Tide Tidbits – January 30, 2010

Peek fits mold of NFL tight ends
Colin Peek has been through his share of injuries in the last 12 months, but the University of Alabama tight end has rebounded to full health at a critical juncture: the Senior Bowl, and the National Football League combine that will follow. While the Senior Bowl includes a weigh-in and various measurements and extensive interviews with representatives from NFL teams, the combine will conduct a thorough physical examination that is nearly as important for oft-injured players as other combine results. “I know when you’ve dealt with injuries teams are going to pry on you, poke and prod you to see if you are 100 percent. I’m so thankful that I’ve been able to come out of this situation (healthy) after dealing with tough injuries like I’ve had,” Peek said. I would pass a physical with flying colors right now. More people I think worry about that stuff than me. At Alabama they try to be very protective and cautious because they don’t want to lose a player during the season.” [More]

Signing day just start for coaches, players
What makes Saban so successful is his staff develops players with the same acumen it recruits them. The Crimson Tide’s recruiting haul ranked first nationally in 2008 and second in 2009, and Alabama won the national championship earlier this month. When players arrive in Tuscaloosa, they improve. Tennessee, by contrast, had the nation’s top-ranked class in 2005, and that group went on to help the Volunteers put together two of team’s worst seasons of the last 20 years —5-7 campaigns in 2005 and 2008. The Vols also had the No. 4 class in 2007, so obviously player development had become a problem in the latter years of the Phil Fulmer era. That helps explain while Fulmer is no longer the Tennessee head coach. The lesson? What happens on Wednesday is only the start of a journey. Whether those four and five-star recruits develop into four- and five-star players will determine who fared best on National Signing Day 2010. [More]

Five questions with Alabama’s Robert Lester
Alabama coach Nick Saban estimates that about 50-60 players are used in games during the course of a season. “Like I always say, the bottom 40 guys on your roster usually determines how good that team really is,” Saban said. An example from this past season was former Foley defensive back Robert Lester. As a recruit, Lester was once overshadowed by all-everything prospect and Foley teammate Julio Jones. Now he has quietly climbed the ladder in two seasons, redshirting the first before earning a chance to participate some in 2009. While it didn’t gain much attention, Lester was a midseason substitute onto Alabama’s kickoff team, helping the improvement of a unit that had struggled early in the season. Lester also began practicing some as a safety in the Tide’s second-string nickel and dime defenses, making him a candidate for time in 2010. [More]

Latest football title in hand, University of Alabama works to protect its good name in market place
Jennifer Martin has seen it all: poems, pictures, T-shirts, towels, caskets, even a potty-trainer that plays “Yea, Alabama!” when it flushes. “We can’t keep up with the amount of requests,” Martin said. “So many people with the next greatest idea.” Martin is the director of marketing and trademark licensing for the University of Alabama, a lucrative arm of the university that in recent years, according to court documents filed in 2008, has exceeded $25 million annually in revenue. It is the responsibility of Martin’s department to decide what products will carry the approval of the university as an official licensee. And in the aftermath of Alabama’s winning the 2009 football national championship, Martin has been flooded with moneymaking ideas. [More]

Who fills the voids left by NFL early entrants?
Now that underclassmen have made their decisions about entering the NFL draft, what about the teams they are leaving behind? Here’s our look at the impact the college teams will feel. In addition, we look at who we think will take over for the guys who are leaving. CB Kareem Jackson: Jackson’s decision leaves Alabama searching for two new starters at corner. Both backups were seniors, so cornerback is a position to watch in spring drills. One starting spot almost certainly will go to sophomore Dre Kirkpatrick. Sophomores Phelon Jones and B.J. Scott figure to be in the mix at the other spot and as potential backups, as do true freshmen John Fulton and DeMarcus Milliner, who already have enrolled. LB Rolando McClain: McClain’s production and his leadership will be missed on an equal basis. Hightower is a big talent, but will he be 100 percent? Still, Nick Saban and his defensive coaches have a lot of pieces to mix and match at linebacker, and this group should play at a high level. The linebackers are much less a concern than the corners. [More]

Roll Tide!

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