A fractured ankle suffered by Alabama nose tackle Brian Motley in Tuesday afternoon's practice is not only a bad break --- literally --- for the redshirt freshman, but could also have major repercussions for the Crimson Tide defense this season.
Motley is expected to miss 6-8 weeks with the injury, which will basically sideline him for the season. Even if he returns on the front end of that projection, he's still out half the year.
Thanks to the new rotating game week interview schedule at Alabama, head coach Nick Saban did not meet with reporters on Tuesday afternoon. He first addressed Motley's injury in Wednesday morning's SEC coaches teleconference.
"Brian Motley did fracture his ankle in practice yesterday," Saban said. "It's unfortunate for him. He had a broken hand about 10 days ago and a fractured ankle now. He just came back to practice for a few days. He'll be out for probably six to eight weeks."
In Motley's absence, sophomore Lorenzo Washington gets a chance to start for the first time in his career. Washington has been something of a disappointment at Alabama thus far, a highly touted high school player who has never shown much on the college level for one reason or another.
After Washington, true freshman Alfred McCullough of Athens is apparently the back-up. Saban has had good things to say about true freshman Josh Chapman of Hoover throughout fall camp, but said Wednesday that McCullough is now the No. 2 nose tackle.
"We're obviously going to have to use some of our freshmen players," Saban said. "We'll see who are the guys we feel are most ready to play right now. We really don't want to move someone this late in the week that plays a different position to that position. We'll probably do it with McCullough or some of the freshmen players we have that play that position."
The loss of Motley's isn't likely to mean much this week against Western Carolina. Alabama could probably play without its entire starting lineup and beat the Catamounts handily (WCU went 2-9 last season and was outscored 114-9 in its last three games).
But beyond Saturday, Motley's loss really hurts. Alabama plays power-running Arkansas in two weeks and will need all the run-stuffers it can get, particularly with the status of sophomore inside linebacker Prince Hall still up in the air.
Alabama had been fortunate with injuries this fall up until Tuesday, but that has certainly changed now.
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Redshirt freshman Grant turning heads in Tuscaloosa
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| Terry Grant, right, is drawing raves from his teammates and coaches alike this fall. Photo: Trent Penny/The Anniston Star/file |
TUSCALOOSA — When Alabama quarterback John Parker Wilson retreats to hand off against Western Carolina on Saturday, it's likely he'll be stuffing the ball into the gut of a former Mississippi Mr. Football.
Redshirt freshman Terry Grant and junior Jimmy Johns — both winners of the award — have emerged from a four-way derby to share Alabama's running-back duties this fall. The 6-foot-2, 233-pound Johns has been noted for his play-making ability throughout his first two seasons in crimson, but it's the speedy, 5-10, 188-pound Grant who's been turning heads this fall.
"Speed kills in this game, and he's probably one of the fastest guys we've got on this team," center Antoine Caldwell said. "He's a workhorse, hardly ever gets tired. That's the kind of guy we're going to need out there on Saturday."
Like Johns before him, Grant was a superstar in the Mississippi prep ranks. He led Lumberton to that state's Class 2A championship in 2005, rushing for 36 touchdowns and 2,720 yards as a senior.
Grant scored 115 touchdowns in his prep career, three off the Mississippi high school record set by Weir's Dicenzo Miller, who would go on to play at Mississippi State in the late 1990s. He signed with Alabama the following February, but looked likely to redshirt given the Crimson Tide's depth in the backfield.
College football notebook: Tide adds long list of walk-on players
TUSCALOOSA — Alabama finally released its final football roster on Saturday, a list that includes 20 players who joined the team for practice on Wednesday.
Among those listed are several holdover walk-ons, including defensive back Trent Dean (who doubled as the scout-team quarterback in 2006), kicker Andrew Friedman and punter Heath Thomas. Also back with the squad is running back/kick returner Jonathan Lowe, who was expected to make an impact on special teams this season but missed fall camp due to academic troubles.
New to the team are a pair of prominent Division I transfers, one of which is linebacker Tucker Callahan, a Fairhope native who signed with Oregon out of high school but never played for the Ducks. Defensive tackle Juan Garnier, a well-traveled player most recently at Ohio State, has also joined the team.
Garnier, a 6-foot-4, 315-pound junior who is 25 years old, began his career as a walk-on at Auburn in 2002, then sat out a year before enrolling at Shelton State Community College in an attempt to eventually play at Alabama. The Massachusetts native later wound up at Ohio State, where he played the last two seasons.
While at Ohio State, Garnier met Todd Alles, now the director of football operations at Alabama. Garnier, who was awarded two extra years of eligibility by the NCAA due to extreme financial and physical hardship, was named 2006 college football walk-on of the year by CBSSportsline.com.
