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ALABAMA FOOTBALL
CECIL HURT
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Anderson stepping up his game
QB decision doesn’t have to be made now
By Ben Jones Sports Writer
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The Tuscaloosa News examines five questions Alabama faces entering fall camp
Will a healthy Kenyan Drake be the same elite offensive force that Amari Cooper was last season? If there were a couple of facts learned about Lane Kiffi n in his fi rst season as UA’s offensive coordinator, it’s that he knows how to create mismatches and he can exploit them over and over. Kenyan Drake is capable of being that mismatch in the Crimson Tide’s offense, something that was evident before his season-ending injury last year. Whether it be as a running back or a pass catcher, Drake possesses the speed and shiftiness that Kiffi n covets. It remains a distinct possibility that Drake shares the backfield with running back Derrick Henry, adding a dimension to the UA offense hard to counter for opposing defenses.
By Aaron Suttles | Sports Writer S
Reach Cecil Hurt at cecil@ tidesports.com or 205-722-0225.
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ugust has arrived. Inevitably, a decision must follow. Someone has to run onto the field for the University of Alabama’s fi rst offensive play against Wisconsin in less than five weeks. Someone has to throw the first pass, preferably to a teammate. Nick Saban is not reverting to the single wing. But I still don’t think that decision has been made in a backroom somewhere. In the upcoming week, we will get a better idea about who the starting quarterback will be (I just typed 80 words before actually using the word “quarterback,” a record that may not be broken by anyone covering the team this month). Practice will begin. Reporters will visit with Saban in a less guarded situation than the imposing Big Room at SEC Media Days. We may also get a chance to hear from Lane Kiffi n. That’s the usual routine in opening week. There is also an open practice next Sunday where the obsessed — and who isn’t obsessed with Alabama quarterbacks — get to analyze things like the number of practice snaps taken and the decibel level of Saban’s displeasure with any mistakes. People are getting anxious. Some “analysts” are already making the call for one candidate or another, hinting that Saban has pulled them aside, thrown a friendly arm around their shoulder and whispered, “I don’t want you to tell anybody this, but...” It doesn’t work that way. Others are trying to shoehorn this year’s race into last year’s circumstances, but it isn’t a fit. None of this year’s candidates have Blake Sims’ exact skill set. There’s no one who has waited his turn for four years in Tuscaloosa. I think the most revealing Saban quote of the entire summer came when he talked about Sims “winning the team” last year. Not winning “the job,” but, in the heat of August, winning “the team.” Someone could certainly do that in the next few weeks, but it hasn’t happened yet. How do we know? Well, we know what Saban has said about no one “taking the bull by the horns.” We know that Alabama would have been very interested in Everett Golson, the quarterback who transferred from Notre Dame to Florida State, had it not been a situation that would have required an SEC waiver. That was probably based more on prudence than panic, but it does not hint at some leader in the clubhouse with an insurmountable lead. Will Alabama try to go with a “game manager,” to use a term coaches and quarterbacks abhor? I’m going to quibble here. I do think the candidate that shows the least propensity to turning the ball over via the interception is going to have a heck of a shot. The picksix that Sims threw in the third quarter of the Ohio State game with Alabama down by six points was huge, which is neither “blaming Sims” nor “making an excuse.” It’s a fact. No quarterback is gong to go through the season without being intercepted, but frequency will be a factor. On the other hand, this is 2015. Quarterbacks don’t have to make every play in Alabama’s offense, but they will have to make some. So the race isn’t automatically going to go to the “smartest” guy if he doesn’t have the physical tools to make things happen sometimes. Will it be Jake Coker? Will it be David Cornwell? Will it be one of the others? Today is Aug. 2. Check back on Aug. 30.
