ALCrimsonTide » national championship

Tide Commitment Switches to Kentucky

Stacey Mickles, Guest Author — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 17:18:30 +0000

After saying a few weeks ago he was committed to the Alabama, running back Justin Taylor has decided not to commit to the Tide, but sign with Kentucky.

“They really came hard after him the last 48 hours,” said Stanley Pritchett, Taylor’s high school coach. “

“Kentucky really put the full court press on him. He can play early there because they need running backs. Kentucky runs a pro-style offense and he feels very comfortable there with those coaches, especially Tee Martin.”

Taylor and his family were reportedly were not happy that he would be gray shirted because he thought he’d be part of this year’s class, so it’s not that surprising that he changed his commitment, but according to a story on ESPN.com, he thought long and hard before he changed his mind.

Saban Talks Recruiting Class and Gray Shirting

Stacey Mickles, Guest Author — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 17:17:54 +0000

Although Alabama coach Nick Saban reeled in another top recruiting class, Saban seemed a little bit peeved about losing some players today like Darius Phlion who went to Arkansas and Justin Taylor who signed with Kentucky.

But first the coach had these opening remarks: "We started out w/ a goal of explosive players on offense and felt good about the guys we were able to attract."

Then Saban went off for a few minutes about the new SEC over signing rule.

“We took away some opportunities from players who wanted to come here because of the 25 limit.”

“It was more difficult to manage, to hit the exact number, said Saban." "We couldn't send out too many scholarships on a maybe because of the new rule.”

The coach also said he resents people thinking that coaches don’t have the best interest of the player and he basically ended his press conference speaking briefly on the Ladon Collins signing saying he hopes everyone around him will support his decision.

I don’t blame the coach for being a little upset, the media has seem to have made him the poster child for over siging players, but despite that, it hasn’t hurt him at all which tells you what kind of coach he is and the type of program he runs.

RTR!

Has National Signing Day Gotten Too Big?

Stacey Mickles, Guest Author — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 05:54:53 +0000

Today of course was national signing day which is like the NFL Draft for college football. You know this day is BIG when ESPNU devotes a whole day to this, my question is, is this day too big?

I know fans are excited as you should be, I am because a top recruiting class equals success. Nick Saban’s 2008 class included Julio Jones, Mark Ingram, Courtney Upshaw just to name a few and I’m not mistaken, the 2008 class was No. 1 in the country too.

That class won 45 games, two national championships and one SEC championship. To say that was one of the best recruiting classes ever, would be an understatement.

But the thing that worries me is sometimes the fans reaction when they don’t get the player they wanted and the young men themselves who take their recruitment too seriously.

Fans that “stalk” and harass kids on social networks are the worst. I remember last year when Brent Calloway decided to switch back to Alabama after he had chosen Auburn. The nasty comments he received from AU fans were pitiful; this was an 18-year old who just changed his mind.

I also remember the controversy surrounding his recruitment and how an AU blogger tried to say Alabama had cheated to get him which was never proven and the blogger never apologized either.

Then there are the kids themselves who at times get over exposed. No wonder some of these kids get the big head when ESPN puts pressure on them to sign on national TV so they make a show out of it and in some cases, so do their parents.

This is a big day and should be a big day, but at times it seems like we lose prospective on what it’s really all about; schools taking chances on a bunch of 17 and 18-year olds.

What do you think? Comment below!

Tide As Expected Has No. 1 Recruiting Class

Stacey Mickles, Guest Author — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 02:14:03 +0000

As of late Wednesday afternoon, most recruiting publications have the Crimson Tide’s 2012 recruiting class No. 1 in the country.

ESPN, Rivals, Maxpreps had the Tide No. 1 and Scout had the Tide at No. 2. While Bama lost out on running back Justin Taylor who decided not to grey shirt and go to Kentucky, they did land names like Cyrus Jones, Geno Smith, and as expected Landon Collins who also signed his letter of intent.

Unlike when he made his announcement to attend Bama a few months ago, his mother sat next to him and actually hug him after he signed the papers.

Other SEC teams that finished in the top 10 behind Bama were Georgia, Florida and LSU.

Auburn finished somewhere near the middle or bottom of their the top 25 if you believe most experts.

