Dequan Menzie, a junior college cornerback who signed with Alabama in February, has torn an Achilles tendon and will be out for up to six months, his high school coach said this morning.
The news is a big blow to Alabama, which lacks depth in a secondary that must be rebuilt this season. Menzie was expected to enroll at Alabama by June 1 and participate in preseason drills that begin in early August.
McGee said he could not confirm talk that the injury happened in a pickup basketball game.
Don Kausler Jr: Tide junior college signee Dequan Menzie tears an Achilles tendon
A million F-bombs. As I speculated a couple of days ago, I don't know that Menzie would have / will ever be a star, but he was almost guaranteed to provide quality depth to a defensive backfield currently very short on it, and he could have moved to safety had the need arisen. With him tearing his Achilles, I think this guarantees that he redshirts in 2010 -- remember, he has three years to play two, so a redshirt is an option -- and suddenly we are mightily thin at cornerback once again. All I can say is that we had all better hope for good injury luck and for Deion Belue to qualify, because as of right now only have five scholarship cornerbacks able to play this Fall. Again, a million F-bombs.
And let me also add that I loathe pick-up basketball. Absolutely nothing makes me cringe more than when I hear our football players putting themselves at risk playing a meaningless game of pick-up basketball. Nothing good can ever come of it, but a hell of a lot of bad can come at the drop of a hat. Or in this case, the simple movement of a leg. F-bomb, F-bomb, F-bomb.
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A million f-bombs indeed...
Our pass rush is going to have to be ferocious with the mostly-untested (and razor thin) secondary we’re putting out there…
"Hush now, let it go now. I know it's time to go. Time to let this fall from my hands" VNV Nation, "From My Hands"
by Stuck in the Plains on Apr 2, 2010 10:38 AM CDT reply actions
but if they can cover man to man, it just might work
by Alabama ManDance on Apr 2, 2010 12:56 PM CDT up reply actions
If Saban could find a way to make...
…a Cover Million defense, I think we’ll be set.
Roll Bama Roll - The Champagne of Bama Blogs.
It won't be Julio, of course...
… but don’t be surprised to see another wide receiver move over to cornerback, at least on an experimental basis.
"Underlying most arguments against the free market is a lack of belief in freedom itself." -- Milton Friedman
by outsidethesidelines on Apr 2, 2010 10:49 AM CDT up reply actions
Nah, that isn't happening...
… no way a 6’4, 210+ pound guy is going to be playing cornerback. Safety, maybe (and I really doubt that now, especially given how well Brandon Gibson has apparently done there), but definitely not corner. He’d be more likely to end up at Sam linebacker than corner.
"Underlying most arguments against the free market is a lack of belief in freedom itself." -- Milton Friedman
by outsidethesidelines on Apr 2, 2010 11:01 AM CDT up reply actions
dammit
Eventually I will list a player and you’ll heep much praise on me for guessing correct.
Fumbles. It was always Fumbles
Just a thought here...
what about corey grant, i don’t believe he’s ever played d, but i can’t think of anyone we have that would be quicker.
he did look good in his vids
with the dump off pass and screen
Question is, can he Sanders it and take it the other way ? Didn’t Beleu recieve kicks and punts and fast. May have a nack for finding the ball..
"Defense"
In throwing my money in on Kenny Bell
"Yeah, it's Tennessee, that's the way it is sometimes." - Corey Zickefoose, Pulitzer Prize winner and robbery victim
"This is not the end. This is the beginning." - The Great and Powerful Saban
by Thomas Walker Esq on Apr 3, 2010 12:32 AM CDT via mobile up reply actions
I'm* damned iPhones, damned Steve Jobs
And his boog-eatin right hand man
"Yeah, it's Tennessee, that's the way it is sometimes." - Corey Zickefoose, Pulitzer Prize winner and robbery victim
"This is not the end. This is the beginning." - The Great and Powerful Saban
by Thomas Walker Esq on Apr 3, 2010 12:33 AM CDT via mobile up reply actions
I look forward...
…to more homer comments about how there is nothing to worry about. Damn that really sucks!
Since the end of the championship game, Kareem Jackson turned pro early, Robby Green is suspended indefinitely, and now the defensive back considered the most likely to vie for early playing time (Dequan Menzie) is likely done for the rest of the season. I really wish some of the defensive backs we recruited over the last couple of seasons would have worked out!
we got this
CNS has a plan.
for the next five days there is nothing in my heart but hate. pure, untempered, ice-cold hate. fond memories are for saturday. - Kleph
last time I saw that said was
playoffs last baseball season when the coach came out and relieved the pitcher. Coach came out. pitcher says , in an adreinelin surge, “I Got This”. they took him out and gave up several runs and lost.
CNS’ Got This
"Defense"
maybe i'm missing something...
but when did saban start coaching the baseball program?
Roll 'Bama Roll: The Champagne of 'Bama Blogs.
And I'll add...
