ALABAMA CRIMSON TIDE FOOTBALL

University of Alabama football news, schedule, recruiting, stats & more

A new batch of walk-ons joined Alabama's team at practice today. Included was tailback Jonathan Lowe, who as previously reported by the Press-Register, was cleared by Nick Saban to return for the start of fall semester.

Lowe returned home to Phenix City to work a summer job, and a lack of communication with Crimson Tide coaches left him off the 105-man preseason roster.

But he has returned now, and was working today with tailbacks. Despite the slow start this month, Lowe could also wind up helping Alabama with kickoff returns at some point this season.

Also present today was senior scholarship receiver Will Oakley, who was not included on the 105 while recovering from a broken foot suffered in an offseason weight room accident. Oakley has struggled with injuries seemingly his entire Tide career, though Saban has said he would like to work Oakley into the receiver rotation this year.

Continue reading "News and notes from Wednesday ..." »

Before I get ready to go to football practice, I got a few random notes for ya... Not all of them are football-related. Ready? Here we go:

-- Alabama basketball signee Tony Mitchell is the lone freshmen who did not enroll in classes today. The 6-foot-6 wing from Swainsboro, Ga., has not yet been cleared by the NCAA Clearinghouse, so he is waiting...

Those who know about this stuff are optimistic for Mitchell, who is expected to immediately contribute. Though the semester has started, he has until a week from today to enroll if he still wants to play when the season begins.

-- Could we see Alabama play Samford in 2012? It's possible. Superstar reporter Mike Perrin reports on his blog that the Tide and the Bulldogs are discussing such a situation. Samford inked a deal with Auburn for 2011. Remember, UA coach Nick Saban, at his other stops, has always played in-state schools.

-- Reserve safety Sam Burnthall, who left Alabama a week ago, has found a home at North Alabama, this article says. Still not sure why Burnthall left UA (for personal reasons, a statement said), but it's nice for him that he found somewhere else to play.

[EDITED AT 4:29 p.m.: Reserve returner Jonathan Lowe , who was not on the 105-man roster, was back at practice today. UA coach Nick Saban didn't invite him to be a preferred walk-on. Injured senior receiver Will Oakley also returned.]

Was I the only one surprised by the abrupt decision of Alabama defensive back Sam Burnthall to pick up and leave the Crimson Tide at the end of two-a-days?

Nick Saban cited "personal issues," but apparently they weren't enough to keep Burnthall from quickly locating a new home. The former Decatur High standout has transferred to North Alabama, according to the Florence Times Daily. Burnthall said he also considered Jacksonville State.

"It was a tough decision for me," he said. "But after visiting both places I just felt more comfortable at UNA. Florence is just 40 miles from home, and I know several guys on the team. I talked it over with my parents, and we decided UNA was the best place for me."

As for his decision to leave at an odd time ...

"I was happy at Alabama," Burnthall said. "My decision was nothing about the coaching staff or playing time. I just had certain things in my life I needed to take care of, and they involved me leaving."

If there is one thing I've learned about covering Alabama, it's not to rule out anything. Just when it appears things are about to be "normal," something odd happens. Here we go today, with a random article sent to me by my Google Alerts for Alabama coach Nick Saban.

This is a weird one, so I felt like it takes some explaining.

According to this AP article, Glenda Edwards, the administrative assistant for Saban, faces disciplinary actions for her use of (gulp) stationery.

Doing a favor to a friend, Edwards wrote a one-page letter to a St. Clair County Circuit Court Judge Charles Robinson seeking a sentence of probation for former correctional officer Tommie Borden. Borden was convicted of smuggling a small amount of marijuana into a state prison and got two years in prison.

On its face, this isn't a big deal. But when Edwards wrote a personal correspondence on university stationery, it violated UA policy. The act would theoretically make it seem that her stance is the school's stance.

And that fact that she is Saban's assistant makes it an article. It's not clear what discipline awaits.

To me, this is all pretty sad. Glenda is really one of the nicest, sweetest ladies you'll ever meet. She admitted she didn't realize the consequences and used the stationery. She is absolutely heart-broken to the point of tears. So I feel really bad. This puts a person not used to the spotlight, in the spotlight for one day, which is also tough.

Hope this explains it......

Nick Saban has the reputation of being a taskmaster, hard on assistant coaches and players, but if you work hard and do things the right way in his system, the rewards can be great.

So Tyrone King found out on Monday, when Saban told the former walk-on that he had earned a scholarship. Ian Rapoport of The Birmingham News has the story, with reactions from Saban, King and teammates who obviously think a lot of the 5-foot-11 reserve safety from Minor High School.

Kicker Leigh Tiffin and punter/holder P.J. Fitzgerald were also awarded scholarships this week, and as Gentry Estes reports in his practice notebook, a team that looked for much of the summer to be short on scholarships ended up having enough to go around and then some.

Maybe this rowdy fan blogger from Michigan will wait next time before roundly blasting a coach for the "sin" of oversigning players. Probably not though.

Continue reading "Walk-ons no more: King, Tiffin, Fitzgerald get scholarships" »

Always had a question you wanted to ask Nick Saban?

Well, you'll have to wait another week. Saban won't be appearing on the "Hey, Coach!" show until next Thursday, but in tomorrow's show host Tom Roberts will have player and coach interviews from the practice fields and a bevy of guests, including head volleyball coach Judy Green, women's soccer coach Todd Bramble, and football sideline reporter Barry Krause.

Ask your questions for Tom or any of his guests by this afternoon, and the best questions will be answered in the broadcast. Then check back on Friday and listen to the show online at www.al.com/heycoach, the official online home of the "Hey, Coach!" show.

Chock full O' notes today. And I don't just mean football. Alabama coach Nick Saban had a whole bunch of interesting things to say. But before we get to that, you remember this episode today?

Saban explained why he pulled all the scrimmage highlights off TideTV:

"It's no big deal," Saban said. "I don't think that's something that we want to do. That's why we close practice -- so that the other team can't see us. We got on the Internet to see if we could see any of Clemson's plays from their scrimmage and didn't see any. That's not what people usually do when you're getting ready to play a game, to advertise on TV or the Internet. I'm not pleased about it, but it's something that can be corrected and it won't happen again. I don't think the person that did it, did it intentionally."

Sounds like he didn't know the highlights were on TideTV... Here are the notes:

*****Like millions of Americans, Alabama coach Nick Saban has spent recent late-night hours watching the Olympics from Beijing. From 10 p.m. until he falls asleep in his chair, the TV is on NBC for women's gymnastics and other sports.

Saban can't avoid looking at athletes such as Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt and wondering what he'd be like on a football field. That he ran a 9.69 100-yard dash doesn't hurt.

Continue reading "Why Saban pulled the highlights, Usain Bolt... and other stuff!" »

So this is exciting ...

After a few glitches in the process this preseason, I'm now able to add videos to my daily coverage of Alabama football. Click to view footage of Tuesday's practice, mainly of linemen working under the instruction of defensive line coach Bo Davis, linebackers coach Lance Thompson and offensive line coach Joe Pendry.

The video quality seems OK if not a little shaky. Please remember it's my first try at this but certainly not my last.