UA men’s golf to play for another NCAA championship
Sixth-seeded Alabama defeated third-seeded Texas Tech and second-seeded Duke on Tuesday to advance to the title match of the NCAA championships against host Oklahoma State. The Crimson Tide defeated Texas Tech 3-and-2 before thrashing Duke 5-and-0 in their quarterfinal and semifinal matches, respectively.
“Something clicked,” Alabama coach Jay Seawell said. “It was a hard-fought match against Texas Tech this morning.”
This is the first time a school has sent its men’s and women’s golf teams to the national championship match since match play started in women’s golf in 2015. In Alabama’s return to match play for the first time since 2014, it will take on the team it defeated that season to win its second consecutive title.
We will have a more in-depth article on the men’s golf team’s accomplishments later this morning, but for now, here’s your update. The Tide has the chance to win the national championship in the men’s golf as well as the women’s. Oh and a football championship, lest your forget about that one.
Kirby Smart on Alabama’s Nick Saban: ‘He may coach forever’
At the SEC Spring Meetings in Destin, Fla., on Tuesday, former Alabama defensive coordinator and current head coach of the Georgia Bulldogs, Kirby Smart, backed up Low’s comments.
“That’s up to Nick. I think Nick’s in great health,” Smart said. “I played pick-up basketball with him for 20 years, it felt like. He takes care of himself. He plays a lot of golf. He’s very healthy. When people ask me that question, I think he’s going to coach as long as he wants to because he’s competitive, he doesn’t want to do anything else and he’s good at what he does.
“If a kid asks me that, I’m like, ‘He may coach forever because he may out-live me the way he takes care of his body. I think that’s to each his own.”
Kirby has definitely seen some of the internet rumors floating around about him spearheading the negative recruiting around Saban’s age. The question is: is he sincere in trying to dispel the rumors, or is he backtracking to attempt to repair some bridges?
The Crimson Tide rank No. 1 in Athlon’s Top 25 for 2018.
Forget about the fact that Alabama had 12 players taken in the 2018 NFL Draft; it’s business as usual down in Tuscaloosa for Nick Saban’s Crimson Tide. After all, Alabama is one of a select few teams that can be considered a favorite to get into the College Football Playoff despite dealing with the seemingly daunting task of replacing 11 starters. The quarterback competition may get most of the headlines but the reality is that this offense is loaded at every position. The defense is nowhere near as set, but talent is not the issue. Regardless of the overall lack of experience on that side of the ball, the expectations remain the same. The Crimson Tide are the favorite in the SEC and have as good a shot of any team in the nation of winning it all (again).
Athlon has the Tide ranked #1 going in to the season. All this early hype makes me a little nervous. But it is a good read with a lot of gump from a media outlet that isn’t one of the usuals. They have a quick analysis on the offense, defense, and special teams that are pretty good for non-local reporters.
Alabama Football: These summer enrollees will make an ’18 impact
Tevita Musika – Defensive line
The junior college transfer player has three years to play two seasons but he will not sit out in 2018. Musika will earn his way into the defensive line rotation, playing at the nose. At six-feet-two and 350 pounds, some fans wonder if he needs to shed some weight. That will be something to watch but his JUCO career showed enough quickness to be more than a run-stuffer.
According to his JUCO coach, Tim Tulloch,
For a guy who is only 6-2, he has extremely long arms — he has 33½-inch arms (the equivalent of a person who is roughly 6-5) — he has learned to play with length. He also has extremely strong hands. To be able to play with that length at nose guard, he has natural leverage, power and arm length, which gives you that NFL prototypical nose guard.
A late-additon JUCO transfer, Tevita Musika has really slipped through the cracks and become a forgotten addition of this year’s recruiting class. But with no true nose tackle with experience on the roster anymore (Raekwon Davis moved there during the spring, but has been an end so far in his career), Musika has a real shot at carving out a spot for himself as a true nose tackle in short-yardage situations. He’s definitely big enough.
Nick Saban responded to a new NCAA rule with his latest poop metaphor
It’s the offseason, and what’s better than Nick Saban ranting about something three months before the season begins? Saban ranting about something while using a poop metaphor.
His latest? Calling out the new NCAA rule that requires just 20 headsets to be used on the sidelines during games:
Nick Saban on new NCAA rule on limiting staff to 20 headsets: “I don’t know who is driving all this stuff, but to me it’s kind of like mouse manure when you’re up to your ears in elephant doo doo." pic.twitter.com/QBltiA4cVe
— Mike Griffith (@MikeGriffith32) May 29, 2018
Never change, Nick. Never change.
That’s it for today. Roll Tide!