Early Enrollees On Campus

Kenyan Drake is talented, yes.. Derrick Henry could be a once in a generation type guy...

Matt0424 said:

Kenyan Drake is talented, yes.. Derrick Henry could be a once in a generation type guy...

Click to expand...

True, but we would take Drake ay OSU right now and have him start. He is better than most Tide fans have come to realize.

B1GTide said:

True, but we would take Drake ay OSU right now and have him start. He is better than most Tide fans have come to realize.

Click to expand...

We can agree to disagree. We, as Tide Fans, know very well how good Kenyan Drake is. Ohio State people may be slow but Tide Fans are not!!!

bamafaninOhiO said:

everyone seems to be discounting Kenyan Drake for soem reason, its going to be harder to crack the rotation this season. I see Fowler playing more in a Hybrid back in the 2 back sets, and having a role in short yardage.

TJ willstart, but I think Kenyan will have a more ignificant role this upcoming season....Henry may see time, and I dont douibt the talent...we just have some talented players with experience in front of him.

Click to expand...

I love Drake. I thought he should have gotten more carries last season. But this Henry kid is...well we shall wait and see. As of right now, he's an early enrollee But I think Drake is quite a running back.

bamafaninOhiO said:

everyone seems to be discounting Kenyan Drake for soem reason, its going to be harder to crack the rotation this season. I see Fowler playing more in a Hybrid back in the 2 back sets, and having a role in short yardage.

TJ willstart, but I think Kenyan will have a more ignificant role this upcoming season....Henry may see time, and I dont douibt the talent...we just have some talented players with experience in front of him.

Click to expand...

I think most of us are just in love with Henry's measurables, but having seen him in the all star game going up elite talent you can tell there is something special coming.

When he gets the coaching and strength training he'll get at Bama, I just can't imagine him not being a big time game changer!

FWIW, Drake ought to do just fine too.

Drake just needs to work on his blocking. He is an extremely gifted runner.

One of the commentators for some of Alabama's games this year mentioned several times how special Drake was and that he thought he would develop into a big-time running back. I think he said that he not only saw Drake in the games but observed him at some practices.

My words were, What, come on you couldn't make the bed?

splaced Bama Fan said:

Bet his momma calls and says "Boy, pick up that room!"

Click to expand...

Anybody know when the early enrollees will receive their jersey #s?

tidefaninvr said:

Anybody know when the early enrollees will receive their jersey #s?

Click to expand...

My guess would be ADay

Anybody got highlights from the all-star game that DH played in? I didn't see the game and would love to see him against all-star competition.

Alasippi said:

I love Drake. I thought he should have gotten more carries last season. But this Henry kid is...well we shall wait and see. As of right now, he's an early enrollee But I think Drake is quite a running back.

Click to expand...

We kind of HAVE to wait and see, because he hasnt had a single carry, or blocked a blitzing safety, in college.

I have no doubt about Henry, he's got elite talent...just have to see if he acclimates to all aspects of the RB position as quickly as TJ did...
But, I think TJ is a VERY special talent and earned his carries in the spring.

Im just not going to write off Kenyan Drake, because I saw enough in him during the games to think that hes going to be good, and has the benefit of the additional time in our S&C program, learning the plays and acclimating to the college game...he's got skills.

One thing for sure, the players that deserves the carries will get the playing time.

we have what is called, a bounty of riches at running back!

so far, I don't really know how good is D.Henry's hands. I hope he can catch the ball well enough and be a threat during check downs.

TIDE-HSV said:

Like Airborne said, Drake's blocking stood between him and more PT. The Henry kid is so big, he can block just by getting in the way...

Click to expand...

TIDE-HSV said:

He did very well catching out of the backfield in HS. I think that's part of what started all the talk about his playing H-back or TE. If he does that for us, I predict it won't be full-time...

Click to expand...

Hands seem solid to me, as you mentioned, though I haven't seen him much in pass protection. If he is even a semi-functional blocker, though, he'll be able to get on the field and used in a lot of different ways, like we tried to do last season with Fowler before his knee injury.

TIDE-HSV said:

He did very well catching out of the backfield in HS. I think that's part of what started all the talk about his playing H-back or TE. If he does that for us, I predict it won't be full-time...

Click to expand...

I could eventually see him being used a lot llike Fowler. That would be awesome, as the team lost a big chunk of its offense last year when Fowler went down. This coming year, though, I think it would be very intriguing to have Fowler and Henry in the backfield at the same time - especially in short yardage/goal line situations.

Randy Watson said:

...I think it would be very intriguing to have Fowler and Henry in the backfield at the same time - especially in short yardage/goal line situations.

Click to expand...

Don't know that you will see much on that front, even if Fowler is once again healthy, aside from placing one of them as a lead blocker. We haven't really been all of that multiple in that regard in terms of personnel the past several years, simply because it has been unnecessary with us having so many big, physical backs. No use having different personnel packages at that point, of course. I figure that largely remains the same next season with Yeldon et al.

TIDE-HSV said:

TBF, I was a bit disappointed in the clips I saw when he was just blocking. Of course, they are hard to find, since most of what's out there are highlight reels of his either running or catching out of the backfield. He looked a little lost blocking, but that's not that surprising for someone who's been featured toting the rock. If he has the "want," to borrow a Mileism, he's got the talent to block...

Click to expand...

You have to figure a 6'3, 245 kid ought to have no real problem blocking linebackers. I'm sure he's very raw at just because he was probably asked to do it about once a month at Yulee, but the physical tools are there.

We'll see how quickly he picks it up, but this is an area where early enrollment will typically pay significant dividends. With his size and eight months on campus prior to the kick-off, I imagine he's at least a passable blocker come September.