Tide Tidbits – March 27, 2010

Tide continues spring practice
The Alabama football team continued its spring practice schedule on Friday with a two-hour workout in full pads at the Thomas-Drew Practice Facility. The team will hold practice number five of the 15-practice spring schedule on Saturday at 1:30 p.m. Spring practice concludes on Saturday, April 17, with the A-Day Game at Bryant-Denny Stadium. A-Day will be carried live by ESPN at 2:00 p.m. “I guess the first thing you are looking for are some of the basic things like the guys that give effort, the guys that have the mental toughness to sustain effort when they get tired or a little beat and the discipline to execute under difficult circumstances,” Alabama head coach Nick Saban said. “I think with a little maturity it shows that the guys that have played and have some experience are a little more adaptable in those types of situations and probably persevere a little better.” [More]

Richardson’s back; Star Jackson’s absent
Alabama’s three-day coaching clinic was in full swing Friday. At least 1,200 high school coaches from around the Southeast paid $50 to attend, bringing in at least $60,000 to the athletic department. The coaches were invited to watch Friday’s practice. One player they saw in action in full pads was running back Trent Richardson, whose participation was limited Wednesday because of a strained hamstring. One player the coaches did not see was backup quarterback Star Jackson. His absence apparently was excused, but no explanation was given. [More]

High school coaches watch Smart in new role
Friday was the first day of Alabama’s two-day annual coaches’ clinic and dozens of coaches from across the state descended on the Thomas-Drew Practice Facility to catch a glimpse of the defending national champions at work. One of the things they got to observe was defensive coordinator Kirby Smart coaching up the inside linebackers — a new combination this spring. Smart formerly coached defensive backs but switched to inside linebackers this spring to replace James Willis, who took a coordinator’s job at Texas Tech. So how’s Smart, who earned the Broyles Award last fall as the top assistant coach in the country, doing with the inside ‘backers? As one would expect, he’s doing just fine. On one occasion Smart even sounded exactly like Saban, whom he’s coached under for a while now, when he yelled out a ‘Do it again!’ [More]

Gibson to split time on offense, defense
Brandon Gibson and Kendall Kelly may never be needed for a down of defense at the University of Alabama. But both players, full-time wide receivers until this spring, won’t be unfamiliar if the need should ever arise. UA coach Nick Saban believes it might — after all, it’s happened before. “We had a situation like this one year at LSU with (wide receiver) Michael Clayton, (he) did the same thing,” Saban said, “and eventually when we played Texas in the Cotton Bowl, he played 20 plays of defense at that position and he was ready to do it because we had sort of prepared for it. We were short guys and somebody got hurt and we needed him to do it, and he could go over there and do it. That’s kind of where we’re going with these guys.” [More]

Standout LB Johnson impressed by Bama visit
Top rated linebacker AJ Johnson has already had a pretty full recruiting cycle. And it’s only March of his junior year. AJ committed to Tennessee very soon after his last visit to Knoxville. However when the news broke of Lane Kiffin’s departure, he withdrew that commitment. At this point the star linebacker has offers from all of the top schools in the country and is taking some visits. “I don’t even know how many offers I have right now,” he said. “It’s been pretty crazy to tell you the truth. I went to Alabama about 3 or 4 weeks ago, and it went good. I got to chill with the players and staff. I talked to coach Saban and the inside and outside linebacker coaches.” [More]

Spring Cleaning: How Alabama Is Going to Rebuild Their Special Teams
There is one more concern that really Nick Saban or any other college coach has no control over. That concern is special teams. When I say no control over I mean you can work and work at a defensive back and he will eventually play well. Being a kicker is strictly a mind game. Kickers and punters can play good, but one mistake and concentration goes out of control. Leigh Tiffin for example got the job done for Alabama in his career. Even though he booted some 50+ yard field goals in his time, it was different in the 2006 Arkansas game. So Alabama has lost their best kick returner, punt returner, punter, and kicker. With these positions comes pressure. So the only thing Nick Saban can do is find the best kicker or punter with the best mind concept. So who are the candidates for these jobs and who will get them? Everyone can find out on April 18th. [More]

Roll Tide!

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