Alabama has also added two walk-on quarterbacks to its roster. True freshmen Patrick Bryant of Pensacola, Fla., and Robert Ezell of Athens have joined scholarship quarterbacks John Parker Wilson, Greg McElroy and Nick Fanuzzi, and walk-ons Ross Applegate and Thomas Darrah.
Alabama conducted its final pre-season practice on Saturday, working for more than two hours in the indoor facility due to rainy conditions. The Crimson Tide opens the season next Saturday at home against Western Carolina.
• ON THE LIST: Alabama center Antoine Caldwell has been named to the watch list for the Rimington Award, given to the top center in college football.
Caldwell, a junior from Montgomery, has started the last two years on the offensive line at Alabama, at left guard in 2005 and at center in 2006. He was a second-team All-Southeastern Conference performer last season.
Caldwell is one of eight SEC centers on the 54-player watch list, joining Auburn's Jason Bosley, Ole Miss' Corey Actis, Mississippi State's Royce Blackledge, LSU's Brett Helms, Arkansas' Jonathan Luigs, Tennessee's Josh McNeil and Florida's Drew Miller. West Virginia's Dan Mozes won the award in 2006.
The 2007 Rimington Award will be presented Jan. 12 in Lincoln, Neb.
— Creg Stephenson
Tide's Tiffin putting past behind him
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| Leigh Tiffin (31) bounced back from a nightmarish game against Arkansas last season to win the starting kicking job at Alabama this fall. Photo: Kevin Qualls/The Anniston Star/file |
TUSCALOOSA — Every player on the Alabama football roster has been promised a clean slate under first-year head coach Nick Saban, and there might not be any Crimson Tide player who needs that more than sophomore kicker Leigh Tiffin.
Tiffin's personal meltdown during the latter stages of the Crimson Tide's 24-23 overtime loss at Arkansas last September was in many ways emblematic of an Alabama team that never quite seized on its opportunities in 2006. Then a true freshman, Tiffin had three separate chances to kick the Crimson Tide to victory on that day, but failed each time.
The way things played out was downright painful:
• Tiffin missed a 30-yard field goal with 3:06 left in regulation, which would have given Alabama a 20-17 lead.
• After Alabama's Lionel Mitchell intercepted a pass on Arkansas' first possession of overtime, Tiffin could have won the game with a 37-yard field goal. He missed wide right.
• After Alabama scored a touchdown to take a 23-17 lead in the second overtime, Tiffin missed the extra point. Arkansas followed with a touchdown of its own and made its extra point to win the game.
But for Tiffin, the worst part wasn't the missed kicks. It's that he never really got the chance to redeem himself. He lost his job to junior Jamie Christensen — who had sat out the Arkansas game with a groin injury — the following week, and attempted just one kick in a game the rest of the year.
Full StoryCastille pleads not guilty
TUSCALOOSA — Alabama senior cornerback Simeon Castille pleaded not guilty Monday to a disorderly conduct charge stemming from his arrest earlier this month.
Castille was not present at Tuscaloosa municipal court for the plea, which was entered by his attorney. His court date was set for Sept. 26.
Castille spoke to reporters on Monday, but addressed his legal problems only in passing.
"I've already put all of it behind me," Castille said, "and I think it would help a lot of other people to put it behind them, also."
Castille was arrested in the early morning hours of Aug. 19 in a popular entertainment district near campus. According to a Tuscaloosa Police Department incident report, he was shouting profanities at an SUV that contained at least two teammates, including starting center Antoine Caldwell.
Thinking a fight was eminent, police arrested Castille. He was released from jail little more than two hours later on $500 bond.
Coach Nick Saban said this past week that Castille would be disciplined for his arrest, but did not elaborate on any punishment he might be given. Castille is expected to start the Crimson Tide's season-opener Saturday night against Western Carolina.
Castille was an All-Southeastern Conference selection this past season, when he led the Crimson Tide with six interceptions and also totaled 71 tackles. He was named to various preseason All-SEC and All-America teams this fall.
Full StoryCollege football notebook: Players soon to prove Saban's defense not that difficult after all
TUSCALOOSA — Several Miami Dolphins players sounded off in January that the defense Nick Saban ran as head coach of that team in 2005 and 2006 might have been too complicated for even the NFL.
Saban brought many of those same defensive principles with him to Alabama this season, so it's safe to say he rejects that premise.
"Well, last year we had the fourth-best defense in the NFL," Saban said. "If I thought it was too complicated, we wouldn't do it. We've had a lot of success running the defense. We won't do what players can't do."
Still, several Alabama players said Monday that the transition was difficult to the attacking 3-4 scheme installed by Saban and defensive coordinator Kevin Steele this spring and fall. The defense run under former coordinator Joe Kines was considered intentionally simplistic, though it should be noted the Crimson Tide finished in the Top 20 in the country in total defense in each of the last three seasons.
