tide and watch some replay of some Florida-Tennessee matchup on CSS from a few years ago.

by Bobby Briggs on Aug 16, 2009 4:26 PM CDT up reply actions

norwood...

glad to hear he is doing well, he has the potential to step up as a physical receiver not afraid to go across the middle. I got to see him play 5 or 6 times last year for a very good 4A team that went deep in the playoffs. Do you guys know if he is going to be looked at for safety or WR?

by BigChief on Aug 16, 2009 2:05 PM CDT reply actions

WR...

Norwood was / is a versatile guy who could legitimately play on either side of the ball, but for now we have him at wide receiver, and given his impressive showing thus far, I doubt he’s going to be moving over to DB any time soon. I imagine that he’ll play some this year at wide receiver and get some special teams duty as well.

Moving forward, honestly, the real problem he has is that we have a bit of a glut at wide receiver. Saban has praised just about all of them, and pretty much everyone returns from last year. Once you get past Julio or perhaps Maze, it’s hard to definitely say that anyone is guaranteed a whole lot of playing time. I imagine we see a ton of rotation at that position this year.

by outsidethesidelines on Aug 16, 2009 2:37 PM CDT up reply actions

Saban's comment on Trent Richardson

We haven’t heard a whole lot of “buzz” about Trent Richardson in camp — at least not yet. Seems like by this time last year we were hearing comments leaking out about Julio dominating in camp and I don’t seem to be hearing the same thing about Trent. Maybe its the nature of the position or maybe its the depth at running back this year but I am starting to wonder if he is going to have a big impact as a freshman. Saban seems happy with him and that is all that matters right now. (And I know buzz is not dispositive — I don’t think we heard a lot of buzz about Coffee last fall camp either and he had a great year.)

by wey on Aug 16, 2009 4:38 PM CDT reply actions

We

have been spoiled by a few freshman that have been able to come in and compete right away. The truth is its not that common. And as Saban continues to dominate in recruiting, you will less and less freshman start or even contribute right away. This eventually be a good thing. IMO

Scoring against Alabama will be like birthing a child: rare, painful, and messy. - The Ghost of Jay Cutler

by bammer on Aug 16, 2009 9:02 PM CDT up reply actions

And keep in mind...

… that Richardson hasn’t struggled by any stretch of the imagination. Far from it in fact, as Coach Saban has gone out of his way to make note of his performance and abilities, and in his post-scrimmage press conference, he hints at an expanded role.

That said, the hype isn’t there just yet (which seems odd for a Mr. Everything recruit like Richardson, but it’s still true). People are still buzzing over the big surprise of Eddie Lacy in the classroom and on the field, and beyond that with Mark Ingram and Roy Upchurch looking good, early playing time is not a given. Still, that’s not to say Richardson has done anything wrong, far from it in fact.

Around the time of National Signing Day, I said that Richardson would come in and probably get somewhere near 150 carries this year. I will say that with Lacy qualifying and Upchurch returning to the team healthy — keep in mind, some thought he might end on medical scholarship for a while — I imagine that will eat into Richardson’s carries a good bit. I do not expect him to hit the aforementioned 150 carry mark. Still, though, Richardson is obviously as good as he was billed to be, and he’s going to see a ton of meaningful playing time this year. 150 is a stretch now, but I’d bet good money he’ll get 75+ carries, which says a lot for a true freshman tailback with the quality of backs that we have.

by outsidethesidelines on Aug 16, 2009 9:34 PM CDT up reply actions

Saban made clear that Richardson has not struggled.

Which was good to hear. Sounds like its truly a depth issue — we have a ton of good backs. We have 3rd string guys that we would have drooled over much of the last decade. I am hoping a fresh Richardson is the guy that comes in mid-second quarter when the opposing D is worn down and blows games open.

by wey on Aug 16, 2009 10:34 PM CDT up reply actions

ingram will fill coffee's old role

upchurch stays the same, and Lacy and TR split the “change up” reps that went to Ingram last year…. we’ve got a 4 headed hydra in the backfield. i hope we bust out the WishBone at least once this year, just because we can.

welcome to the SEC kiffykins...

by tempebamafan on Aug 17, 2009 2:54 AM CDT up reply actions