Blog: Latest Bama News 11/26/14

kyallie

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SEC Week 14 Position Battle: How does Tide balance workload in backfield?-sds


Alabama gave T.J. Yeldon the day off during last week’s win over Western Carolina, advising he simply get healthy for this week’s Iron Bowl showdown with Auburn.
Yeldon will have had two weeks to prepare for the Tigers when the two teams take the field in Tuscaloosa on Saturday, and based on Nick Saban’s comments Monday it appears Yeldon will resume his usual workload.
But is that smart? Should Saban lean more on Derrick Henry against Auburn? Let’s delve further into the questions at hand:

POSITION BATTLE: ALABAMA’S PRIMARY TAILBACK

Players involved: T.J. Yeldon, Derrick Henry
Who will probably get more snaps: Yeldon
Who should get more snaps: Henry
Yeldon has 17 more carries than Henry this season despite playing in one fewer game, and he’s averaged 15 carries per game to Henry’s 12. Saban shed some light on why Yeldon has spent so much time on the field during the coach’s media availability on Monday.
“(Yeldon) has been by far, in my opinion, our most effective guy all the way around when it comes to blocking, running the ball, being a pass receiver,” Saban said, according to AL.com.
That may be true, but all of those roles can put a great deal of strain on the foot and ankle injuries Yeldon has played through for most of the second half of the season. The effects of those injuries can be seen in Yeldon’s last three games against Tennessee, LSU and Mississippi State. He averaged just 64 yards per game on the ground, well below his season average, and had just 24 yards receiving in the three games combined.
As a result, Saban is justified in sitting Yeldon last week, and he should be just as cautious with how many snaps he gives Yeldon in the first half of this week’s game. Saban would be better served saving Yeldon for the game’s more critical moments, allowing Henry to carry the bulk of the workload out of the backfield.
The Tide don’t necessarily need a heavy dose of Yeldon for all four quarters to gain an edge on the Tigers. Alabama is the better team and the hotter team entering this matchup, and it boasts the SEC’s No. 5 rushing offense. Auburn, on the other hand, has allowed more than 177 yards per game on the ground in the SEC this season. Alabama absolutely needs production from Yeldon to take down the Tigers, but it doesn’t need him on an every-down basis.
Henry is a physical runner than can wear a defense down even if his carries aren’t going for many yards. If Alabama rides Henry in the first half to complement quarterback Blake Sims (who has been awesome at home this season), it could at least give the Tide a physical edge heading into the second half.
At that point, Yeldon could take over the game against a tired defense. This is not to say Yeldon should sit out the first half, but it is to say he doesn’t necessarily have to be the guy for all four quarters. Favoring Henry in the first half and favoring Yeldon in the second half could preserve Yeldon for crucial drives late in the game.
Consider this — if Alabama is up seven late in the game and is trying to run out the clock, wouldn’t you rather have Yeldon at his best for that very moment? Let’s even say Alabama is down seven late in the game, wouldn’t you want your best blocking and receiving back on the field?
It’s more important to use Yeldon in those scenarios than on a third and 3 in the first half, and using him on that third and 3 carry could make him a little less effective late in the game. Every hit takes its toll, and it’s rare a running back ever steps on the field and doesn’t get hit. Saban should let Henry take those hits early in the game, then use a fresher Yeldon to hit back late in the action.
Alabama doesn’t want to find itself in the same situation it found itself in at the end of the LSU game, when Yeldon injured his ankle and gave away a late possession in the process. Saban must learn from that game and preserve Yeldon in case a comparable situation presents itself.
Both backs will see plenty of action on Saturday, but it’s when they see the field that’s more significant. Knowing Yeldon is still not 100 percent, Saban shouldn’t give him the most snaps, just the most important ones.
 

kyallie

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Crimson Tide scoring well in area few seem to notice, academics-sds




