Alabama Football Daily Insider: Let’s Talk About Leadership
By Ronald Evans
Alabama football fans have a big appetite for information and we’ll be serving up healthy portions of hot food for thought with a side of seasonal inside information every morning this Spring.
There was a time when getting to the Waysider early on a weekday morning was the best way to learn what was really going on with Alabama football.
In the compact dining area, all you had to do was listen. Most conversations included tidbits of information about the University and the football program.
These days there is more to be gleaned by surveying the digital landscape of multitudinous sources. The problem with this wondrous abundance of information is in separating the sense from the nonsense.
That’s where we come in. This column will endeavor to guide that process of discernment.
We’ll peruse message boards, podcasts, tweets, talk radio and numerous digital communication platforms. We’ll ferret out the most worthwhile information and offer our take on what it means.
The Daily Insider: April 2
Saturday was another off-the-field day for Alabama football. The next practice is Monday, April 3.
Yesterday we introduced our first Spring Depth Chart. We will update it as it evolves and publish every significant change. If you missed it yesterday, click here Daily Insider Spring Depth Chart April 1.
Today we will consider the player character traits and leadership qualities that are evaluated along with physical skills, technical knowledge and tactical awareness.
If you have listened closely to Nick Saban over the last decade you repeatedly heard two necessary ingredients for player success. One of those requirements is for each player to fully understand their responsibilities for every play – and in every conceivable dynamic through which the play will unfold.
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Every player must be a film room warrior in preparation to achieve the Saban goal of playing fast. A player may be physically quick and blessed with speed, but a solid mental grasp most allows them to “play fast” Nick Saban style.
The “playing fast” milestone must be reached by every playing contributor. Only then, can a player be counted on by his teammates to perform his task on every play. Eleven teammates, doing their individual jobs simultaneously, builds championship teams.
Accountability to teammates and playing fast are major components of the vaunted Saban process.
Another component, as least as essential to team success, is player leadership. Players choose their leaders. It happens without a precise schedule and largely beyond the influence of coaches.
Last season, Nick Saban waited, with perhaps uncharacteristic patience, for the offense to rally around a quarterback. Or in Nick’s terms, for a QB to win the team.
The 2017 Alabama football team inherits QB as a settled leadership position. But Jalen cannot lead alone. Even on the offense, he needs one or two offensive line leaders. Teams without O-Line leaders do not win championships. Last season the Tide had Cam Robinson and Bradley Bozeman.
Bozeman returns for 2017 and Jonah Willimas will fill Cam’s LT position, but that does not mean he inherits Cam’s leadership role. Chemistry matters much in O-Line success, so finding another offensive line leader is as important as who starts where.
On the defense, Alabama loses the leadership of Jonathan Allen, Reuben Foster, Eddie Jackson and Dalvin Tomlinson. The likely successors are Da’Ron Payne, Da’Shawn Hand, Shaun Dion Hamilton, Rashaan Evans, Ronnie Harrison and Minkah Fitzpatrick.
Fitzpatrick has shown leadership skills, but it will be harder for him to use them from cornerback. Cornerbacks mostly live on an edge island. More important than rallying their teammates, they have to get into the heads of opposing receivers.
How well Payne, Hand, Hamilton, Evans and Harrison become team leaders could be the biggest determinant in another championship run.
To gauge 2017 Alabama football and its potential for another championship run, look at the depth chart but don’t stop there. Look at the 2017 player leadership for the most insight into the Tide’s chances.
Next: Who Steps Into Big D-Line Shoes?
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