… not as homer logic, but as a legitimate point, that we are in good shape if we can stay healthy. For better for for worse, we are / were going to sink or swim with the triumvirate of Kirkpatrick, Scott, and Phelon, and this injury to Menzie does not change that. Milliner and Fulton (and hopefully Belue too) should be able to provide adequate enough depth as the fourth and fifth cornerbacks to make it all work relatively well.
The problem is going to be if we have a string of injuries to corners. If any of those guys miss a few games, well, let’s just say it’d probably be prudent advice to take hold of your asses and immediately start praying to the pass rushing gods…
"Underlying most arguments against the free market is a lack of belief in freedom itself." -- Milton Friedman
by outsidethesidelines on Apr 2, 2010 10:52 AM CDT reply actions
I'm surprised Saban let's them do that
When I played football in high school we would face some serious punishment for getting caught with a basketball…such as a 5:00 AM conditioning session
I'll put you through hell, but at the end of it all we'll be champions.
Pick up basketball...
Please see Aaron Boone: ALCS Hero to unemployed in about 5 months. Why? PICK UP BASKETBALL!!!!!!!
"There's a lot of blood, sweat, and guts between dreams and success" - Coach Bryant
And, motorcycles...
no way in hell I would let my players on a bike.
"Hush now, let it go now. I know it's time to go. Time to let this fall from my hands" VNV Nation, "From My Hands"
by Stuck in the Plains on Apr 2, 2010 11:51 AM CDT up reply actions
coughcoughmclaincoughcough
"Sympathy has expired Longhorns" WallaceWade04
by The Voice of Reason on Apr 2, 2010 2:20 PM CDT up reply actions
This just goes to show you
why it’s so hard to repeat. But it also goes to show you that we shouldn’t overreact. Jimmy Johns was expected to start in 2008. So was Zeke Knight. Fanney was supposed to start in 2009. Jerrell Harris was expected to start also.
This is just part of it. And Pete Carroll loves pick-up basketball. He’s like Dennis Hopper’s character in Hoosiers when it comes to basketball.
www.totteringworld.com
The only answer to the depth problem is to change the types of coverage we play.
If we lack DB’s then play zone and put an extra DE on the line to add QB pressure. Hell blitz the whole damn team!
But hey on the bright side, looks like Nick can add a new play to the defensive playbook……….the Pseudo Nickel Package.
He is great who can do what he wishes; he is wise who wishes to do what he can.
…somehow beams thinking of Peyton Manning looking up at all 11 defenders at the line and calling time out. Brother Oliver, how could you…
It's not what you've done but what you are doing that matters.
And the roses in this grand ol' stadium are once again Crimson. - Eli Gold, CTSN Broadcast of the BCS Championship Game at the Rose Bowl, 1-7-2010
by AlabamaJammer on Apr 2, 2010 3:54 PM CDT up reply actions
And somewhere off in the distance....
Alonzo Lawrence just kicked himself.
"Sympathy has expired Longhorns" WallaceWade04
by The Voice of Reason on Apr 2, 2010 2:18 PM CDT reply actions 1 recs
aint that the truth...
for the next five days there is nothing in my heart but hate. pure, untempered, ice-cold hate. fond memories are for saturday. - Kleph
I know I'll take a bashing here for saying this, but, here it goes anyway.......
In 2008 Saban signed two CB’s out of a 32 man class. Robby Green and Alonzo Lawrence. Now Lawrence is gone and Green has eligibilty issues.
in 2009 Saban signed 1 CB out of a 29 man class. Dre Kirpatrick
In 2010 Saban signed 3 CB’s out of a 29 man class. Demarcus Milliner, John Fulton and hobbled Menzie. (Who apparently is also a power forward)
_
OK out of 90 signees over three recruiting years Saban only signed 6 CB’s. And now all of a sudden we have depth problems………..I wonder why????
He is great who can do what he wishes; he is wise who wishes to do what he can.
Recruit for need
Consider that if things had worked out as one might have expected, Jackson and Green would still be all set to go for this coming season, making Menzie a depth-only sort of pickup. There’s no need to load up at a position in case we have a run of bad luck at the expense of pulling in the best possible players.
Also, how do we know that there were other players that a) wanted to play for us and b) that we wanted to have on our team? It could have just been a couple of dry years.
I'm wrong all the time.
Plus...
…look at the guys we went after but didn’t sign. Keenan Allen in this class, obvs, but there have been several CBs that we went hard after and either didn’t get (like Greg Reid to FSU) or weren’t going to qualify and went somewhere else (can’t think of his name, but the kid from Mobile that backed out of his commitment for Southern Miss).
Roll Bama Roll - The Champagne of Bama Blogs.
Better your bottom dollar,and I know I''m preaching to the choir.
That just about every team SEC team will try to exploit this secondary.Mallet worry’s me,but he can’t take the heat of a good pass rush with his flat feet.Though I must admit I’m scurred.
Let’s hope this young talent can live up to their hype somewhat.
