Tide Tidbits – July 19, 2009
Tide fans, coaches optimistic about 2009 season
Summing up spring: Alabama coach Nick Saban said he was “very pleased with the progress our team has made this spring.” Injury updates: Three players were held out of the spring game. Sophomore running back Mark Ingram, senior running back Roy Upchurch and wide receiver Earl Alexander. In addition, [...]
Tide Tidbits – July 18, 2009
SEC’s five toughest nonconference games
2. Alabama vs. Virginia Tech, in Atlanta, Sept. 5: For the second straight season, the Crimson Tide will open the season against a top 10 team in the Georgia Dome. It turned out pretty well for them last season. Virginia Tech, though, is a better team than Clemson was a year [...]
Tide Tidbits – July 17, 2009
Alabama places 9 on SEC preseason coaches’ team
Defending SEC and national champion Florida Gators had a league-high 16 representatives on the 2008 All-Southeastern Conference Coaches’ Football Team, while LSU had 10 total selections and defending Western Division Champion Alabama and Georgia had nine each, the league office announced on Thursday. There were only three unanimous [...]
Tide Tidbits – July 16, 2009
Alabama will win the wild, wild SEC West
Alabama will be a different team, especially on offense, but will still find a way to get to Atlanta on Dec. 5. Let’s start with the offense. Last season Alabama could pretty much wear opponents down by steamrolling them with that huge offensive line. This season, behind new [...]
Tide Tidbits – July 15, 2009
Gone are the days when coaches made less than the school prez
Paul Bryant knew a thing or two about winning. After all, he did it 323 times. In 38 years as a head coach, he had only one losing season. And by the time his 25-year run at Alabama was done, the Bear had six [...]
Tide Tidbits – July 14, 2009
Looking at quarterbacks and the No. 12
Sometimes one number equates to success at a certain position on a football team. With the University of Alabama, that number is 12 and the position is quarterback. This year a new No. 12 will lead the Crimson Tide at the signal caller position, inspiring the question: How did [...]
Tide Tidbits – July 13, 2009
Hightower, Jones taking bigger roles for Alabama
The white-hot days of summer conditioning continue on campuses around the country, including in Tuscaloosa. While special attention will be paid at Alabama to finding a new quarterback, filling holes in the offensive line and developing a free safety to anchor a defense that returns nine starters, it’s worth [...]
Tide Tidbits – July 12, 2009
SEC Preview: Alabama
Nick Saban thinks things will be different this year. That’s not a threat or a promise regarding the success of his Alabama Crimson Tide football team. Saban, beginning his third year as Bama coach, said the difference this year is that Alabama will have a target on its back. “Last year no one [...]
Tide Tidbits – July 11, 2009
College Football List Week: 5 Toughest Coaching Jobs in the Country
1. Alabama – A fanbase that borders on psychotic. With no pro football, basketball or baseball teams, there’s no competition (other than some occasional ankle biting from Auburn). ‘Bama’s football coach, it could be argued, is the most powerful man in state, and if he’s [...]
Tide Tidbits – July 10, 2009
SEC preview: Ranking the head coaches
2. Nick Saban, Alabama, 3rd season: You must be a pretty good coach if you can pile up nicknames. While some prefer to call him “Coach Satan”, Crimson Tide Nation prefers St. Nick after he led Alabama last year to a 12-2 record, 8-0 in the SEC, and back in [...]
Tide Tidbits – July 9, 2009
Football recruiting season gets earlier and earlier each year
College football recruiting has changed dramatically over the last decade, as college scouts make decisions and extend offers earlier than ever. Alabama coach Nick Saban pioneered the early commitment craze during his tour of duty at LSU, and copycats quickly sprang up at nearly every college program [...]
Tide Tidbits – July 8, 2009
Alabama, Virginia Tech fans make season-opener a sellout
The Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game in Atlanta is officially a sellout about nine weeks before the start of the college football season, according to game officials. Alabama and Virginia Tech were allotted – and sold – 31,200 tickets by the sponsor of the game at the Georgia Dome, so [...]
