Tide Tidbits – August 24, 2009

Backup quarterback battle still unsettled
It’s hard to tell who’s running second team at quarterback for Alabama. Head coach Nick Saban has typically used redshirt freshman Star Jackson, sophomore walk-on Thomas Darrah and true freshman AJ McCarron all with the second team, letting their talents and not their teammates dictate their success. McCarron, at least at this early stage, is likely destined for a redshirt year. If you go by the statistics, Darrah appears to be second team, but Saban said it takes more than statistics to determine the best quarterback. “Thomas has probably done a little bit better job of executing in the passing game,” Saban said, “but Star has done a good job of running the offense and making plays in other ways.”

Hanks hopes bad luck is in the past
For the better part of two years, Darius Hanks has had bum luck and average health. The training-room regular and practice-player standout has been on the cusp of regular playing time when injuries pop up and limit productivity. Now the Norcross, Ga., product has emerged from the black cloud of nagging ailments to become one of the hot names in the race for playing time along with a host of other Alabama wide receivers. Coach Nick Saban consistently has named Hanks as one of the handful of players vying to be the ying to Julio Jones’ yang this August. The sophomore is more than eager to see the field on a regular basis. “It’s coming. I haven’t really had the chance that I really need to prove myself on the field,” Hanks said. “When I was out there last year, I felt like I did a good job. This year, I am going to be called upon a lot more and you guys will see a lot more from me.”

Alabama’s Hightower will play but where?
Alabama sophomore linebacker Dont’a Hightower still doesn’t know where he’ll be lining up this season. “That’s up in the air right now,” Hightower said. “I have no idea.” Dating back to the Sugar Bowl to end last season, Crimson Tide coaches have toyed with the idea of moving the 6-foot-4, 255-pound Hightower from the inside “Will” spot to “Jack,” the hybrid defensive end/outside linebacker role in Nick Saban’s 3-4 defense. Hightower occasionally has worked earlier this preseason with the outside linebackers. He has spent the remainder of the time at his old spot, with senior Eryk Anders and sophomore Courtney Upshaw vying for the Jack role left vacant by the offseason dismissal of returning starter Brandon Fanney.

The SEC, with help from ESPN, is becoming big man on campus
Most college football conferences would be content with having produced the past three national champions, or, in Tim Tebow, the game’s most heralded, overpublicized player. But the Southeastern Conference is hungry. It won’t be satisfied until it becomes America’s Conference. A lot of people think it already is. With ESPN providing the money and coverage, the SEC is poised to become the most widely disseminated, wealthiest college football league in the country. Already superior in quality and intensity than anything in college football – and boasting the nation’s most passionate fan base – the SEC ranks second only to the NFL in brand appeal. Now it’s putting even more daylight between itself and its so-called competitors.

UA has met with NCAA on Jones, Ingram matter
The University of Alabama has not self-reported any NCAA violations related to a spring fishing excursion taken by football players Julio Jones and Mark Ingram, but at least one member of the UA compliance staff has flown to Indianapolis to discuss the situation with NCAA enforcement representatives, The Tuscaloosa News has learned. Neither Jones nor Ingram has been declared ineligible to play this season, but UA is consulting with the Southeastern Conference to determine whether the matter should be reported as a possible secondary violation. UA has investigated for the past few months a Gulf Coast fishing trip taken by Jones and Ingram with Curtis Anderson, a 56-year-old resident of Athens who owns a condominium in Gulf Shores. UA’s investigation determined Anderson is not an athletic booster.

ANDREW BONE: Tide legacy hoping for offer
Maudrecus Humphrey, Scout.com three-star wide receiver from Hoover High School, has the opportunity to play football in the SEC. Humphrey has yet to receive an offer from the Crimson Tide, but he is receiving a lot of interest. He holds scholarship offers from Arkansas, Kentucky, Southern Miss, UAB and West Virginia. His dad was an All-American for the Crimson Tide and drafted in the first round of the NFL by the Denver Broncos. “I grew up as Alabama fan,” said Maudrecus Humphrey. “They have been sending me a lot of different stuff about their football program. They work hard. I know coach Saban is going to push you to your limit and help you excel in the game.”

Roll Tide!

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