Tide looks younger, more athletic in Fan Day practice

August 04, 2008

By Ken Rogers

I saw more good than bad at Alabama’s Fan Day practice at Bryant-Denny Stadium.
There are more playmakers than there were a year ago, at least on offense. Sure, the Tide loses DJ Hall, Keith Brown and Matt Caddell, guys who produced a lot of yards and points a year ago. But freshmen Julio Jones and B.J. Scott are special. Redshirt freshmen Marquis Maze and Brandon Gibson looked ready to contribute. And Mike McCoy, Earl Alexander, Darius Hanks and Nikita Stover all return with experience. What I thought might be a problem area is going to be a strength at receiver. Plus, tight ends Nick Walker and Travis McCall are both returning for their senior seasons. In new coordinator Jim McElwain’s system, however, we’ll likely see less of Walker and McCall on the field at the same time, the way they were last season.
John Parker Wilson looks good. Star Jackson took a lot of snaps. McElwain will give him a close look early—how ready is he?—before setting the depth lineup behind Wilson.
It was mostly a throwing practice, but there didn’t seem like a lot of running lanes were created in the few periods dedicated to the ground game. Maybe I’m being oversensitive to the “spread offenses can’t run the ball when it counts” mentality. You have to run in the SEC, particularly with four returning starters on the offensive line.
Defensively, Cory Reamer spent a good bit of time at inside linebacker next to Rolando McClain. True freshmen Jerrell Harris of Gadsden, Courtney Upshaw of Eufaula and Don’ta Hightower of Lewisburg, Tenn., got a lot of work at various linebacker slots. Still way too early to tell.
The secondary and receiver corps will make each other better. They put on a good show Sunday. The secondary is more experienced, but I’m worried that teams will throw over their heads. Literally. Not deep, mind you, just high. Bama’s tall receivers had a reach advantage and the quarterbacks, particularly JPW, took advantage of that.
It’s early, but it’s encouraging.

Mal Moore remembers John Mark, Stallings family

By Ken Rogers

Mal Moore didn’t have to come to the Bryant-Denny Stadium press box and talk about John Mark Stallings. But he wanted to.
Alabama’s athletics director was a student at Alabama when John Mark was born 46 years ago.
“He was quite an ambassador for the university when he was here and I said in a previous statement that no coach, no player, nobody has ever had an effect on people as much as he has,“ Moore said of the man who was born with Down syndrome.
Moore said he will head to Texas and be with the Stallings family. He talked about his admiration for Gene and Ruth Ann Stallings and their love for John Mark. He also noted how they have helped many people cope with the same struggles and fears over the years. Remember, there wasn’t an internet in the early 1960s and support groups were few and far between.
“I have always felt from my years with coach Stallings how people who have found themselves in the same situation have seeked advice from coach Stallings and how he has helped so many people throughout his career. He was always available and supportive of families that were in the same situation as John Mark. And I think that coach Stallings will be remembered here a long time, but he will be remembered stronger for how he handled John Mark and supported him throughout is life because I think he made a difference.
“Ruth Ann, too. Ruth Ann was unbelievable as a parent and we all have great memories of that.“
Moore also remembered that John Mark was tremendous with names.
“I have a hard time with names myself,“ he said. “John Mark, you could go to him any time and he would help you out with who was who. It was an unbelievable gift for names and remembering people. When I would talk with him on the phone, he would always ask about Heather and ask about Steve, my son-in-law and ask about the children. He had quite a gift there.
“I’ve heard coach Stallings say many times, he and Ruth Ann would be riding down the road and couldn’t remember anyone’s name, and would turn to John Mark and he would tell them right off.“
Visitation is today from 6 to 8 p.m. at Starrett Funeral Home located at 425 South Church Street in Paris, Texas.  The funeral service will be held on Tuesday at 5 p.m. at Lamar Avenue Church of Christ located at 3535 Lamar Avenue in Paris, Texas.  Burial will follow at the Stallings’ Hike-A-Way Ranch.
For more information, contact the Starrett Funeral Home in Paris at 903-784-4333.

Andre Smith can relate to expectations of Tide freshmen

August 01, 2008

By Ken Rogers

If anyone can identify with the expectations Alabama’s touted freshmen carry into training camp, it’s Andre Smith.
The 6-foot-5, 335-pound crusher from Birmingham has been anchored at left tackle since he arrived on campus three years ago. He started for Mike Shula as a freshman and has only solidified his place up front.
Smith was a prep All-American at Huffman High, every bit as coveted as the most prized recruits of this freshman class.
“I can relate in several ways,“ Smith said after the Tide’s first practice.
But his advice to the freshmen was simple.
“It’s just ultimately, you have to work hard and listen to your head coach or your position coach, and everything will take care of itself,“ he said. “Work hard, clap off the last play and just look forward.“
It’s not uncommon for most freshmen, even the most talented, to look lost the first few days of camp. Even Smith had a brief learning curve, only about three days.
“I was physically able to do it, but by the third day I was mentally able to do it. So that’s when it all started,“ he said. “When I was under (Huffman) coach (Curtis) Coleman, all we did was run the ball, so run blocking, that wasn’t a problem. We worked a lot on pass protection while we were in practice, so everything came pretty easy.“
Things have come easy until now for most of the freshmen. Smith liked what he saw this summer and on Friday.
“All of them did an outstanding job,“ he said. “Everybody worked hard to finish and compete and ultimately made the team better.“