"During the spring, it was like learning to speak another language," safety Rashad Johnson said. "But we all caught on to it really well, and things came along a lot better during this fall in camp.
"It's all based around the same concepts. Different calls, but if you just know your rules, it applies to everything out there."
Incidentally, as Saban pointed out, the Dolphins retained defensive coordinator Dom Capers this season and plan to run largely the same defensive schemes they did during Saban's tenure.
• TWO QBS?: Starter John Parker Wilson is the only quarterback on Alabama's roster who has taken a snap in a game, but Saturday's season-opener against lowly Western Carolina might give the Crimson Tide a chance to get some others on the field.
The Catamounts are not only a Football Championship Subdivision (formerly I-AA) team, but went 2-9 overall and 0-7 in the Southern Conference in 2006. WCU lost its last three games of the season by a combined score of 114-9.
Nevertheless, Saban said he's not banking on getting redshirt freshman Greg McElroy, the Crimson Tide's No. 2 quarterback entering the season, into the game. Not only is he not assuming the game will be a blowout, but he wants to give Alabama's starters a chance to play together for an extended period regardless of the score.
"I think what we're interested in is getting our best players playing well together, and we're not going to assume anything, and we're not going to plan for anything like that, because I want to see our guys play well," Saban said. "We're going to play for 60 minutes in the game, and we're going to coach the players for 60 minutes in the game, and every player that gets an opportunity to play in the game knows that he's going to get coached to do that. We expect his best performance and best effort, regardless of the circumstances in the game. So, that's how we will go about doing that."
By the way, Saban has a history against Western Carolina. His first game at LSU came against the Catamounts in 2000, with the Tigers scoring a 59-0 victory in Baton Rouge, La.
• FEELING DRAFTY: ESPN NFL draft guru Mel Kiper Jr. has released his first player rankings for 2008, and two Alabama players cracked the list.
Senior wide receiver DJ Hall is ranked No. 5 among senior wide receivers, while Caldwell is rated second among junior centers, behind only Cal's Alex Mack. Caldwell has never given any public indication that he will leave school for pro football after this season.
"That's the first time I'm hearing it, but I appreciate it," Caldwell said. "I'm just blessed being in this position. I just want to lead this football team and win some football games."
The 6-foot-3, 292-pound Caldwell has started 25 consecutive games on the offensive line for the Crimson Tide. The Montgomery native started at left guard as a redshirt freshman in 2005, before moving to center last season.
Friday, August 24, 2007
Simeon Castille, stand-up guy
Whatever you think about his behavior and decision-making ability during the wee hours last Sunday, Alabama senior cornerback Simeon Castille showed a lot of character in his meeting with the media on Thursday evening.
Castille patiently answered every question put to him in a 3 1/2 minute Q&A with print and broadcast reporters (which was cut short because Castille had to get to class) and seemed genuinely remorseful and contrite for the bad publicity his disorderly conduct arrest has given to his team and his family. Alabama football media relations director Jeff Purinton later said that the interview session was Castille's idea, not at the behest of head coach Nick Saban or the media relations staff.
If everyone who got in such trouble would simply take one day to face the music, we wouldn't see the media and message-board firestorms we've seen after recent similar incidents.
Think back to last summer, when Crimson Tide linebacker Juwan Simpson was arrested (albeit on far more serious charges). Then-head coach Mike Shula chose to shield Simpson from the media for most of the summer, and the story never really reached a resolution until Simpson was suspended for the season's third game.
Head coach Nick Saban has said he'll keep any punishment Castille will face in-house, and that's not really a problem for most observers of Alabama football. Just knowing that there WILL be some consequences for Castille's actions --- and that he seems sorry for them --- is good enough for most of us.
Castille patiently answered every question put to him in a 3 1/2 minute Q&A with print and broadcast reporters (which was cut short because Castille had to get to class) and seemed genuinely remorseful and contrite for the bad publicity his disorderly conduct arrest has given to his team and his family. Alabama football media relations director Jeff Purinton later said that the interview session was Castille's idea, not at the behest of head coach Nick Saban or the media relations staff.
If everyone who got in such trouble would simply take one day to face the music, we wouldn't see the media and message-board firestorms we've seen after recent similar incidents.
Think back to last summer, when Crimson Tide linebacker Juwan Simpson was arrested (albeit on far more serious charges). Then-head coach Mike Shula chose to shield Simpson from the media for most of the summer, and the story never really reached a resolution until Simpson was suspended for the season's third game.
Head coach Nick Saban has said he'll keep any punishment Castille will face in-house, and that's not really a problem for most observers of Alabama football. Just knowing that there WILL be some consequences for Castille's actions --- and that he seems sorry for them --- is good enough for most of us.
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