Tide Tidbits – February 19, 2010

Five position battles to watch for Alabama football this spring …
OK, it’s early for this discussion. But football never really ends, and in the spirit of Sunday’s feature story on budding nose tackle Kerry Murphy, here’s a quick look at a few position battles to keep an eye on when Alabama begins spring practice next month … Projections, of course, are very tentative at this point. CORNERBACK: True freshman signee DeMarcus Milliner has enrolled early to get a leg up. So has John Fulton, and the addition of those two signees will help shape the race to replace three starters in Alabama’s nickel defense. Fulton and Milliner will vie with redshirted sophomore B.J. Scott and LSU transfer Phelon Jones, neither of whom played last year, and talented true sophomore Dre Kirkpatrick. It will also be important for junior college transfer DeQuan Menzie to make it into school on time this summer to fill in. It’s possible that all of the above could play signifcant roles in 2010. There is playing time to go around, as Alabama loses the top six cornerbacks in last year’s rotation.
Early Projection: This thing is wide open, but let’s say Milliner, Kirkpatrick or Jones as top two with Menzie or Scott as the third corner in the fall. [More]

Bama’s Green suspended
University of Alabama defensive back Robby Green has been suspended for a violation of team rules and is not expected to participate in spring practice, multiple sources have told The Tuscaloosa News. It is unclear when the junior from New Orleans might be reinstated, but sources indicated the suspension may extend beyond spring drills. Alabama head coach Nick Saban issued a statement on the matter Thursday afternoon. “There is a situation with Robby and we are currently in the process of determining the facts,” Saban said in the statement. “To make any kind of announcement on his playing status at this time is completely premature and it is not appropriate to do so until we have a chance to go through due process for Robby and his family. [More]

White House visit by Alabama reminds me of Forrest Gump
I’ve got this silly notion after learning the Tide had been invited to the White House to be recognized as 2009 national champions. I can’t get Forrest Gump out of my mind. Remember when Forrest, who played at Alabama under Coach Paul “Bear” Bryant in the movie, was invited to the White House as an All-American, and he filled himself full of Dr. Peppers to the brink of dropping his pants before he could get to the restroom? I can’t get that scene out of my head. Well, it was only a movie, but it was one of the many laughable scenes etched into my brain. [More]

Mike Tanier wants the Colts to draft Javier Arenas
The Colts can live with weak return units because their offense is incredible. But imagine if they took back a few precious yards of field position. The average Colts drive in 2009 started on the 27.0-yard line, the third-worst field position in the league. (The Raiders and Titans wore worse). The league median is 29.5, two-and-a-half yards away. Give Peyton Manning 2.5 more yards, and short field goals become touchdowns, while punts from midfield become field goals. In other words, if the Colts can keep everything else equal while quickly upgrading their return game, they will return to the Super Bowl next year, and probably win it. That’s where Javier Arenas comes in. Arenas is a 5’9 cornerback from Alabama. Nick Saban has strong ties to Bill Polian, and Polian seems to LOVE drafting smaller corners. [More]

Roll Tide!

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