NFF to honor Gene Stallings

Former University of Alabama coach Gene Stallings will be honored by the National Football Foundation in Tuscaloosa on the weekend of the Crimson Tide’s Oct. 2 home game against Florida. The NFF announced May 27 that Stallings would be part of the College Football Hall of Fame’s 2010 induction class. “From his years as a young assistant coach under Coach (Bear) Bryant through his head coaching days here at Alabama, Coach Stallings produced a career that is richly deserving of this recognition,” UA Director of Athletics Mal Moore said. “Coach Stallings was more than just a head coach at Alabama — his manner of doing things, his leadership and his passion took our entire program to another level.” Stallings led the Crimson Tide to the national championship with a 13-0 season in 1992, and had a 28-game win streak during his years as coach from 1990-1996. A commemorative plaque will be presented to the university for permanent display in what the NFF calls an “on-campus salute.” [More]

Recruiting: Eddie Williams Saban’s First Commitment For Class of 2012

The next to the next Alabama recruiting class has its first unofficial member. The recruiting services reported the commitment of Panama City Fla., defensive back Eddie Williams as the first for Nick Saban’s Class of 2012. Williams reportedly chose the Tide over Notre Dame, Florida and Florida State. All commitments are non-binding until signing day, which in Williams’ case, comes in February of 2012. Coach Nick Saban on several occasions has voiced opposition to players announcing commitments so early, but ultimately said the decision was up to the prospects. A handful of juniors committed to the program last year, including Russellville’s Brent Calloway. [More]

Hightower now at ease in the middle

At one point, Dont’a Hightower was somewhat reluctant about the possibility of moving to the middle linebacker position, known as the Mike, for the University of Alabama’s 2010 season. He was coming off major knee surgery, and knew the Will (weakside) position well after starting there as a true freshman in 2008 and for the first four games of 2009 before injuring the knee. To boot, moving to the middle meant replacing a Butkus Award winner in Rolando McClain, and the added responsibility of calling signals to the rest of the defense. But as the Crimson Tide begins to narrow its practice focus from the basic fundamental teachings of the preseason to more opponent-specific efforts, Hightower has reached a comfort level with the Mike position. “Coming into the spring, I was kind of hoping to still be able to play the weakside linebacker and (Chris) Jordan or Nico (Johnson) would just plug in and play the Mike,” Hightower said. “Coach Saban had a different thought, and it’s worked out great. It’s kind of tough duty trying to replace Rolando, because he was such a great player and he knew the defense so perfect. It’s been a tough journey, but I feel so comfortable in it now, I feel like I’ve played Mike since I’ve been here.” [More]

McElroy must go on attack

It’s hard to improve on a national championship team, but something has to change for Alabama this season. Good as Alabama was in 2009, the Tide played with Julio Jones tied behind its back. It put Greg McElroy in the pistol formation but kept his gun largely holstered. Alabama finished eighth in the SEC in passing offense but had the nation’s No. 2 defense. The Tide also had Heisman Trophy running back Mark Ingram plus arguably the nation’s best backup in Trent Richardson. With such a mix, why take risks on offense? That’s about to change for Alabama. Even with Ingram and Richardson back, it has to change. How much it will change depends on how well a defense with nine new starters develops, but Alabama must be more aggressive on offense in 2010. Whether it’s a pre-emptive strike or playing catch-up, there will be more occasions when the offense must lead. [More]

Players continue to try new positions

With the first game only 10 days away, the coaching staff of the Alabama Crimson Tide is still moving players around the field to see the best combinations and fits. At Tuesday’s practice, there were a few more moves in the offensive line. Sophomore offensive lineman Barrett Jones played first team right guard, while junior offensive lineman Alfred McCullough also got his turn at that position. “It’s important to be able to get your best five guys out there in the offensive line,” head coach Nick Saban said. “Most of the time you don’t have 10 guys to every position that are really quality players… We do have a little bit more depth in the offensive line than we’ve had in the past. We are still experimenting with our first five. It’s just how we do things.” [More]

Roll Tide!

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