Here is a list of Tide commitments:

http://rivals.yahoo.com/alabama/football/recruiting/commitments/2012

VIDEO: Coach Saban Enjoyed This Victory A Little More Than Most

Alabama Crimson Tide — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 08:48:03 +0000

I think Coach Saban enjoyed this last victory a little more than most. You can see it after the Gatorade bath. He may not admit it, but the sweet satisfaction of winning a national championship this year, after being down for the count following the LSU loss last November, is pretty much the highlight of his career.

We all know that Coach Saban was ready in November to get revenge on Les Miles after the big loss last year. Leading up to the LSU game in 2010, Saban still had Alabama in the hunt for the national championship. With one loss to South Carolina, Les Miles was coming to town with the Bengal Tigers. Unfortunately, after a fake punt & a timely reverse by LSU, Alabama bitterly lost 24-21.

Losing for the second time to Les Miles on Nov. 2011, 9-6, had to have been very hard for Nick Saban to take. The Mad Hatter played it safe in November 2011, after all the tricks of 2010, and came away with a 2 game winning streak on Saban. Going to New Orleans with the possibility of a 3 game losing streak to Les Miles had to have been the ultimate incentive for Saban.

Following the victory in the Superdome, Coach Saban displayed a level of elated emotion that is unprecedented in his tenor at Alabama.

He danced when the Gatorade hit his back. He even said that he "loved it." The moment was surreal and a huge grin was all over his face following the dominant victory. The dominating victory over his arch nemesis was sweet as it gets in collegiate football. For the first time ever, a BCS shut-out that ended all speculation about who was the best team in the country.

It was Coach Saban's finest moment.

Coach Saban was going to enjoy every minute of the after-game celebration. So much so, he was up until 3AM the next morning celebrating.

To Coach Saban, I have one thing to say... "ROLL TIDE!"

Air Force Coaching Legend Fisher DeBerry Favors Bama vs LSU in Title Game

Alabama Crimson Tide — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 07:14:48 +0000

Former head football coach at the United States Air Force Academy from 1984 to 2006, Fisher DeBerry racked up the most wins and highest winning percentage (.608) in Air Force football history. His best year was 1985, when Air Force finished #8 in the AP with a 12-1 record. He duplicated that record in 1998, but only finished #13.

Today, in retirement, Coach DeBerry a respected coach & authority on football, he is offering his opinion on who should play in college football's biggest game.

Coach DeBerry is adamant about the fact that it "should be who we feel are the two best TEAMS" (emphasis his), regardless of conference play. He said he looks at who "week in and week out" are the best teams.

"It is clear in my mind that LSU right now should be the #1 team because they beat Alabama", Fisher then said, "yet Alabama is that (motioning with his finger close together) close to being number one. It would be an exciting national championship game."

We agree with you on this one coach!

ROLL TIDE!

Watch his video below as he expounds on the subject.

VIDEO: Everyone Wants To Talk About Nov 5th

Alabama Crimson Tide — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 21:40:07 +0000

Will LSU and Alabama be undefeated when they play each other? How is this Alabama season different then others? Eli Gold, the voice of Alabama football shares his thoughts with Tim Brando.

Tim Brando & Eli Gold got together on radio to talk about the biggest topic in the states of Alabama & Louisiana. It could be stated as simply a date.

November 5th

In case you have been under a rock, November 5th is a significant day because everyone is looking forward to the big game between Alabama & LSU. Many are considering this game to be the de facto national championship game.

Alabama Football

The challenge for Nick Saban is too keep the minds of the Alabama players on the task at hand, Ole Miss, but we all know that LSU is the proverbial "elephant in the room."

Coach Saban is most of all trying to take away all the "outside distractions."

How well Coach Saban & Les Miles, for that matter, handle the task of navigating the waters until that big game will ultimately determine how big this game will be. What both teams need is to be undefeated going in. Neither needs their team to stumble. The best for both teams is to keep the game on the national radar.

While, granted, a one-loss SEC team is still in the picture at season's end, it still means something. To paraphrase Gene Stallings, if you don't think the easy games mean anything, then try going out and "losing one."

Eli Gold goes on to talk about how the players this year are playing like they don't want to see the same slip-ups that befell the Tide last year against the likes of South Carolina, LSU, & AU. They are much more focused and they also have the added incentive to play for Tuscaloosa that is hurting so much following the ravages of this year's tornados.

Where’s the Defense in the SEC?