Is Adam Griffith fully healthy, and if so can he provide the consistency that’s been missing the last couple of years in the kicking game? In the team’s lone regular season loss in 2014 coming on the road at Ole Miss, Adam Griffith missed two field goals, although they weren’t chip shots coming at 46 and 51 yards. For the season, Griffith connected on 12 of 19 attempts, but he wasn’t fully healthy throughout the season, dealing with back issues. A solid special teams goes a long way, especially with a stout defense, and punter JK Scott showed how much of a weapon the unit can be. If Griffith rounds into form, Alabama becomes all the more efficient. Which quarterback will step up to lead the new-look offense? It’s a question that was asked and answered a year ago when Blake Sims eventually took control of the offense. But whether it’s Jake Coker, David Cornwell or Alec Morris/Cooper Bateman/Blake Barnett, the fact remains that Amari Cooper and T.J. Yeldon aren’t there for the offense’s benefit. Coker has the advantage in experience, and he’s the only quarterback on the roster to have thrown a pass in a game. His arm strength is well known, but his ability to run the ball still hasn’t been fully appreciated. Cornwell performed well enough in the spring to make it a competition heading into fall camp. SEE QUESTIONS | 3C
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BIRMINGHAM | Checking his cell phone is near the top of the list for T Tim Anderson after every home game. Anderson, the shortstop and leadoff hitter for the Birmingham Barons, usually takes a few minutes to celebrate with teammates after a win. The Hillcrest High product then takes a look at his phone to see if his parents are waiting outside for him. “They’re here every night,” he said. It’s become automatic for Anderson to leave tickets for his family before games at Regions Park. Other friends from Tuscaloosa will text him to let h i m k now i f they’re coming to games. So he keeps the phone close. He’ll want to keep an eye on his texts and calls as the Barons enter the stretch Tim of the season. The Anderson Chicago White Sox may give the No. 17 pick in the 2013 draft a late-season call to promote him to Triple A Charlotte, or even to the majors. Anderson is batting .306 and leads all of Double A with 37 steals. He leads the Southern League in hits, runs and at bats. “I basically set the table,” Anderson said. Baseball America rates him as the No. 42 prospect in professional baseball, while Baseball Prospectus has him 39th and MLB.com puts him at 45th. He’s the consensus top prospect in the White Sox organization. After ending 2014 in Birmingham, Anderson expected to start the season with the Barons. It completes a cycle that began when he was drafted from East Mississippi Community College. He committed to UAB during his sophomore year in junior college before the White Sox drafted him. He completed another cycle on May 9, when he went 4-for-6 with a single, double, triple and home run at Montgomery. His parents, who are able to travel to many of Anderson’s road games as well, were on hand. Anderson was 3-for-4 and needed only a home run to complete the cycle when he came to bat in the seventh inning against Montgomery, but he hadn’t hit a home run all season. He asked his teammates if he should swing for the cycle. “They said, ‘Yeah, go for it. You don’t do this every day,’ ” he said. “So I got somebody else’s bat, a bigger bat, he threw the pitch and I hit it.” Things aren’t always so easy for Anderson, but he has impressed SEE A NDERSON | 3C
Tide line has chance to be more balanced By Aaron Suttles Sports Writer
Three starters must be replaced from a unit that paved the way for the offense to set program records. In the fourth installment of an eightpart series counting down to the beginning of fall camp for the University of Alabama football program, The Tuscaloosa News examines the offensive line.
Starters Center Ryan Kelly sets the tone for the group as the senior is heading into his third season as a starter. He’s the most experienced lineman on the team with a combined 21 starts under his belt over the last two years. Sophomore left tackle Cam Robinson a returning starter, and perhaps one of the best tackles in the conference. His toughness showed last year when he came back from a high ankle
-up Isaac Luatua had a role as a back-up osh in 2014. Redshirt freshman Josh Casher is nasty in the trenches. KoDEFENSIVE LINE: Bulk of Crimson Tide’s unit returns rean Kirven makes the transition ion for the 2015 season ive from defensive lineman to offensive lineman this season. J.C. Has-senauer returns for his sophosprain against Arkansas to not miss more season and Brandon Kena game. Ross Pierschbacher red- nedy and Dallas Warmack are shirted last season and came out of true freshmen. spring as the first-string left guard. Overview Redshirt Bradley Bozeman also came ouf of spring practice with a hold on The unit has an opportunity the right guard spot. The redshirt to be a dominating run-blocking sophomore is 6-foot-5, 320 pounds. unit. Robinson is one of the best Dominick Jackson is a physical run talents in the country, as he blocker and will get plenty of work on proved his freshman season. his pass blocking as the right The run game was most productackle. tive running behind the left side n of the line in 2014, but this season Reserves ed. has a chance to be more balanced. What the reserves lack in experi- Jackson is an athletic right tackle, but ckence, they make up for in raw talent. he mostly has experience run blockogAlphonse Taylor got valuable playing ing and will need to continue to progtime at right guard a season ago and ress as a pass blocker.
COMING MONDAY
Cam Robinson