…thing is they only need to be good for about 4-6 seconds each play. If the pass rush hasn’t gotten to the QB by then it wouldn’t matter who was out on the islands, in all honestly.
It's not what you've done but what you are doing that matters.
And the roses in this grand ol' stadium are once again Crimson. - Eli Gold, CTSN Broadcast of the BCS Championship Game at the Rose Bowl, 1-7-2010
by AlabamaJammer on Apr 2, 2010 3:57 PM CDT up reply actions
it will be.
we’re going to be alright, we just now have much slimer margin of error when it comes to depth in the secondary. having true froshmen out there as starters is never a good thing, but it isn’t necessarily the end of the world either.
as long as our O can eat clock, take care of the balls and score points (and i firmly believe they will). then i think our D line and LB unit will help compensate for all the youth in the secondary.
for the next five days there is nothing in my heart but hate. pure, untempered, ice-cold hate. fond memories are for saturday. - Kleph
Our defense will owe
Trent and Mark a few drinks after each game for eating up that clock…
"Yeah, it's Tennessee, that's the way it is sometimes." - Corey Zickefoose, Pulitzer Prize winner and robbery victim
"This is not the end. This is the beginning." - The Great and Powerful Saban
by Thomas Walker Esq on Apr 3, 2010 12:48 AM CDT via mobile up reply actions
Well label me one with his head in the sand.
Dude has not played one snap and the whole team does not revolve around one guy….anymore. Thank you Nick Saban. The sky has ceased to fall for me when this happens.
8 or 13 It's more than your school. You can call Bama's fans what you want while your thinking of the national title.
Dude has not played one snap
You need to listen to some Nick Saban. This team hasn’t played a snap yet. Last year’s team is last year’s team. What those guys did last year is nice, but it doesn’t mean a damn thing on the field this year, and whether or not we’re “okay” without Menzie is completely irrelevant to whether or not this is a big loss. We don’t have depth to give at CB this season, so this hurts a lot.
I'm wrong all the time.
I'm wrong all the time.
8 or 13 It's more than your school. You can call Bama's fans what you want while your thinking of the national title.
well, pete, my actual reaction is similarly sanguine...
but it’s not because i don’t think this is a major loss. but the high level of recruiting doesn’t mean we are taking players with pretty much zero experience or a completely inapplicable skill set to fill in anymore. which helps relieve the anxiety in years past when such incidents occurred.
but, personally, the real reason i’m less freaked out is due to coach saban’s observation that this team is different than last year’s team. if we tried to replicate that squad with this group of players we are most likely heading for a big disappointment down the road. but losing menzie now rather than during the season means the coaching staff has the whole summer to cater the defense to handle this specific weakness.
so, yeah, it’s a big loss and a serious concern for next season. but, unlike in years past, we have some options to work with and, more importantly, a coaching staff that knows how and isn’t hesitant to make those changes.
Roll 'Bama Roll: The Champagne of 'Bama Blogs.
Injury?
There is no injury! Menzie is running around, he has intercepted 187 passes in 7 on 7s this summer! There will be zero completions to wideouts or tight ends this year!
by Bama philosophe on Apr 2, 2010 7:02 PM CDT reply actions 1 recs
this guy is awsome
he should give all our press conferences.
for the next five days there is nothing in my heart but hate. pure, untempered, ice-cold hate. fond memories are for saturday. - Kleph
Obviously
you guys have never heard of Wes Neighbors. He’s related to Billy Neighbors. He’ll fix everything. Trust me. My dad is a television repairman. He has an ultimate set of tools. Wes Neighbors will fix it.
www.totteringworld.com
are you drunk?
for the next five days there is nothing in my heart but hate. pure, untempered, ice-cold hate. fond memories are for saturday. - Kleph
I understood it perfectly...
…maybe I am drunk.
Auburn and Tennessee fans are a lot like Slinkys...neither are worth much but you do get a sense of satisfaction from pushing them down a flight of stairs
...and he's poor.
It's not what you've done but what you are doing that matters.
And the roses in this grand ol' stadium are once again Crimson. - Eli Gold, CTSN Broadcast of the BCS Championship Game at the Rose Bowl, 1-7-2010
by AlabamaJammer on Apr 3, 2010 9:20 AM CDT up reply actions
heheh. as it turns out
i was the one who was drunk…
for the next five days there is nothing in my heart but hate. pure, untempered, ice-cold hate. fond memories are for saturday. - Kleph
This is seriously
bad news. I know he had never played a down, never played in the spring but he was part of the plan for next year. The only good thing is that Saban has the rest of spring to try to convert someone to DB, not to be a starter, but to provide depth. I think Dre Kirkpatrick, BJ and Phelon will be ok. In Millner and Fulton we should have some good back ups.
I’m wondering if we could convince Star Jackson to try safety and even Morgan Ogilvie to try the secondary. Neighbors may also be on the two deep now and hopefully he will make the most of his chance.
I hate the NCAA more than UT & AU combined. At least with UT & AU you got a fighting chance.
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