Crimson Red Sports

Our officers of the REC do a wonderful in providing our group with quality speakers for the most part and last night was no exception, Greg McElroy did a wonderful job. Kirk McNair usually provides the introductions and there is no one that can beat him at doing this, no matter who the speaker is. Last night Kirk had dug up some good stuff on Greg for his introduction but when he accused Greg of having picked Auburn to win the National Championship on ESPN at one time that set the pace for the rest of the evening.

Greg did a wonderful job in going back to his youth days and telling how he became a quarterback at Alabama. We all know him as a highly rated QB coming from Texas but actually he was born in California and later moved to Texas as his father worked in the professional ranks of sports and his job took him there. Greg said he was was actually a baseball lover as he grew up and not so much football because of his size. He was playing football but thought his chances at being good at it was slim due to his size and was really trying to become good enough to play baseball in college. He actually played against L.A. Dodger pitcher Clayton Kershaw his senior year in high school and and saw a total of three pitches in his turn at bat against him, one, two and three strikes you are out. The biggest thing that happened to him in high school though was the summer before the 10th grade, he grew from 5' 8" to 6' 2". This changed his whole attitude about becoming a college quarterback. He was the third string QB in the 10th and 11th grade and in the spring practices he got most of the work because the number two QB was playing baseball.

In his senior year Greg was the number one QB and was getting lots of attention nationally and was looking at Texas Tech to attend but as luck would have it for the Bama Nation, his mother liked Alabama. One of Greg's problems during the recruiting process was his family pretty much just knew professional sports and not college sports because of his dad's job. When they stepped onto the campus of the University of Alabama, that all changed as they got a good look see at what college football was all about and that is why mother liked Alabama so much.

Greg also took us into the world of his job with ESPN. He went into all the detail of how he prepares for his daily shows as well as how they all prep for televised football games. I will say, they really earn their money because the homework that is required for the telecasts is huge.

In the end he broke down Bama's team for 2017 and likes the team very much. He explained though that even with great football players, there are certain things that have to happen and that was leadership and the buying into the "Process" as we hear so much about. He explained that most folks don't rally understand the "Process" as they think it is the end result, winning national championships but it isn't. He explained that the "Process" is merely taking care of what is happening now, at that moment. How well do you handle those situations creates a learning process that carries over to the end result, national championships. That is why the Leadership Council is so important for the team, they have the power to run players off the field during practice and if they don't want to do what the coaches are asking of them, they do just that. They are a huge role in discipline for the team, it's not all CNS and the coaches.

Anyway, I learned a lot about a great player from the University of Alabama, one that all the fans can be proud of, on and off the field. Greg explained that his whole life changed when his mother came running into his bedroom that day to tell him that Nick Saban had just accepted the job at Alabama. Now, there was a lot more meaning to what he had to prepare himself for at Alabama if Nick Saban was going to be his coach. We all know the rest of the story and what a story it is. He said that Roll Tide is now known and heard all over the world and as Greg described it, it's like a second language to those people.

Have an e-cred, J, great report!!!  #+

Greg is the epitome of class, and has shown it on and off the field. One of the greatest ambassadors of Bama football. That's a great story about him!.

 #+ #+ Jamos.  Excellent.

Really appreciate your thorough reviews of the REC speakers.  It's insight into meetings that few of us ever hear about.  Good job.

Indeed, Greg is a great ambassador for us.  Not all of our former QBs help Alabama's image, so his work much appreciated.  :worship: :worship:

I like McElroy and would love to hear him speak. He is an all-around good guy. I think he does as good a job as anyone on the SEC Network breaking down both teams, being fair and objective.

Nice recap Jamos.  #+

 #+ e-cred on that report. J you are as always great at this. You may have missed your calling. Your better than any of the writer I read as good as Cecil i would say and you know that is great company.  :clap:  RTR!

Thank you Preacher for the very kind words and I only wish that I had the knowledge and talent of Cecil Hurt to write as well as him. By the way, he is a big favorite of mine and an ecred back at you all. ;)

As I've said before J, you certainly could be a great sportswriter.

Thanks for this.  Sounds like it was a great evening.

Another insightful article, Jamos. I really look forward to these. Have an E Cred, my friend!

J, you are such a blessing to us all.  I really appreciate all of the write ups that you do for us.

Jamos Great read, thanks for sharing!   #+

What a lot of people don't know about Greg's Sr. year was that he shared time with the coaches son at Qb.  Todd Dodge, the Head Coach at Southlake at the time, put his son in for certain packages.  This cut down the productivity Greg could have had that year. 

Hello, Coach.  Nice to see you back.

Thanks for the input on McElroy.   :worship: :worship:

Been a busy time lately.  Greg/Southlake was in our district and got to prep for them.

 :wave:

Thanks for the report.  ecred worthy for sure.   :clap:

Greg married a H.S. friend of mine's daughter, so I get to see a more family-oriented view of his life, albeit through the lens of facebook.  He is all class, on and off the field.

It's about time you made an appearance on the board!!  :clap: :D