Alabama Football: Practice Notebook, Sept. 11

Sep 1, 2012; Arlington, TX, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide defensive back Nick Perry (27) plays defense during the game against the Michigan Wolverines at Cowboys Stadium. Alabama won 41-14. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-US PRESSWIRE

Alabama is well on its way to recovering from a lackluster performance against Western Kentucky in preparation for the first SEC contest of the year against Arkansas.

The key has been to put the contest with the Hilltoppers behind them and focus on what lies ahead.

“Everything is not going to be perfect,” quarterback AJ McCarron said. “I know that’s what people want, but it’s not going to happen. It’s like coach always talks about: when we have a little adversity hit us, we have to fight through to be successful.”

New attitude

A great deal of the team’s new outlook on the season post-Western Kentucky has to do with the coaching staff’s methods of refocusing its players.

“Chewing us out probably does it,” McCarron said. “We just have to progress as an offense every week. Last week was definitely not satisfying for us on offense as a whole. It was kind of a letdown week to our standards.”

Offensive lineman D.J. Fluker added, “We have to come into this game (Arkansas) more focused.”

The new mindset is showing through in practice, as the team is showing dedication to its new goals for the week with a specific plan.

” Just more extra reps,” Fluker said. “We have our defensive ends wider so we can get a better feel for that.”

Arkansas provides their own adversity with the defensive scheme they run, plus other new facets the Tide expects to see.

“Their defensive coordinator does a great job of throwing different things at you: different blitzes from different areas of the field at different times,” McCarron said. “We’re going to have to study up and be prepared for everything we see on film and things they come up with watching our film.”

Missing Fowler

The team will undoubtedly miss Fowler and his versatility, but the offensive line may miss his highlight reel more than anything.

“We loved seeing him run over folks out there,” Fluker said. “He reminded me a lot of Brandon Jacobs running around.”

Fluker is confident the Tide will be able to replace him.

“We have a lot of guys that can come in for him,” Fluker said. “Brian Vogler can do it. He’s a big guy, big tight end.”

It’s about time

Few things are more difficult for 18-year-olds than waiting their turn for something, especially when the object of desire is playing time after getting nothing but that for at least three years.

The time has finally come for safety Nick Perry, who earned the first start of his career against the Hilltoppers.

“It was great to get my first start at home,” Perry said. “Having my parents there to watch it was a big thing for me.”

The road to his start was a difficult one, often having to rely on Robert Lester, who he now starts with, for guidance.

“He was big for me, helping me learn my plays and picking me up when I was down,” Perry said. “I used to get down because I couldn’t help the team for the my first two years. He kept telling me to keep working and keep pushing.”

Perry’s strong performance in his first start can be attributed to the significant playing time he earned while replacing the injured Lester in the season opener against Michigan.

“To be able to play in a big-time game like that helped me  a lot,” Perry said. “It was a privilege.”

That still did not alleviate the as-expected nervousness.

“I was pretty nervous,” Perry said. “When I got my first couple of tackles, my instincts took over and my nerves went away.”