The spring came did show a few things.  First, Bama has depth at RB, LB, and DB.  There is potential for depth at REC, DL, and OL.  The game was vanilla since Bama did not want to show too much.

Offense:  The moved the ball, however there were too many opportunities for turnovers. 
 
QB:  Both were effective.  In my opinion no QB outshined the other.  Both had very good throws as well as bad throws.  The big question in my mind, will the really step up in the pocket when they know they will get hit.  It is easy to step up knowing you are off limits.  I think they let Blake Sims throw the ball just like the commentators said he could be the guy in the wildcat.   

REC:  There were many throw to different rec.  I didn’t keep a total, but many caught the ball.  I may be wrong, but it looked like a couple may not have wanted to go across the middle. 

RB:  The Tide is loaded with RB’s.  I thought all of them looked pretty good.  I think Lacey has the potential to be a good complement to TR, just like TR was to MI.  (sorry about all the initials) They ran hard and caught the ball out of the backfield. 

OL:  What I liked here was the way the OL got to the point of attack. I do understand that the defense was playing very base, so they were easier to block.  What I did see, when the DL did stunt, they were picked up.   I am mentioning Smelly here because he made a few good blocks.

Defense:  Played very vanilla. (sorry to keep using the word)  What I did notice is they were in the right place a majority of the time.  Even on the completed passes the DB’s were in position. 

DL:  The played pretty well.  They only lost contain once or twice.  The kept the OL occupied so the LB’s could make the play.

LB:  They fly to the ball and they are deep.  They are numerous players who can and I predict they will play in situations.  The TD to TR was when CJM looked in the backfield too long and allowed for the little separation.

DB:  Again depth.  I thought DM, like the commentators said had a good game.  Many times they were in position to make plays both on the run and on the pass plays.

It is hard to tell about the kicking game since it is not live.  It seems the wind was a factor on some kicks.  Also, it looks as though Bama has a choice of return men.

All in all, I think Bama has the opportunity to have a big year.  One thing I enjoyed seeing was the D laughing it up during a practice, but playing hard. 

Please feel free to add your comments.

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The coaches knew they had something special in Palmer as soon as the let him start fielding punt returns in practice. The first team members found trying to tackle him was like catching a greased cheetah.

He wore number number two and was known as "The Deuce" and he was the Mr. Excitement of his day at Alabama. Every time an opposing team punted to him, opposing coaches held their breath until he was wrestled to the ground.

He was a mere 5'9'' in cleats and maybe never got over 170 pounds wet, but as his coach, Gene Stallings once told us, "He is lightning a bottle and I'm glad I can turn him loose on Saturdays instead of having him turned loose on me."

Marvel over some of highlights of David's time at Alabama, just turn down your speakers.
 And that began the nickname, "The Deuce on the Loose" and then just "The Deuce".

Before the "Wildcat" was common or even called the "Wildcat", Alabama called it "The Deuce." He was just ahead of his time.

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TUSCALOOSA | It's been three years since the reality about the level of football talent at the University of Alabama hit its fan base like a cold splash of water. Three years since an entire National Football League Draft came and went without a single player from the Capstone hearing his name called. Three years since players like Wallace Gilberry, D.J. Hall and Simeon Castille - each an All-Southeastern Conference talent - nevertheless carried the Crimson Tide's flickering NFL torch as undrafted free agents.

Three years later, Alabama football is expected to occupy three first-round NFL Draft choices for only the second time in school history.

Marcell Dareus, Julio Jones and Mark Ingram represent a complete turnaround for Alabama's contributions to the NFL Draft that began as soon as UA coach Nick Saban arrived at the Capstone.

"The thing about Alabama, what they do there, they recruit good players, and they make them even better because of the coaching job they do," said NFL.com senior analyst Gil Brandt, who helped build some of the greatest Dallas Cowboys teams in franchise history during 30 years as vice president of player personnel. "Alabama fell down there for awhile. In fact one year they didn't even have a player drafted. They have some real good younger players there, the Richardson kid and Mark Barron. They get the right players, but they also know how to prepare them to be better players."

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GAINESVILLE, Fla. - Alabama senior pitcher Kelsi Dunne kept the potent Florida bats quiet and Crimson Tide junior Amanda Locke's bat was far from silent as the duo led Alabama to a 5-0 win, Friday night at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium. With the win the Tide improve to 42-5 overall and 16-4 in Southeastern Conference play.

Dunne (21-2) allowed just three infield singles as she handed Florida (38-8, 13-7 SEC) just its second shutout of the season. The senior struck out six and walked four to earn the complete game shutout.

