Tide Tidbits – December 23, 2009

Applewhite credits Saban for success at Texas
Despite rumblings that he left the University of Alabama because he didn’t agree with Nick Saban’s coaching philosophy, Texas running backs coach Major Applewhite said his one season as offensive coordinator of the Crimson Tide was a positive experience. ‘My year at Alabama was a great year,’ Applewhite said in statements provided by the Texas sports information department. I learned a lot about the game of football and how to run a program with Coach Saban. I had the chance to work with a great offensive staff that had years of experience. I think Coach Saban puts a structure in place that covers all areas from ankle-wrappers to play-callers. Everyone is held accountable. It’s a system where people know there’s a standard, an expectation that you’re there to meet.’ [More]

Texas’ Muschamp mirrors mentor Saban
Texas defensive coordinator Will Muschamp has earned a reputation for his aggressive style of play, something he learned from Nick Saban when the two were together at LSU earlier this decade. The two still talk frequently and swap ideas, but Muschamp said that will matter little when Saban’s No. 1 Crimson Tide meets the second-ranked Longhorns in the BCS National Championship Game on Jan. 7. “I think there’ll be a lot of wasted ink on that,” Muschamp said. “Fortunately for everyone buying a ticket or watching it, we won’t play.” The two have similar personalities, with Saban’s hard-nosed work ethic honed from his childhood days in rural West Virginia. Muschamp has some of the same qualities, and attributes it to his time in Rome, Ga., when a once-promising career was cut short by a broken leg, forcing Muschamp to walk on at the University of Georgia. [More]

Peek knew about SI cover
Colin Peek, apparently, can keep a secret. A night before that it leaked onto the internet, a friend with inside information called the Alabama tight end with the news that his picture would grace the Dec. 14 cover of Sports Illustrated. He kept quiet until the image hit the web the following day as Peek became the second Alabama player to appear on the cover in three weeks. Mark Ingram held the honor two weeks earlier, but Peek’s over-the-shoulder touchdown catch in the SEC Championship marked more of a landmark. “It was so surreal,” Peek said of the honor. “I never imagined that, but I’m just so thankful for the opportunity. My dad just loves printing off copies and having me sign them,” Peek said. “I’m like ‘Dad, nobody wants this,’ … I think it gives him something to do more than me.” [More]

Tide offensive line takes pride in streak
It happened on a first-and-10 play in Lexington, Ky., in the second quarter of a 38-20 University of Alabama win over Kentucky. Greg McElroy dropped back and threw incomplete on a pass intended for Marquis Maze. Anyone remember it? If you’re looking for plays that helped shape the Crimson Tide’s Southeastern Conference Championship season, perhaps you should. It doesn’t rank on the list of Kodak moments that have brought UA within a game of its 13th national championship. It won’t be immortalized in pricey artwork like Terrence’s Cody’s game-ending blocked field goal against Tennessee, or emblazoned on the cover of Sports Illustrated like the Colin Peek fingertip touchdown catch that broke the backs of the defending national champion Florida Gators. But it was the last time Alabama’s offensive line was flagged with a holding penalty. [More]

Alabama vows not to have another bowl letdown in title game
Two nights into 2009 and two bowls into his tenure as Alabama’s football coach, Nick Saban sat in the depths of the Louisiana Superdome with a postgame scowl he hasn’t flashed since. A man who likes to have all the answers was stumped. “I don’t think we were ready to play today,” Saban said. “I don’t know why.” A 31-17 upset loss to Utah in last season’s Sugar Bowl was the valley in two seasons of momentum peaks for the Crimson Tide, which has spent time since that night trying to figure out exactly what went awry. Alabama’s first four practices for the BCS title game have been noticeably more physical, according to players. Saban instructs players not to tackle to the ground in practice, thus avoiding injuries, but he is now toying with the idea of holding a full-scale “scrimmage” today to aide in game preparation. “I feel coach Saban doesn’t want the same thing to happen this year that happened last year,” linebacker Eryk Anders said. “He’s doing a good job of getting us prepared and making us hit, even though sometimes we may not want to.” [More]

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