Sky’s the limit for Wilson, Saban says
Ken Rogers
Sunday story in the Eagle is about John Parker Wilson, where he’s been, where he is and where he wants to take the Crimson Tide this fall.
Tide head coach Nick Saban couldn’t help but smile at an inside joke when asked how good Wilson could be this fall.
“That’s a good question. How good do you want to be?” Saban smiled, referencing the name of the book he authored. “Somebody wrote a book about that once. I don’t know the guy, was a real jerk.”
Saban said the things that make a great quarterback are traits Wilson possesses.
“I think that the quarterback position, the sky is the limit for any player, relative to the choices and decisions that he makes, the changes that he makes psychologically, mentally and in his approach to the game,” the coach said. “There’s a lot of guys that have the physical ability to do it, but they have to go out on the field and prove that they can be the consistent, efficient, effective performer by making good choices and decisions about what they do, and how they make those business-like decisions so that they can perform better, eliminate the bad plays and make more good plays.
“John Parker is certainly showing an improvement in all those areas in this offseason, and hopefully, he will continue to do that throughout the course of this season. And through that, he will elevate his game and have a good year for us. He’s done everything right in this offseason to be able to do that. So hopefully, it will all come to fruition for him and for us and have an outstanding year.”
The team worked inside for two hours in full pads Saturday.
“I thought we had a pretty good practice,” Wilson said in quotes distributed by Alabama Media Relations. “The energy was good and I think practicing inside was a plus to change it up a little bit. We get Sunday off and then need to come in Monday focused and ready for game week.”
Saturday’s practice included work against Clemson’s offensive and defensive schemes, courtesy of the scout teams.
Posted by Ken Rogers on 08/23 at 10:30 PM
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Freshman RB Ingram bids for spot in Tide’s rotation
Ken Rogers
I’m writing about Alabama’s running backs for Saturday’s Eagle.
I get that the scrimmages traditionally are geared around the passing game—particularly with a new offense like Jim McElwain’s.
But the numbers weren’t particularly good from last Saturday’s final scrimmage. The top four running backs combined for 95 yards on 28 carries and no touchdowns. Not horrible, but not dominant.
Still, Nick Saban seems very comfortable with the offensive line and a running back-by-committee system that always keeps fresh legs in the game.
Glen Coffee, Terry Grant and Roy Upchurch, whose name hasn’t come up much in camp, will be joined by true freshman Mark Ingram, a 5-10, 215-pounder from Flint, Mich.
He was a late signee to the touted freshman class and he’s gotten raves from teammates.
Saban is typically a bit more reserved, but said he does a lot of things very well—including work hard.
The coach also talked about recruiting him. Ingram’s dad, Mark Sr., went to Michigan State while Saban worked as an assistant there. They’ve stayed in touch. Saban laughed recalling his home visit with the Ingrams.
“I’ve known his family since his dad was a senior in high school and we recruited him to Michigan State,” Saban said. “That was when I was an assistant — Charlie Baggett actually recruited him since he was from Flint. Of course, that’s where Mark (Jr.) is from, too. When I was on the home visit, Mark Sr.’s wife — because I was in charge of academics and all that stuff (at Michigan State) — she says ’So you’re the guy who used to call me all the time looking for Mark to make sure he went to class.’ I said, ’Yes ma’am, it’s nice to meet you after all these years.’ So I’ve known them for a while.“
Posted by Ken Rogers on 08/22 at 03:47 PM
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Wouldn’t Lightning Bolt be something on the gridiron?
Ken Rogers
It’s a very small window that Nick Saban can enjoy the Olympics, but he’s all for getting Usain Bolt on the football field.
“I don’t know that I’ve ever seen a human being run as fast—and as easily—as he is,” Saban noted of the 6-foot-5 100- and 200-meter sprint champion from Jamaica during his press conference after Tuesday’s practice.
“There have been numerous guys who have been really good track guys become some kind of football players, especially at the wide receiver position,” Saban said. “That’s really got to be something that they want to do and have a passion for and want to try to do, That great speed can be an asset as football players.”
Saban admitted not being able to see as much of the Games as he’d like.
“I don’t see the Olympics until, most of the time, after 10. and I usually can’t stay up in my chair after 11. so there’s a short window,” he said.
“But, I do like the women’s gymnastics. And I really root for our two fine competitors that we have who’ve done a really good job,” he noted, referencing Nastia Liukin and Shawn Johnson.
Posted by Ken Rogers on 08/20 at 04:58 PM
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AP ranking Alabama 24th in preseason poll
Ken Rogers
Not sure what to make of Alabama’s No. 24 preseason ranking by the Associated Press.
My initial reaction was surprise that the Tide was ranked at all.
Then,
Posted by Ken Rogers on 08/16 at 06:28 PM
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Saban: Injury-free camp a combination of preparation, luck
Ken Rogers
TUSCALOOSA—Alabama coach Nick Saban talked about the conditioning drills, the limited contact in practice and his team’s improved strength.
All of those are factors in a comparably injury-free training camp.
But the coach said luck plays a role, too.
“I think sometimes in sports, you just get lucky,” the coach said Thursday after practice. “We try to practice safe. The fact that our players did a nice job in the offseason program, all the way back to offseason conditioning drills before the spring. We’re a lot stronger, we’re more physical. We had a great summer this summer. All the players were here and worked out every day.
“I think the level of conditioning can help that to some degree. I think strength — one of the the things you try to do in the weight room is put yourself in a position to where you can eliminate some injuries.
“But there’s also a certain amount of luck that goes along with guys not getting injured in practice. We try to practice safe, we try to stay off the ground. We try to play fast, get off blocks, thud people, but we try to stay off the ground. We don’t do some things in practice like cut (block), hopefully to keep guys off the ground. Most of the injuries we’ve had here in practice have come because of things that were done outside of the rules relative to how we want to practice. I think two guys last year were injured in practice and both of them were because a guy got cut and a guy got dragged down from behind, and that’s not how we want to do it. I don’t know if you can attribute it to it, but those are some of the things that we try to do eliminate (injuries).”
Posted by Ken Rogers on 08/14 at 07:35 PM
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