Alabama Crimson Tide — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 00:37:37 +0000

After watching two weeks of college football one thing is certain: The defense that is being played out there is terrible. How do you explain scores like this over the weekend: 41-35, 45-42, 35-31. Even the Iowa/Iowa State game got into the 40’s.

I looked up NCAA defensive stats this morning and found only two SEC teams in the top 10 in total defense and only one (Alabama) was in the top five. What happened to defense in the SEC?

While certain media types fall all over themselves praising the great games this weekend, no one seems to care that defense in the SEC has fallen all over the league.

Teams like Mississippi State, Auburn, Georgia, and South Carolina, all ranked in the top 25 (except Georgia) and none of them are near the top 25 or even top 30 in total defense; think about that ya’ll.

Here is something else for you to chew on; Vanderbilt and Kentucky are higher ranked in total defense then the teams I just mentioned.

But the teams I mentioned garner a lot of praise because they can outscore anybody. Alabama on the other hand which just dominated a Big Ten team, basically gets no mention at all because they just went out there and did their job.

There was no exciting last minute goal line stand or a tremendous Hail Mary throw to win the game, just total dominance which no one seems to appreciate these days.

Keep this in mind folks, those great offensive teams I mentioned, probably won’t be playing for the national championship in January. Great offense might win you some games, but it’s the defense that wins championships.

ROLL TIDE!

Memorable Plays Mark the Alabama/Penn State Series

Alabama Crimson Tide — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 20:22:37 +0000

There have been many memorable moments in the Alabama/Penn State rivalry over the years. There was the 1979 goal line stand made famous in the Sugar Bowl that won Alabama the national championship that no one will ever forget, but the two probably still most talked about plays in this rivalry took place in 1983 and 1989-one resulting in a loss for the Crimson Tide, the other kept an undefeated season going.

If you are an Alabama fan over the age of 35, you all know the name Preston Gothard. Gothard was going to be the hero in the 1983 game after the Tide came back from a 34-7 deficit. As you all may recall, the touchdown pass quarterback Walter Lewis threw to Gothard in the back of the end zone was called no good and Alabama’s comeback that afternoon was over and the Tide lost 34-28; as replays would show over the years that was a terrible call made by the officials.

Gothard said in a recent article that he hopes that it doesn’t come down to that this weekend.

"Let's hope it doesn't come down to that," Gothard said. "I'm going to be there, first trip back. I'll have to leave the stadium if it comes down to the last play."

What some forgot and I didn’t realize, was that Penn State had been called offsides and the Tide had one more shot at the endzone and STILL couldn’t get in, but we will all remember Gothard’s play as the one that should have won Bama the ball game.

Younger Bama fans probably remember the 1989 thriller between the Tide and the Nittany Lions when Tide linebacker Thomas Rayam blocked the go-ahead field goal that more then likely would have won Penn State the game.

Rayam’s block preserved Alabama’s 17-16 victory. I remember listening to that game and hearing the excitement in Jerry Ducan’s voice when he said “He blocked it Eli!”

Rayam said in the same article that he is still reminded to this day by Tide fans about that play.

"Every time I talk about it, I still get chills," Rayam said.

And nobody who watched Alabama football in the late 70s could ever forget the "Goalline Stand" for the national championshio to win the 1979 National Championship.

It was fourth and goal from the one-foot line with a national championship on the line. Penn State chose to power it in, but Alabama would have none of it. Again, Alabama surged backward through the Penn State line, and Guman was hit in the hole by Barry Krauss and Murray Legg, where he was stopped dead in his tracks.

The Alabama defense had held after a thunderous collision just short of the goal line. Krauss, the man who delivered the brunt of the hit, was knocked unconscious and temporarily lost feeling in his extremities, but he would get up and run off the field under his own power.

The play went down as one of the greatest ever in college football history. Bear Bryant walked off the field with his last national championship.

What’s your favorite memory in this series?

VIDEO: Take A Peek Into Nick Saban’s Hometown, Carolina, West Virginia

Alabama Crimson Tide — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 05:25:05 +0000

Nice little video of Nick Saban's hometown of Carolina, West Virginia. He talks about how everyone knows everyone else, and it provides great insight into what molded him into the coach & person that he is today.

This video even has his former high school football coach sharing about Nick Saban's play calling abilities in high school. Even to this day, Nick Saban is considered the hometown hero. This video was originally done before the national championship, however it is a great look back into Saban's background. Check it out!

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