Morning Kickoff: Crimson Tide News 2/1
By Chris Hale
Get your day started with the Morning Kickoff. All your Crimson Tide news in one place.
Recruiting: Tide ready to replenish roster
"Seeds continue to be planted for long-term success for the Alabama football team.Coach Nick Saban put together what’s expected to be another top-ranked recruiting class this year, according to rankings from all the recruiting services.There are seven new players already enrolled this spring, not including greyshirt five-star running back Bo Scarbrough from last year’s class, with at least 17 more set to sign on Wednesday.Six of them are considered five-star athletes, 14 are four-star recruits and the other three earned three stars."
Just a few days before Signing Day and the staff is wrapping things up as well as starting on the next classes.
Rolando McClain finishes second in voting for NFL Comeback Player of the Year Award
"Dallas Cowboys middle linebacker Rolando McClain finished tied for second in the voting for the 2014 Associated Press NFL Comeback Player of the Year Award. New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski was announced as the winner of the honor on Saturday night during the fourth annual “NFL Honors” in Phoenix.Gronkowski led the balloting with 27 votes. McClain and Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver Jeremy Maclin tied for second with seven votes."
Congrats to Rolando. Great comeback story from a guy that never gave up.
C.J. Mosley Not Defensive Rookie Of The Year
"Ravens inside linebacker C.J. Mosley won just about every award he possibly could during his rookie campaign, but he fell short of the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year.St. Louis Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald was given the honor during Saturday’s NFL Awards show.Mosley finished second in the voting. Donald received 25 votes, Mosley got 18, Raiders linebacker Khalil Mack notched six and 49ers linebacker Chris Borland got one.Mosley had a superb season, but Donald, who was earlier named the Pro Football Writers of America’s NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year, was stiff competition."
I don’t get this one but I guess that’s why they don’t ask me to vote.
Women’s Tennis Capture Third-Straight Victory, Top TCU 6-1
"The seventh-ranked Alabama women’s tennis team continued its hot start to the 2015 regular season on Saturday, besting No. 20 TCU by a final score of 6-1 inside the Roberta Alison Baumgardner Tennis Facility. Playing their first extended action of the season, the Tide held a 5-0 lead before the Horned Frogs tallied their only point of the match.The Crimson Tide has yet to surrender a doubles point this season, as #18 Erin Routliffe/Maya Jansen topped TCU’s Stefanie Tan/Seda Arantekin, 6-1, followed by an Emily Zabor/Danielle Spielmann victory to secure the point. Zabor and Spielmann began the match in a 3-0 hole before clawing back to defeat TCU’s strong pairing of Simona Parajova and Sofiko Kadzhaya, 6-4."
Tide Produces Stellar Showing on Saturday at New Mexico Team Invitational
"The University of Alabama track and field team won a total of six events at the New Mexico Team Invitational, leading the Tide women to a third place team finish and the men to a fifth-place finish in the first team scoring event of the season.The Crimson Tide women finished third in the field of 10 teams with a total of 80.50 points. UCLA won the women’s team competition with 93 points. New Mexico followed in the runner-up position, claiming 91.5 points on the day. Kansas State and Arizona State rounded out the top five finishers. The Alabama men accumulated 58 points to tie with Arizona State for fourth against 10 teams. UCLA won the men’s race with 64 points. New Mexico finished second with 60 points and Kansas State was third with 59 points."
Men’s Tennis Edged by Seminoles, 4-2
"The 44th-ranked men’s tennis team lost a close 4-2 match to No. 33 Florida State on Saturday at the Roberta Alison Baumgardner Tennis Facility. The Crimson Tide now stands at 2-3 overall, while the win lifts the Seminoles to 7-1 on the season.The men started off hot by claiming the doubles point thanks to wins on courts one and three. Andrew Goodwin and Danny Kerznerman defeated Terrance and Terrell Whitehurst, 6-3, at the No. 3 spot, which was followed up by a victory on court one from the duo of Korey Lovett and Becker O’Shaughnessey, who took down 24th-ranked Marco Nunez and Benjamin Lock, 6-4."
Crimson Tide Returns Home to Host Razorbacks on Sunday
"The women’s basketball team (12-11, 1-7 SEC) returns to Foster Auditorium on Sunday to host the Arkansas Razorbacks (12-8, 2-6 SEC). The game will tip off at 1 p.m. CT and will air live on SEC Network+."
Tide Throwers Produce Season-Best Marks at Indiana Relays
"Five University of Alabama track & field athletes (three men, two women) competed in four throwing events on Saturday, the final day of competition at the Indiana Relays, producing four season bests in three events.In the women’s invitational weight throw, senior Nia Barnes threw 66 feet, ¾ of an inch (20.14 meters), a four-foot improvement on her previous 2015 season best to place fifth. The performance ranks sixth on the SEC top-performances list for 2015. Freshman Daniel Haugh improved his season best in the men’s invitational weight throw with a toss of 63-3 ¼ (19.30m) to finish sixth, maintaining his 9th place ranking on the 2015 SEC list."