Alabama Crimson Tide Monday (08/26) Practice Report And Notes

Mar 22, 2013; Tuscaloosa, AL, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide head football coach Nick Saban speaks on behalf of all coaches after Bill Battle (not shown) is introduced as the athletic director for the Alabama Crimson Tide athletics department at the Mal M. Moore Athletic Building.   Marvin Gentry-USA TODAY Sports

The Alabama Crimson Tide started the first game week of the season with head coach Nick Saban’s Monday press conference.

Saban said that it was an exciting time when it gets to game week; that now the team is focusing on how the first game will bring to light the characteristics of the team. He said that everyone has to bring their A-game now.

He said the goal for game one was establishing an identity for the team. Saban released the first depth chart today but stressed that much shouldn’t be made about it, because it doesn’t mean much about who will and won’t play. He says he only does the depth chart for the media.

Saban called Virginia Tech quarterback Logan Thomas “an exceptionally talented quarterback who can take over a game as a passer and runner.” He talked about Thomas’ size and the fact that he has a strong arm along with being a good runner. He said that Thomas will be one of the big challenges for the Alabama defense this year.

He also praised Virginia Tech’s special teams which have become a staple of Frank Beamer coached teams over the years. He praised Beamer calling him a “a class guy” and said that Beamer was one for the first coaches to send donations after the tornado in 2011.

Saban said that they weren’t even looking at the 2009 game between Alabama and Virginia Tech, because very little is the same between the two teams and mentioned that they’ve changed offensive coordinators since then though they are close to the same on defense.

Coach Saban said that Jalston Fowler has had a great camp and emphasized that he will play both tailback and halfback this year again. He said that Dee Hart will also play tailback along with starter TJ Yeldon but also mentioned freshmen Derrick Henry and Altee Tenpenny as “viable options” in the running game too. He said that he expects the offensive line to play well and feels confident with where they are right now while also feeling confident that they have room to improve with added game experience together.

Speaking to the media AJ McCarron answered a question about expectations with a very Nick Saban like answer, “I ain’t worried about expectations. I just want us to go out and play our game, and play to the best to our ability and I think we’ll be fine at the end of the day. I can’t worry about what everyone else things, or what you guys are writing about what we’re supposed to do.”

The senior quarterback continued to emphasize that he and his teammates can’t worry about what the media says or expectations and stay focused on being the best they can be. McCarron says they don’t use 2010 as an example anymore because they’ve been “preaching” about not having a letdown like that for years. He said that a team wins on the practice field with hard work as much as what happens in the game.

When talking about Virginia Tech’s defense he mentioned their experience as being a big advantage for them and said that they try to make an offense make mistakes. McCarron was asked about his odd duties of being the holder on field goals, even now as a third year starting senior (that job is typically for backup quarterbacks). McCarron said he doesn’t mind it and he’ll do whatever the coaches ask of him. He was asked whether or not he lobbies for more fakes and McCarron jokingly said he leaves that to coach so when it goes bad it’s on him and not AJ’s fault.

McCarron said adversity will hit this team at some point and they will have to fight through it as all teams have to. McCarron said the biggest thing between a quarterback and his receivers is trust and he has that with his receivers giving them the “ingredients” to have a special season.

Soft spoken sophomore starting tailback TJ Yeldon called freshmen Tenpenny and Henry great players but said that they’re still trying to pick up things like blocking. Yeldon echoed Saban’s comments last week that fellow tailback Dee Hart was one of the hardest hitters on the team especially for his size. Yeldon said he’s a lot more comfortable in the offense than he was last year which is a scary thought seeing how he broke almost every freshman rushing record last year at Alabama. He was asked by the media if he sets any personal goals for the season as in yards or touchdowns but Yeldon said the only personal goals he sets are to be a leader and the best he can be as a teammate.

Junior free safety Ha’Sean “HaHa” Clinton-Dix praised the talent on offense while speaking to the media and said stopping them will be hard to do this year. Dix called Virginia Tech quarterback Logan Thomas a great QB and said that he’ll scramble too so the defense has to be ready for that. Dix brushed off comparisons to the other Alabama defenses and said that they were trying to form their own identity rather than comparing themselves to other years.

Dix singled out freshman cornerback Maurice Smith as someone for fans to keep an eye on this year calling him a good tackler as well as being good in coverage. Dix said he and the other veterans are trying to keep everyone accountable for their jobs. When asked to describe fellow safety Vinnie Sunseri Dix answered with one word: crazy. He said that Sunseri goes “balls to the wall” at all times and no one ever has to tell him to pick it up because he’s going 110% at all times. He said that even with no legs he’d go out and give his all.

Following a day of Saban and his trio of players speaking to the media the Tide then returned to the practice field in full pads on a beautiful Alabama afternoon.

One of the more interesting aspects of today’s depth chart release was the lack of sophomore running back Kenyan Drake on it. Drake was practicing today but was actually wearing a scout team jersey and Saban did not mention if he is in some type of trouble or injured. Drake had originally been thought to have been one of the backs battling for more playing time behind Yeldon.

Senior linebacker Tana Patrick was limited during practice which Saban hinted to at his press conference earlier today saying that he’s battling a minor injury.

Senior wide receiver Kevin Norwood was a little banged up at Saturday’s practice but seemed to be at full go today and not hampered from his ailment.

Freshman running back Alvin Kamara has dropped the black, non-contact jersey and is back to his normal jersey and was going through drills with the rest of the backs.

Wide receiver DeAndrew White was lined up with the z receivers today though he has spent most of camp with the x receivers signifying he will likely be playing multiple spots.

As previously reported, Alabama also released a picture of the decal that will be worn on Alabama helmets this year in honor of Mal Moore via the schools official Instagram.

Over the weekend Alabama got great news for the 2014 recruit class when 6’4”, 200 pound Louisiana native Cameron Sims chose Alabama over Oklahoma State, Ole Miss, and other teams. Rivals.com rates Sims as a four star receiver and the 35th ranked receiver in the class.