By Ken Rogers
Alabama offensive guard Mike Johnson will be pulling against a scout team defense that looks like Kentucky this week.
But the die-hard Cubs fans will also be pulling hard for his team as the baseball playoffs begin.
Johnson came into the media room Monday wearing a Detroit Tigers hat, but had a reasonable explanation.
“The truth is, I couldn’t find a Cubs hat to fit my head because it’s like a size 8. So I had to go with the Tigers,“ Johnson admitted. “The adjustable ones don’t have enough depth to fit my big ol’ noggin.“
That prompted speculation about Johnson’s helmet size. It’s still a mystery.
“I don’t know. I had to take all the air out of it, though, I’ll tell you that,“ Johnson said.
The guard said he’d be following the Cubs, hoping for the best, expecting ... well, he’s a Cubs fan.
“The first one’s a night game, so I should be good with that,“ Johnson said. “But I don’t even want to talk about it. I’m nervous.“
But is he more nervous for the Cubs than Kentucky? Johnson smiled, knowing that he has some control what happens in Saturday’s game against the Wildcats.
“Yes. I’m far more nervous for them. I’m just crossing my fingers for Wednesday.“
Teammate Baron Huber, perhaps an even bigger Cubs fan than Johnson, is doing more than crossing his fingers.
“Praying. We’re both praying,“ Johnson said.
Posted by Ken Rogers on 09/30 at 04:02 PM
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By Ken Rogers
Lorenzo Washington had imagined it in his head. Reality was even better.
The Georgia native and Alabama defensive end said feedback was swift after Alabama’s 41-30 victory.
“I got in the locker room and when I first checked my phone—after the game, the service is all messed up—I had 39 text messages,“ Washington said.
The junior lineman said the Tide won over some fans.
“They were all good,“ he said, referring to those messages. “Even the Georgia fans were like, Roll Tide”
As dominant as Alabama was while rolling to a 31-0 lead at halftime, Washington knew the Bulldogs wouldn’t quit.
“I figured it would get tougher. I know how talented Georgia is,“ he said. “They just came out flat, I guess. I think we also capitalized on some big plays, crucial penalties, things like that. I knew they were going to come out guns a-blazing in the second half. We did a good job of holding them; they kicked a field goal. But then they scored the touchdown (after the blocked punt). (Quarterback Matthew) Stafford just got hot, started slinging it. He’s definitely a gun-slinger throwing the ball.“
Still, Alabama’s victory was one Washington will remember.
“It was a great experience going home, beating my hometown team,“ Washington said. “It was fun. I talked to some of my boys after the game. It was a hard-fought victory. I’m glad we came out with the ‘W.‘“
Posted by Ken Rogers on 09/29 at 11:41 PM
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By Ken Rogers
About halfway through Glen Coffee’s 87-yard run to the end zone last Saturday against Arkansas, left guard Mike Johnson had one thought.
“Don’t get caught,“ Johnson said Tuesday after practice. “Because I was sprinting down there right behind him and I said, ‘Glen, don’t you get caught now, I’m pretty tired right now, I don’t need 5 more yards to go.‘“
A feature on Coffee will be in tomorrow’s Dothan Eagle. Johnson said he remembered talking to Coffee just before the big run.
“ I told Glen when we were in the huddle – I think they pinned us on the 12 or the 13 – I said, ‘87 yards, that’s what we need to do on this drive. That’s more yards for us to get on this drive, more clock for us to eat up.‘ We didn’t eat up much clock, but we got the yardage.“
All at once.
And what did Coffee say in response?
“He said, I’m going right behind y’all,“ Johnson said.
Johnson said Coffee and the other running backs deserve credit for their production. And much of the damage comes between the tackles.
“I think it speaks more to our running backs, pressing holes and making reads this year on the defensive linemen,“ Johnson said. “We’ve obviously made our blocks but they’ve done a great job cutting off of them and staying inside. They’re pressing the holes real well on our zone plays and staying in ‘A’ gap powers and they’re running hard. They’re running downhill and haven’t been knocked backward hardly at all this year.“
Of course, the challenge gets tougher this week when Alabama visits No. 3 Georgia.
Posted by Ken Rogers on 09/23 at 06:42 PM
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By Ken Rogers
Nick Saban praised freshman running back Mark Ingram Jr. with showing “a lot of maturity” in the face of a family crisis this week.
Mark Ingram Sr., who won a Super Bowl with the New York Giants, was sentenced to more than seven years in federal prison on Tuesday for money laundering and bank fraud. He is free on $200,000 bail until Dec. 5.
Saban was an assistant coach at Michigan State when Ingram Sr. was on the Spartans. The Alabama coach said he was hurting for his friend.
“Mark Sr. is a friend, certainly that we have a lot of respect for,“ Saban said Wednesday, “We’ll help him any way that we can in the future and we’re hopeful that, whether through some appeal process or whatever, that maybe things will work out better in the future.
“This happened a long time ago; it’s been in the pot a long time. I’ve known about it for a long time, and Mark Jr. knows that I’ve known about it for a long time. We just want to be as supportive as we can with the Ingram family right now.“
The coach said Ingram Jr. has worked hard in practice as the team prepares for Saturday’s SEC opener against Arkansas.
“I would say that from what I’ve seen from him, he hasn’t shown that it has affected him at all, in terms of what he’s trying to do for his teammates and his team. I’m sure it’s a difficult time for him,“ Saban said.
Ingram Sr., 42, admitted mistakes to U.S. District Court Judge Denis R. Hurley. In an Associated Press story, he said he now counsels troubled youths and volunteers with various charities.
Hurley could not overlook Ingram’s record, which includes seven previous convictions dating back 23 years.
Posted by Ken Rogers on 09/17 at 11:21 PM
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By Ken Rogers
Nick Saban was asked about Auburn’s 3-2 victory over Mississippi State last Saturday night and tipped his cap.
“Somebody had to play some pretty good ‘D,’ that’s for sure,” Saban said. “I love to see defense, but I know you play offense for the crowd. I’m always hopeful that we play well on offense so it’s enjoyable for the crowd.
“Auburn has an awful good defensive team. I can’ t remember seeing anybody that has a third-down (conversion) statistic (3-for-46) like they do at this point in the season after three games. ... I’m sure they’ll get their thing straightened out but when you play good defense, you’re always going to play to keep from losing the game and that’s probably a good way to win a lot of them.”
Alabama safety Rashad Johnson shook his head when asked about the score.
“Auburn’s just getting their offense going, it’s only the third game for them, so it’s going to take a couple of games to get it moving right,” Johnson said. “And both of those teams have great defenses.”
Saban was asked if a team in today’s game could win a championship with just a dominant defense.
“I think if you have experienced players and they can make those adaptations, if you have a dominant defense they can take you a long way,” he said. “With my experience, we were horrible on defense the first year we won the SEC at LSU. We had a great offensive team and Jimbo (Fisher) did a great job. Rohan Davey was an outstanding quarterback. We kind of scored 40 a game and won that way.
“We got a little better on defense as it went on and then the next time we won it we had a really good defensive team and a really good offensive team, too.
“But I think when you’re that way, at least when one side is a little bit struggling for whatever reason, the other side has a chance to pick it up. You can win championships all kinds of ways. If you’re dominating on one side of the ball, that can go a long way to giving a lot of people a lot of problems.”
Posted by Ken Rogers on 09/16 at 01:38 PM
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