News Article: 2015 RB Xavian Marks Joins the Football Team

Would be excited to see a true speedster on the offense if he's used the right way. Personally I doubt he'll see the field much if any this year, but if he can put on 15-20 lbs of muscle under Cochran, he could be a great specialist for the future.

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Whether he sees the field this year probably has little to do with his "weight" IMO. That may be true if he only plays running back, but when I watched his film I saw a guy that is going to be good in the open field and IF HE HAS GOOD BALL SECURITY he could play this year on special teams returning kicks/punts.

Christian Jones was a solid player for the Tide and I'll always be grateful when he came into the game against LSU in the BCSNCG and fielded kicks as a freshman but he was rarely a difference maker.

Hopefully we find the guy who can remind us of Palmer, Prothro, and Arenas!

derek4tide said:

Mark Ingram was 5'9" 200 as a FR and David Palmer was 5' 8" and 165 as a FR. I don't see that his size is an issue.

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Mark was listed at 5' 10" and 215 lbs as a FR. Palmer was not a RB. It is just unusual to see a Saban RB at 5' 8" and 155 lbs. I think eventually he can be a good KR or a speed sweep in motion flanker guy but don't ever see him getting meaningful touches in the traditional RB role at Bama IMO.

TiderJ said:

Mark was listed at 5' 10" and 215 lbs as a FR. Palmer was not a RB. It is just unusual to see a Saban RB at 5' 8" and 155 lbs. I think eventually he can be a good KR or a speed sweep in motion flanker guy but don't ever see him getting meaningful touches in the traditional RB role at Bama IMO.

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Well I guess it depends on which site you choose to look at. Rivals had him listed at 5'10 195 but maybe he gained weight before getting to campus. He was around 215-220 when he weighed in at the combine as a senior. I agree with you Mr. Marks won't play the traditional RB role but we don't know what was asked of him either when he decided to commit.
https://rivals.yahoo.com/alabama/football/recruiting/player-Mark-Ingram-62203

Tiderollin32 said:

Well I guess it depends on which site you choose to look at. Rivals had him listed at 5'10 195 but maybe he gained weight before getting to campus. He was around 215-220 when he weighed in at the combine as a senior. I agree with you Mr. Marks won't play the traditional RB role but we don't know what was asked of him either when he decided to commit.
https://rivals.yahoo.com/alabama/football/recruiting/player-Mark-Ingram-62203

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Here is the 2008 UA roster, Mark's freshman year, supplied by ESPN and he is listed at 5'10" and 215 lbs. It will be interesting to see how Xavian is used.

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/wire?id=3771365

Maybe don't give him the ball up the middle with 4th-and-1 against AU.

I haven't had a good look at him but he looks heavier than Palmer when he arrived.

I think this guys scholly was the one vacated by DeSherrius Flowers. It's not like there are great running backs laying around that nobody bothered to offer scholarships for. The staff went out and found somebody who could fill a roll, perhaps a potential return man. We all have seen how valuable a great return man can be. Perhaps in time he can become more than that. There have been many remarkable small players in college and the NFL but they are rarely highly ranked players out of high school.

bamaslammer said:

I think this guys scholly was the one vacated by DeSherrius Flowers. It's not like there are great running backs laying around that nobody bothered to offer scholarships for. The staff went out and found somebody who could fill a roll, perhaps a potential return man. We all have seen how valuable a great return man can be. Perhaps in time he can become more than that. There have been many remarkable small players in college and the NFL but they are rarely highly ranked players out of high school.

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I don`t think Javy was, if memory serves (?).

Tideflyer said:

I don`t think Javy was, if memory serves (?).

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I think the Javy comparisons are probably the best. He was a 2 star when Shula offered him, completely flying under the radar and was going to go to one of the smaller Florida schools if I recall correctly. Xavian Marks offer list is similar, but I will point out he did have an offer from Miss. State. He's a legitimate football player, not just some scrub no one wanted.

Having said that, the real question here is probably if he has the capacity to do what Javy did, and that might be wishful thinking. We know for sure that he was brought in to provide much needed depth. We had it happen a few years back, with injuries, but the attrition has been pretty bad and the season hasn't started yet.

Tenpenny transferred, Jones was dismissed, Scarbrough got hurt. The team seemed to have weathered that, they put in someone else at RB and the plan seemed to change on Drake, from more receiving to an exclusive RB role. Then Flowers was declared ineligible, and a nightmare scenario of a couple injuries and a walk-on starting or something presented itself.

The ideal situation would be if he somehow contributed right away on special teams. Go ahead and get his eligibility clock started (extremely unlikely he ever starts at Alabama), and for his build, that seems to be the most likely area he contributes. Thing is, we know Javy was a special return man when he arrived, with Marks, I saw video of him returning a punt and kickoff for a TD, but it was hardly enough to declare him the next Javy or David Palmer.

He ain't huge, but he faster'n greased lightning.
Holy smokes.

TiderJ said:

Mark was listed at 5' 10" and 215 lbs as a FR. Palmer was not a RB. It is just unusual to see a Saban RB at 5' 8" and 155 lbs. I think eventually he can be a good KR or a speed sweep in motion flanker guy but don't ever see him getting meaningful touches in the traditional RB role at Bama IMO.

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I read that as "It is just unusual to see Saban as a RB at 5'8" and 155 lbs" and I thought... that sounds about right...

Apology for asking again: What is the situation with Demetrice Vaughan - the running back from near Mobile. Read he was accepted academically in published media, then soon after that he was not staying, but that was a twitter feed post. He was on the AL- MS All Star team. Close to 190 lbs, I think.

Any solid info to be shared? Thanks in advance.

He's supposedly up to 167 now. Still light but more than 155 . We can rest assured Coach Saban has a definite role(s) in mind for him.

To blindside: maybe Trindon Holliday from LSU

Javy, one of my top 5 favorite Bama players, was not fast, he was caught from behind several times, but he was strong as an ox, had a knack for making the first man miss, was fearless and had great instincts. Marks has much more speed but does not appear to be nearly as strong.

Palmer also was not fast but was very strong with incredible athleticism and the ability to start and stop on a dime.

When you sign, as a running back, with Alabama, weighing 155 pounds, let me tell you something.
You are faster than than the speed of light! And quicker than a hiccup!
You do NOT have to be BIG to be outstanding at football.
Google Darren Sproles and get back to me later.
sip

Alasippi said:

When you sign, as a running back, with Alabama, weighing 155 pounds, let me tell you something.
You are faster than than the speed of light! And quicker than a hiccup!
You do NOT have to be BIG to be outstanding at football.
Google Darren Sproles and get back to me later.
sip

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Yep. This young man is fast. I am certain that Coach Saban has a role in mind for him. I'm looking forward to seeing him on the field.

As the old saying goes, its not the size of dog in the fight, its the size of fight in the dog. Apparently, the staff saw something they liked. RTR.

Probably good if we plan on getting him the ball in space, otherwise this move totally befuddles me.

Tidewater said:

Yep. This young man is fast. I am certain that Coach Saban has a role in mind for him. I'm looking forward to seeing him on the field.

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Maybe a Trindon Holliday type kick returner?