It was one of those kinds of announcements that most college football fans pay little attention to, but was as important, if not more so, than anything that happens on the field this fall.
In late October the National Collegiate Athletic Association released its annual Graduation Success Rate (GSR) figures, which showed that 84 percent of student-athletes who entered college in 2007-08 had earned a degree within six years. It was a two percentage-point increase over last year’s previous high mark.
This wasn’t the Academic Progress Rate (APR), which measures if active athletes are on pace to graduate, but the actual statistics. They’re also the first graduation numbers for only Nick Saban-coached football players as he arrived at the University of Alabama in 2007 – although many were obviously holdovers from the previous coaching regime.
“We were 80 percent graduation rate,” Saban said. “That’s a really, really good feat for us. It speaks volumes of how successful we’re being with one of the goals that we have which is for players to develop a career off the field. That’s the No. 1 goal and objective when they come to school here is that they graduate. They’ve got a lot more days ahead of them when they’re not going to play football than when they are, regardless.”
“I think that’s especially significant relative to the number of guys who we’ve had come out early for the draft, all of whom would have graduated on time or before if they would have stayed in school. That’s really a good number that we were able to hit.”
Among the 14 Southeastern Conference schools the 80 percent was a very-close second to Florida, and it ranked among the top 25 nationally in the Football Bowl Subdivision.
Meanwhile, Alabama athletics as a whole came in at 91 percent, which topped the league. The Crimson Tide led, or was tied for first in the SEC in seven different sports, including the two-time defending NCAA champion men’s golf team with a perfect 100. Matching that score were the women’s golf, soccer, softball, women’s tennis, volleyball and men’s swimming and diving teams.
“We are extremely proud to lead the Southeastern Conference in this vital area,” Director of Athletics Bill Battle said in a statement. “This is just another example of the balance between academic and athletic excellence that we strive for every day.”
The GSR is one of three important measuring sticks for measuring academic success among student-athletics, along with the Academic Success Rate (ASR) and the APR. The federal government also monitors graduation rates, but counts anyone who might have transferred (and possibly earned a degree elsewhere) as having not graduated from their original institution.
The GSR allows schools to subtract student-athletes who leave as long as they would have been academically eligible to compete had they remained.
Last year Alabama football came in at 75 percent, which was third best in the league and up six points from the previous year. If the team’s APR scores are an accurate indication the Crimson Tide will be on solid academic footing for years to come.
Specially, the APR measures how well student-athletes are on pace to graduate on time using a scale of 1,000. A 950 score is pretty much considered average while anything under 930 can lead to penalties.
In May, Alabama’s latest released score, which was for 2012-13 and the three previous academic years, was 975. Missouri and South Carolina were the only SEC schools to score better, both at 980.
Overall, every Crimson Tide program beat the national average, with 14 teams at 980 or better. Three were recognized as being in the top-10 percent: men’s golf, women’s tennis and women’s golf – all of which have recently won a national title.
Eight Crimson Tide teams ranked among the top three in their respective sports in the SEC. Baseball, men’s and women’s golf, soccer and women’s tennis were all first, gymnastics was second while men’s outdoor track and field joined football in third.
“We also saw 16 of our teams equal or improve their four-year averages from a year ago,” Associate Athletic Director for Student Services Jon Dever said. “All told, nine of our teams bettered the national average for their sport by 10 points or more, and five, football, men’s basketball, men’s and women’s golf and women’s tennis, bettered the national average by 15 points or more.”
As for this year’s football team, even though the Crimson Tide only has 14 scholarship seniors on the roster it has 15 players who have already earned their degrees.
That’s tied with Boston College for the most in the Bowl Subdivision, while Cincinnati, Minnesota and Utah State all have 13 this season. Second among SEC teams is South Carolina with nine.
Over the past seven years Alabama players who are still active on the football roster have earned 117 degrees, graduate and undergraduate.
“My undergrad was business management and my master’s degree is in sports management,” senior safety Nick Perry said.
He’s one of seven active Crimson Tide players, five scholarship and two walk-ons, finishing up their master’s degrees this fall including guard Arie Kouandjio (economics), who was nominated for the William V. Campbell Trophy.
The award, which Alabama’s Barrett Jones won in 2012, recognizes an individual as the absolute best scholar-athlete in the nation. Just to be a candidate a player must be a senior or graduate student in his final year of eligibility, have a grade point average of at least 3.2, and, according to the National Football Foundation website, have “outstanding football ability as a first team player and have demonstrated strong leadership and citizenship.”
Tackle Austin Shepherd (marketing) and tight end Brian Vogler (sports management), are due to receive their master’s degrees next month as well.
“Just working on that, finishing up school, and getting that second degree down,” said senior fullback Jalston Fowler, who is poised to earn the same master’s degree as Perry. “Pretty hard, but I’ve got people helping me. That public speaking just gets me every time.”
 

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