Tide offense gaining confidence
August 13, 2007
TUSCALOOSA—Last Saturday’s scrimmage was certainly a prime opportunity for Alabama coaches to learn more about their players.
Monday in Tuscaloosa, Tide offensive players indicated they were learning about their coaches, too. The offense, which earned praise from head coach Nick Saban, held the upper hand in the 92-play practice at Bryant-Denny Stadium. Several players credited offensive coordinator Major Applewhite with creative play-calling and said they couldn’t wait to see how the offense evolves.
“I think it went real well,” quarterback John Parker Wilson said. “The offense came a long way. We had a lot of guys make big plays—receivers and running backs.”
Senior wide receiver DJ Hall said Alabama’s receiving corps will be deep and athletic. “We have a lot of receivers who can make big plays. You can’t pinpoint one receiver,” Hall said. “Once you do that, another one’s open. With this offense, I mean, guys can be open at any time. We’ve got great athletes. And the running backs can come out of the backfield and catch the ball. It’s hard to stop them.
“This offense is well balanced. We don’t base it on the pass. We do a great job in the passing game. When we pass so many times, guys gotta back up—and then there’s Terry (Grant) coming out of the backfield. That’s all we did (Saturday). We kept running screens and draws. They came up and put eight in the box. Then we went over their head. That’s pretty much what we did. Coach Applewhite’s pretty much got it down to a science. It’s so lethal. The coaching staff does a great job calling the plays in the red zone. They can find ways to get a guy open.”
