Alabama primed for repeat
During his speech at Southeastern Conference Media Days, Alabama coach Nick Saban rattled off what he thought about his five rivals in the Western Division. OK, coach. But what about your team? You know, the defending national champions? “A lot of question marks,” Saban said. Probably about 11 other SEC teams wish they had the [...]
Alabama has talent, coaching and experience
The defense that led Alabama to the 2009 national title is gone. Make no mistake about it, the Crimson Tide — thanks to a combination of graduation, the NFL draft and suspension — is now missing 10 starters from that unit. However, this isn’t your usual mass-loss situation, as any Alabama fan will quickly point [...]
Tide expected to be back in Atlanta
Even with the inequities in scheduling, Alabama should still rule the roost in the SEC West of the spectrum. The Crimson Tide is not only facing the scheduling issue, but also replacing nearly an entire defense. The key will be if Alabama’s potent offense can post enough TDs on the board while the defense learns [...]
NCAA targets early football commitments
The days of powerhouse football programs loading up with early commitments from high school juniors may soon come to an end. Nick Saban couldn’t be happier. In the SEC, Alabama and LSU lead the way with double-figure commitments for the Class of 2011. Yet the two Southern powers don’t have anything on Texas, which stands [...]
Jabriel Washington and Alabama a perfect match
Jabriel Washington and Alabama seem like a perfect match. The 6-foot, 170-pound athlete from Trinity Christian Academy in Jackson has been committed to the Crimson Tide since April. Washington, who is the state’s fourth-best prospect according to the News Sentinel, gave his pledge after attending Alabama’s spring game on April 17. “No other schools could [...]
Highest paid college football coaches
Nick Saban – Alabama Whether you like Saban as a person or not, the one thing we can all agree on is that he is one of the best college football coaches in the nation. His leadership helped create a quick turnaround at Alabama and helped them end the national championship drought last season. As [...]
‘I’ve mellowed a lot,’ says Saban
On the recent day that a great basketball coach died, a great football coach sat down for an extraordinary interview with the Sporting News. Alabama coach Nick Saban talked about how the very first book he read about coaching was written by John Wooden, the late, legendary UCLA coach. Sporting News: A lot of people [...]
Alabama 2011 football recruiting class
Nick Saban has helped take Alabama football recruiting to new heights. Depending on which recruiting service you quote (and they all have some good qualities,) the Crimson Tide staff has three straight years of top 3 recruiting classes in the team rankings with a great chance at a fourth. Some have had Alabama number one [...]
Athletic budgets on the rise
The University of Alabama is one of 10 schools projected to exceed $250 million in its athletic budget by the year 2020, based on figures released last week in a report by the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics. The report described the growing disparity between the nation’s elite athletic programs and the majority, which operate [...]
Rolando McClain: Everything you would want in a player
As a college sophomore at Alabama, Rolando McClain established himself as a team leader for the Crimson Tide and also perhaps the best linebacker in the nation. In his 2009 junior season, he put an exclamation point on that statement with an undefeated season that was capped by total annihilation of the Tim Tebow led [...]
Can Anyone Catch the Tide and Gators?
Now that the brakes have been put on massive conference expansion for the time being, my initial thought as it relates to the SEC is that everybody else needs to catch up with Alabama and Florida. While it’s true that three different SEC teams have won BCS national championships in the last three seasons, the [...]
UA summer camp attracts top recruits
The University of Alabama coaching staff welcomed an abundance of football talent last week for UA’s first summer camp. The Tide picked up two commitments, with one from Alabama’s own backyard and the other from the West Coast. The staff also welcomed several five-star visitors. Several of the Tide’s top targets competed in the camp, [...]
