Ali SharriefTUSCALOOSA - The vast majority of Alabama's freshmen are headed toward redshirt seasons, and Alabama coach Nick Saban took time Wednesday to talk about how some of them such as offensive lineman D.J. Fluker and linebacker Ed Stinson have been doing this season.
"Those guys all have made a lot of improvement through the course of the year," Saban said. "I think in some cases that this is beneficial for guys to be able to mature for a year, to learn for a year, to get in the kind of shape they need to be in."
Fluker, a former Foley High School standout, was listed at 6-foot-6, 350 pounds in the preseason.
"Fluker has done a lot, lost a lot of weight, got in a lot better shape and does a good job every day against the first-team defense," Saban said. "But so do the other three offensive linemen that are over there on that field, and they have made a lot of improvement and done a really good job for us.
"Eddie Lacy is the scout team running back. Of all the people, that's probably the toughest job, because he gets the ball a lot, he gets hit a lot, he gets banged around a lot, and he makes a lot of plays.
"The young receivers have all done a good job. They did a good job today. ... I think that helps make us better."
Freshmen on defensive also have been shining in practice, Saban said.
"We pick anywhere from two to six scouts of the week," he said. "We've had four, five or six defensive players be the scouts of the week each week because of the good job they do.
"Ed Stinson has been one of those guys quite a bit of the time. There are a lot of guys making a lot of progress and improvement, and we try to work with them as much as we can, especially when we go against each other."
>> What injuries? "We don't have any real injuries to talk about," Saban said. Jack linebacker Eryk Anders (ankle) and tight end Colin Peek (knee) had been hobbling.
"Eryk Anders has practiced and doesn't have a problem," Saban said. "Peek's doing everything that everybody has done. Everything is going fine."
>> Well, not everyone: Junior running back Terry Grant still is sidelined with an abdominal strain.
"We keep saying he's day to day," Saban said. "He doesn't seem to be getting any better.
"He has the kind of abdominal strain that is very painful, very debilitating in terms of what you can do. The treatment has gone slow. We're doing everything we can to get him back. We're hopeful he will be back, because I think he can contribute to our team."
>> A 5-foot-8 linebacker? No time like now for a fifth-year senior to change positions. Defensive back Ali Sharrief confirmed Wednesday that he has been spending time at practice at another spot.

"I'm kind of doing a little linebacker thing," he said. "It's nothing real new. I like playing linebacker, but as you can see, I'm only 5-8, so it doesn't work out too good."

Alabama Local News, Breaking News, Sports & Weather - al.com
Kaulser

Saturday will be Senior Day in Tuscaloosa and for 19 players this will be their final game in Bryant Denny Stadium. All players except for Cody and Peek were recruited by Mike Shula.

Eryk Anders, Javy Arenas, Terrence Cody, Brandon Deaderick, PJ Fitzgerald, Baron Huber, Marquiz Johnson, Mike Johnson, Tyrone King, Mike McCoy, Colin Peek, Cory Reamer, Chris Rogers, Ali Sharrief, Leigh Tiffin, Roy Upchurch, Lorenzo Washington and Justin Woodall.

If Rolando McClain and Kareem Jackson declare early for the NFL draft, then Alabama will lose 21 players in total. I've got to say this is a special class and I've enjoyed every minute of it.

I've tried to post for over an hour and I've been discriminated against.

This 5 login violation to SECTalk is bullshit. I am mentally handicap because of scotch dependancy. Just because it's Dalmore Cigar blend doesn't mean that I'm slow.

If that's the case, then everyone south of bourbon county would be incarcerated.

It's a natural debate with a legitimate Heisman Trophy candidate entering a late-season game against what is roundly perceived to be an overmatched opponent.
It just hasn't been as issue in quite some time at Alabama.
And now, some Crimson Tide fans want tailback Mark Ingram to play a ton against UT-Chattanooga to pad stats for a run at the school's first-ever Heisman.
Other Alabama fans don't want Ingram to play at all, thus risking injury before pivotal games against Auburn and Florida the next two weeks.
The reality will probably be somewhere in the middle, though Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban said the decision won't have anything to do with the Heisman Trophy.
"We don't really worry about stats," Saban said today. "We're going to make all the decisions based on winning and what's best for our team. The most important thing to Mark Ingram is that our team has success, and he does all the things that he needs to do to help our team be successful. I think he understands that if he does that, that's going enhance his chance of having success better than anything else."
Though Saban would probably not say so until happened, a Heisman winner would have to be a nice caveat for him as well. As a head coach, Saban has never had a player finish in the top 10 of the Heisman voting.
Ingram appears to be holding up well in the glare of what has now become -- through very little promotion on UA's part -- a full-blown Heisman campaign, the tailback says he "really can't count" how many times he hears it during the day.
The best, he said, was another UA student striking the Heisman pose when he passed Ingram on the street between classes.
"I really don't try to pay attention to it," Ingram said, "but people bring it up all the time, and I hear it an awful lot out there."
As for his front-runner status?
"I let everybody else try to figure it out," Ingram said. "I just stay focused on the task at hand. We're focused on UT-Chattanooga right now and as long as I keep going out and getting better as a player every day and keep performing well, all that stuff will take care of itself."

