HZT Daily Crimson Tide Wrap 9-16-2013 PLUS Practice Report

Practice Report 9-16-2013 (Al.com)

This marks Alabama’s first normal “game week” of practice this season. Alabama used a couple of extra days to prepare for Virginia Tech and Texas A&M, so that threw off the schedule a bit. Mondays are typically devoted to “cleaning up” what went wrong in the previous game. On Tuesdays and Wednesdays, Alabama’s players typically wear full pads.
WR Kevin Norwood wore a black, non-contact jersey and worked off to the side. He was working with elastic bands. We’re not sure what on Norwood is injured. He limped off the field late in the third quarter after a Kenyan Drake rush. Norwood underwent toe surgery during the offseason.
CB Deion Belue was also working off to the side and wearing a black jersey. Belue is dealing with a turf toe injury. Like Norwood, he’s questionable for Saturday’s game against Colorado State.
OG Anthony Steen wasn’t spotted on the practice field, but a UA spokesman told reporters that he was dressed. Saban did not describe Steen’s injury, but said he was probable for Saturday.
Depending on how limited Steen is, this could be a big week for someone like redshirt freshman Alphonse Taylor. Kellen Williams would likely start in the event that Steen couldn’t play, but Taylor could also be the beneficiary of some increased reps with the players ahead of him on the depth chart. Whomever is behind Williams at left guard would also see reps with the second team rather than the third team.

Nick Saban’s Monday Press Conference

The Reality of Saban: the Legend, the Coach, the Man

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pke_dUF2BMo&feature=youtu.be

Alabama coaches announces Players of the Week

Eight Alabama football players were recognized by the coaching staff for their outstanding performances following Saturday’s win over No. 6 Texas A&M. AJ McCarron, Cyrus Kouandjio and Brian Vogler were named players of the week on offense. C.J. Mosley and Jeoffrey Pagan represented the defense while Cade Foster, Christion Jones and Cody Mandell were on the special teams list.
McCarron completed 20-of-29 passes for a career-high 334 yards with four touchdown passes, which tied a career-best. The senior from Mobile, who was also the SEC Offensive Player of the Week, is now second in the Alabama record books with 6,400 career passing yards. McCarron is now 27-2 as a starter, including a 15-0 mark away from Tuscaloosa. Kouandjio anchored an offensive line that helped the Crimson Tide pile up 568 yards of total offense, 234 of which came on the ground. Kouandjio received the top grade on the line and did not allow a sack or a pressure, or have any missed assignments. Vogler had three receptions for 24 yards and also played a big role as a blocker from his tight end position.
Mosley led the team with 12 total tackles and had the highest total in terms of production points on defense. He was also credited with a QB hurry and one big hit. Pagan was second in production points and finished with four tackles and a quarterback hurry.
Foster was perfect on all seven of his extra point attempts and two of his eight kickoffs resulted in touchbacks. Jones returned one punt for five yards and four kickoffs for 83 yards. He also had three tackles on kickoff coverage. Mandell continued his strong season with an average of 53 yards on just three punts.

Yeldon Issues a Statement and Apologizes for Penalty

“I want to apologize to everyone for my selfish actions on Saturday. That is not the way I want to represent myself, my family and our team. This is not the way we want to do things at Alabama. This is something that I will learn from, and I will use better judgment in the future.”

Ole Miss vs Alabama Time and TV Listing

Ole Miss at Alabama, 6:30 p.m., ESPN (Eastern Time)

Football Welcomes Colorado State for Home Opener (RollTide.com)

THE GAME: The University of Alabama football team makes its 2013 home debut Saturday when it welcomes former Crimson Tide offensive coordinator Jim McElwain and his Colorado State Rams to Bryant-Denny Stadium. The game marks the first meeting between the Crimson Tide and the Rams and will be nationally on ESPN2 with kickoff set for 6 p.m. (CDT). Joe Tessitore will serve as the play-by-play announcer, with Matt Millen at his side as the color analyst. The two will be joined by sideline reporter Maria Taylor. Eli Gold and Phil Savage will handle the radio call on the Crimson Tide Sports Network, with Chris Stewart serving as sideline reporter.
MAKING HISTORY: Alabama has laid claim to three of the last four BCS National Championships and now boasts 15 national championships in the program’s history. The Tide won in 2009 and then went back-to-back in 2011 and 2012. The back-to-back titles are the first in the BCS era and the first since Nebraska went back to back in 1994-95. The Cornhuskers are also the last team to win three out of four national titles. Nebraska won consensus titles in 1994 and 1995 and shared the 1997 championship with Michigan. The last team to win three of four consensus national championships was Notre Dame who captured the 1946, 1947 and 1949 titles. Minnesota is the last team to win three straight national championships (1934-36) with only the 1936 title coming in the era of the Associated Press college football poll. The Crimson Tide won three titles in five years from 1961 to 1965.
RANKINGS: Alabama enters week four of the 2013 season ranked first in the Associated Press and USA TODAY Coaches polls, while Colorado State is unranked.
COLORADO STATE: Colorado State is led by former Crimson Tide offensive coordinator Jim McElwain and enters Saturday’s contest fresh off of a win in its home opener against Cal Poly, 34-17. The Rams are 1-2 on the season after dropping their season opener 41-27 in Denver against Colorado and then falling 30-27 at Tulsa on Sept. 7. CSU is 85th nationally in scoring defense (29.3 ppg) and 93rd in total defense (434.3 ypg) while ranking 67th (29.3 ppg) in scoring offense and 85th in total offense (367.7 ypg). Garrett Grayson quarterbacks the Rams offense and is averaging 202 passing yards per game while Chris Nwoke leads the team in rushing with 236 yards and one touchdown.
SERIES HISTORY: Saturday’s game marks the first meeting on the gridiron for Alabama and Colorado State. It marks just the fourth game in Crimson Tide history against a team from the state of Colorado.
NEXT GAME: Alabama welcomes Ole Miss to Bryant-Denny Stadium for the first SEC home game of the 2013 season Saturday, Sept. 28. The Crimson Tide enters the game with a 47-9-2 edge in the series with the Rebels, having won nine straight.

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