Day 1 Practice Notes and videos

[che boludo]

Day 1 Practice Notes

There were a few new faces and a lot more older ones. Here are the quick first impressions.

■Mark Barron was on the field with the defensive backs a day after his arrest in Mobile. He was wearing a block non-contact jersey and didn’t appear to be doing a whole lot after tearing his pectoral in November.
■With three new assistant coaches, the first few periods looked a lot different than in the past. Linebackers coach Sal Sunseri jumped on new defensive line coach Chris Rumph when the two units got too close to each other during the media viewing period.
■It’s hard to make inferences from the first practice of the spring, but the JUCO transfers were playing a few different places. Defensive lineman Jesse Williams was at end during the drills and offensive lineman Aaron Douglas appeared to be drilling at a few different spots.
■There was a huge group of media on hand with a bunch of faces I didn’t recognize. It’s football season again in Alabama, but when does it really end?

Video of Jesse Williams first spring practice

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BhoBzdjV3Zw" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BhoBzdjV3Zw</a>

Aaron Douglas video

Here’s a quick look at JUCO transfer Aaron Douglas (No. 77). He’s considered the front-runner to take James Carpenter’s job at left tackle. As you can see, he’s not quite Carpenter’s size. The roster lists Douglas at 6-foot-7, 275 pounds. Carpenter was 6-5, 300 pounds. More video coming.

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HeLKrinpjbI" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HeLKrinpjbI</a>

New OL Coach adds energy
Jeff Stoutland is new and full of energy. The freshly-hired offensive line coach brings a different feel to the Crimson Tide practice field. See so for yourself. More videos coming later.
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vSZCE51o0dc" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vSZCE51o0dc</a>


Additional notes from From Micahel Casagrande blog:

Nick Saban wrapped up his news conference a little bit ago. Here are the highlights.

■Defensive back Robby Green was not on the field this afternoon serving a suspension for violating team rules. This appears to be separate from the NCAA-mandated suspension that took him out of action all of last season.
■About Mark Barron’s arrest on misdemeanor charges of hindering prosecution, Saban said the following:
“Mark Barron used poor judgment in sorta protecting his friend, his cousin, rather than cooperating with authority and giving them the information they needed to investigate their case. We always think our players should respect people that are in a position of authority ― especially the police who do a lot to protect all of us. I think Mark learned that he did not use good judgment in this case and not saying what he could have said.”
■The issues surrounding Barron and Green were not going to be discussed in public after Monday, Saban said.

[che boludo]

Chase goodbread tweet:

UA practice updates: Anthony Orr working w/ Jack LBs. ... N.Perry, J.Williams, Smelley, Dial, Barron all in black but doing drillwork.

Safeties representing at practice today with Green suspended and Perry, Williams, and Barron all injured.

Update to injuries per Dothaneagle.com

Barron is another of the experienced group. He was in a black (no-contact) jersey Monday, but Alabama didn’t have a contact practice. The safety, rehabbing a torn pectoral muscle, participated fully.

“I can’t tell he’s had an injury other than the black jersey,” Hightower said. “You can’t tell that there’s anything wrong with him. Today he made a really good play with a swat with the other hand. I can’t tell which arm is better than the other.”

Other players in black jerseys on Monday were linebacker Jonathan Atchison (bicep), defensive back Nick Perry (shoulder), defensive back Jarrick Williams (shoulders) and tight end/H-back Brad Smelley, who hurt his wrist during the offseason program and will be held out of contact for several weeks.

Contact will begin on Friday. The Tide’s next practice, also in shorts and helmets, will be Wednesday.

[che boludo]

Per Chase Goodbread Tweet: "Anthony Orr looked very good in drills today. He's one to watch."

Per Roll Bama Roll:

Without doubt, Orr is definitely a player Tide fans should keep our eye on this spring. He tends to get lost in the greyshirt shuffle, but he was actually a fairly touted recruit. He was considered by most to be one of the top ten players in the state of Alabama, and could have gone to just about any SEC school.
And don't think that his decision to greyshirt was indicative of a lack of ability to play. I tend to just think that with the surprisingly positive academic news at the time -- remember, Lacy, Sentimore, and Bowman all qualified -- just forced us to have to unexpectedly greyshirt someone else, and that Orr just played the part of the good soldier and bit the bullet for the greater good. He's a solid prospect, seemingly a good fit for the 3-4 at defensive end, and greyshirting will probably increase his chances of being a contributor in 2010. Definitely keep your eye out for him in the coming weeks.

Good to see Orr this year.  He seems like a dedicated young man on and off the field. 

[ricky023]

We have dedicated players who are going to be great Names coming up in the future. RTR!

[SUPERCOACH]

This is on the blog now.

[BAMAWV]

Sounds like some of our forum members have lost more sleep over the MB fibbing incident than CNS.

[Chechem]

XLNT thread.  It's all here.  Jessee at end?? 

[2Stater]

JW looks to have quick lateral movement, even with the knee brace.

[che boludo]

XLNT thread.  It's all here.  Jessee at end??  

That was my reaction.  

Most likely just some experimentation to find the best fit or provide experience at multiple positions by CNS and Coach Rumph.

I think we can all look forward to seeing Williams and Chapman taking turns dominating from the NT position this fall.

[che boludo]

Another move that surprised me was the Tyler Love to Center experiment.

Like Jesse Williams to DE and many off-season position moves over the last couple of years, I imagine CNS and staff are simply trying things out with personnel to get the best fit and give each a little experience at different areas.  But, Love seems somewhat oversized for center height wise.

Love's inability to lock down a starting job has been a big disappointment given his potential coming out of HS.   Probably an isolated event, but I noticed Coach Stoutland giving him some negative attention during the OL drills from the above video of Coach Stoutland and the OL (see 2:00 minute mark following the drill).

I wonder if it has been merely technique, aptitude, consistency, or some combination of the 3 that has kept him behind the power curve at tackle as he seems to have the raw tools for the position. 

In any case, I hope it works out for him this year at some position.  I know he is working hard and his efforts/contributions are appreciated.  Lots of players rated as high as he was would have not adjusted so well to a supporting role due to their inflated egos from HS and their recruiting hype.  I have never heard anything bad about Love's efforts and I think that speaks volumes to his character.   

[cbbama99]

Thanks for the notes, che.

[wardc72]

XLNT thread.  It's all here.  Jessee at end?? 

One article I read this morning said JW was at end because CNS likes his D Linemen to work from the outside in.  In other words, when he understand the defense a little more, he'll be moved inside to his normal nose guard position.

[rknight4tide]

 

[hscoach]

I like the OL guy who keeps preaching feet, feet, feet.  Also watching the video, they seem to be stepping with the proper foot each time.

[che boludo]

I like the OL guy who keeps preaching feet, feet, feet.  Also watching the video, they seem to be stepping with the proper foot each time.

What are your thoughts on Love to center given his height/size?

I think the issue of center height stems from the body mechanics necessary to physically place yourself in position to conduct the most efficient transfer of the ball to the QB whether it be from under center or in shotgun.

Intuitively, the taller the center the more body movement involved in positioning for and conducting the snap while preparing to immediately transitioning to blocking. I don't think tall centers are incapable of doing the job, but it creates some more difficulties IMO than a shorter center.

However, I'd imagine that the average center height is on the rise as the need for OLmen to play multiple positions (especially the interior lineman) allows for a greater variation in height.

 

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