Alabama Local News, Breaking News, Sports & Weather - al.com
Estes

Greg McElroy isn't going to be confused with Florida's Tim Tebow or even UAB's Joe Webb, but he had a career-high 30 yards rushing on four carries Saturday in a 31-3 victory at Mississippi State, and that included a career-long 16-yard run.
How about that? An "explosive" play that wasn't a pass.
That run came on the last play of the first quarter, on second-and-1 from Alabama's 29-yard line. McElroy faked a handoff to running back Mark Ingram, who started to run to the right. McElroy kept and raced around left end, where he found a lot of running room before he was knocked out of bounds at Alabama's 45-yard line.
"We haven't done a lot of zone read stuff, but Mark had been ripping people on that play," McElroy said.
"A lot of defenses were starting to crash. We put it in last week to keep those guys honest. I got a chance to read out that end. He crashed inside and I got around the edge."
The play could have gained more yards, but wide receiver Julio Jones missed a block.
"We were giving Julio a hard time," McElroy said. "If he makes a block, I'm scoring.
"But another good thing about that is that the quarter ended right after that, so I could regain my breath. I could barely breath, I was so tired."
Four plays into the second quarter, McElroy threw a pass to Darius Hanks that went for 45 yards and the first score of the game.
But back to McElroy's run.
"Two positives on that play," he said. "That allowed things to open up a little more on that play for Mark throughout the rest of the game and hopefully for the rest of the season, because they'll have to respect it a little more.
"Obviously people are going to try to minimize his output as opposed to mine. It's just a nice little wrinkle we've put in. We're going to keep it in our back pocket that we can use at a given time."
McElroy also ran for 10 yards down the middle of the field just before halftime.
He now has run 37 times for a net of 100 yards.
Unlike many quarterbacks, he isn't one to slide to minimize contact.
"When I do run, it's usually third down and I'm close to the chains," he said. "If it's third down or it's in the red zone, I'm not sliding.
"I've said it before: My body will probably pay the price for it on Sunday, but I'd rather be sore on Sunday than come up short on a key play on Saturday. So on third down, I'm going to try to put my head down.
"I feel like I've put in a lot of time and effort in the weight room. I might as well use my body for something. I feel confident that maybe I can make a guy miss or maybe get a little bit of forward leverage and give the punter an extra yard as opposed to sliding and marking it down. I don't mind taking the hits.
"Every other guy on the team is taking a hit. Why not me? As long as I take smart hits and don't lower my head and hurt my neck."

Alabama Local News, Breaking News, Sports & Weather - al.com
Kausler Jr.

I know many of you know this already, but thought I'd post it here in our forums. ESPN is running this promo and counting fan votes for players. Each day you go to the site, vote for your player, and when they get ready to vote for the Heisman, one vote is cast based on the winner of the poll. Like I said, you can vote once a day so get over there and give Mark some love. It's one vote, but one vote could make the difference.

Heisman Vote 2009 - presented by Nissan

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we can go to him now for information......someone invite him to the "Capstone" social group:laugh::laugh:


heres the link to a thread full of his goodness

http://www.sectalk.com/boards/alabam...ack-up-qb.html

Seems like I had heard that this one would be on TV. Can anybody confirm this? If it's true, where will it be broadcasted?

It wasn't a prediction or a premonition, a threat or a promise, but the words Nick Saban uttered not long after Alabama 31, Mississippi State 3 should scare Chattanooga.
And Auburn,
And Florida.
And Texas.
And yes, that was a prediction, and no, I didn't stutter.
Saban was speaking in the cramped media room outside the Alabama locker room. He was answering a question about Mark Barron and his two interceptions when the head coach suddenly remembered something he'd meant to say in his opening statement.
``One thing I didn't say is, it's like I told our team,'' he said. ``I think our best football is still out there someplace.''
Yikes.
Those words should scare the rest of the teams that have to look into Alabama's eyes the way Marley's ghost spooked Scrooge.
Alabama just beat Mississippi State by 28 points.
Top-10 teams Florida, Georgia Tech and LSU -- combined -- beat State by 25 points.
If Alabama's best football is still out there someplace, woe unto the other team that finds itself in that place.
That team will be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Alabama Local News, Breaking News, Sports & Weather - al.com

Ok fellas...it's time for a big ole helpin' of crow for lots of us Tiders here at SECtalk.

Marquis Johnson was lambasted by much of Bama nation following his poor performances in the SEC CG and the Sugar Bowl last season. His play his entire career up until this season, really, has been inconsistent.

But in 2009, the kid looks like a completely different ballplayer.

Not only is he improved, but he's playing lights out in the secondary. I don't know if I've seen a DB clinic like the one he put on tonight against Mississippi State. Textbook coverage...batting balls away to save touchdowns, picking off passes, reading the QB, staying in position, good aggression. This was an amazing game for No. 24. What was it...four or five pass deflections plus an INT? He helped limit the Bulldogs to just 100 passing yards on the night. Incredible.

I was very wrong about him, I will admit. I was one of the many who suggested that true frosh Dre Kirkpatrick would step up into the role of the third CB to play in the nickel package. But alas, that position has been locked away from everyone else by Marquis Johnson.

He's gone from perhaps the most widely-criticized player on this defense to one of the unsung heroes in our quest for a National Championship. He deserves a shout-out for, not just a sensational game versus Miss. State, but a much-improved season.

Don't you just love to see his progression under Saban the last two or three years? I love seein' this kid play well and contributing for us. He kept at least two touchdowns from scoring all by himself. What a ballgame.

So fellas...eat on up, and I better hear a lot of yas smackin' on them crow feathers, cause I know I wasn't the only one.