Locke continued her torrid hitting at the plate by taking advantage of her name in the four-spot of the lineup. The junior batted 2-for-3, with a three-run homer to lift her average to .306 on the season.


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The third-ranked Crimson Tide visits No. 8 Florida in a three-game set that will go a long way in deciding whether either will have a chance to win the SEC regular-season championship.

Alabama has won four games in a row after being swept in three games at LSU two weekends ago. The Gators have won eight in a row after a six-game losing streak.

Both have been ranked No. 1 this season - Alabama for four weeks and Florida for one - in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Top 25.

The matchup, at least on paper, pits Florida's potent bats against Alabama's lockdown pitching. The Gators lead the SEC in batting average (.342), runs (8.1 per game) and home runs (43) in league games. The Crimson Tide leads the league in earned-run average (1.59), opponent batting average (.178) and strikeouts (168) in SEC play.

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Alabama (25-15) is tied with Arkansas and Ole Miss for first place in the SEC West, and Auburn is one game behind. Florida (28-10, 11-4) is tied with No. 3 Vanderbilt for second place in the SEC East, one game behind No. 2 and defending national champion South Carolina.

"On the road, we just haven't gotten it done. It's time to tighten your belt and see what you're made of," said Crimson Tide senior right-hander Nathan Kilcrease (4-3, 2.62 ERA), who will start the 6 p.m. (CT) opener today.

The Gators lead the SEC with a .313 batting average. Alabama (.273) is last.

"There is a formula to our team having success," Gaspard said. "That's getting really good, quality starting pitching, playing good defense, and offensively we just have to grind out our at-bats and find ways to put guys in scoring position."

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There are few coaches who would put this time and effort into recruiting. Coach Bryant would be proud.

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FAIRFIELD, Ala. -- The good times at Lester "Sarge" Reasor's home started on a recent early Friday afternoon, just as a brief April shower had passed over this sleepy Birmingham suburb. While his godson, former Alabama defensive tackle Marcell Dareus, chatted with friends downstairs, Reasor welcomed more and more guests into his family room. There was the man who helped raise money for Dareus' high school teams. There were mentors and old friends from around the neighborhood. Reasor was enjoying this gathering as much as anybody as he ambled around in an oversized, lime-green polo shirt that hung well past his knees.

When Dareus finally came upstairs, he couldn't help ribbing the diminutive older man. "Sarge," said the 6-foot-3, 319-pound Dareus. "Are you sure you aren't wearing one of my shirts?" When Reasor shrugged and explained that he just threw on the first thing he could find, both men couldn't contain their laughter. They both understood how nice it was to chuckle about such silly moments. There had been too many other times in Dareus' life when sadness and anger had dominated occasions.

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Nick Saban noted following A-Day that he and his staff not only had 29 fall practices to make some personnel decisions, but perhaps two or three games as well.

On Wednesday, the University of Alabama coach made it clear that goes for every position, including quarterback.

With sophomore A.J. McCarron and freshman Phillip Sims performing to a relative statistical draw in spring scrimmages, the question of who will lead the Crimson Tide offense in 2011 may not have a fully-formed answer when fall camp ends. And Saban acknowledged the possibility that the two could share time at the position.

"Until somebody separates, I have no problem (playing both). I really don't," Saban said. "I like both guys, I have confidence in both guys, we have confidence in both guys and I think our players do. ? Both guys were effective, both guys played well. Statistically you can look at it and cut it up all kinds different ways. I think just from a leadership and an execution standpoint, both guys made a lot of progress, both guys did a good job and we're going to continue to develop both guys. If they can both play winning football, then they both should be able to make some kind of contribution to our team."

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After a couple of days of reflection, University of Alabama football coach Nick Saban was ready Tuesday to declare last Saturday’s A-Day game a rousing success," not because of what happened on the field, but because of the Crimson Tide fans.

Saban, who was in Cullman for the first of this spring’s Crimson Caravan stops, said the record crowd of more than 92,000 impressed recruits," even ones who didn’t make a weekend trip to Tuscaloosa.

“I was speaking in Memphis last night and posed for over a hundred pictures,” Saban said. “And more than half the people I talked to said they had watched the game on television (ESPNU). That’s tremendous exposure, and I honestly think ESPN shows our game because of the number of fans we have in the stands, not because we are going to be any good (as a team).

“Our fan support and passion are a real asset.”

Saban wasn’t despairing over the team’s performance, either.

In fact, the Crimson Tide coach said his day-after review of A- Day “exceeded my expectations.”

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