2016 Week 1 Thread (Practice Reports, Press Conferences, Interviews, etc.)

CrimsonForce

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Dec 20, 2012
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Hurts is in the OR though...my guess is that he plays as a package guy on occasion.
Guess anything is possible but Saban said the 2 that would play vs USC would be Bateman and Barnett. We've also never played another QB in a special package..
 

gtgilbert

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Aug 12, 2011
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Why burn a RS as a package guy?
maybe we don't think we'll have him for 5 years regardless so we might as well go ahead and get him some live game experience. We've burned redshirts on guys to just play special teams in the past so they could get used to the speed of the game and playing on the big stage, so a special package for a QB wouldn't be any different. We're just not going to have a QB taking special teams reps unless it's as a holder so they don't get the other opportunities.
 

B1GTide

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Apr 13, 2012
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maybe we don't think we'll have him for 5 years regardless so we might as well go ahead and get him some live game experience. We've burned redshirts on guys to just play special teams in the past so they could get used to the speed of the game and playing on the big stage, so a special package for a QB wouldn't be any different. We're just not going to have a QB taking special teams reps unless it's as a holder so they don't get the other opportunities.
Tim Tebow essentially won the championship for Florida as a package player his freshman year.
 

Mystical

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Sep 28, 2009
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Saban speaking...

We're excited for game week. I know our players are excited, as well, to play a great program like Southern California.
This is always a bowl-like atmosphere when you play in these neutral-site games.
Opening game successes come more from an internal scoreboard. What are we doing to play winning football?
On the team's 2016 identity: "There's no identity at all, regardless of what's been said, written. It means nothing."
Southern Cal is a very very good offensive team.
Juju Smith is as good of a wide receiver as we are going to play all year.
All the (talk) is that they're much improved on defense.
From a quarterback standpoint, we're sort of down to 2 guys. Cooper Bateman and Blake Barnett are the 2 guys to play in this game.
We make this decision with what's going to give us the chance this game as well as the future
On running backs: We've always played two guys here, and I think the guys we will play are Bo Scarbrough and Damien Harris.
On OL: We're going to play Bradley Bozeman at center and Ross Pierschbacher at RG.
Saban: Cooper has a great knowledge of the offense. Manages things well when he's out there. He's improved his passing ability.
On Jalen Hurts: "Jalen's got a tremendous future. I think he's got great ability."
Jalen Hurts has tremendous ability. We're not giving up on that ability. I hope he can be a productive player for us this year
Trevon Diggs is a very talented guy. He's a guy who can make plays as a WR. We're deeper at WR = more difficult to get PT there.
On Blake Barnett: I think that in Blake's case, he's been here a little longer. He has a little better knowledge of the offense
More on Barnett: Blake has really been an effective passer for us
On not picking a QB: "I can't tell you how they are going to play in a game, especially the guys who haven't played in a game."

Any link yet?
 

bamacpa

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I just gotta believe Hurts will make a meaningful contribution this year, if not in the first game.
 

gtgilbert

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Monday, August 29 practice reports

BOL

Al.com
Number changes like this are typically good indicators of who will be playing a role on special teams. i.e. Emmons will be on the field at some point the same time as Hootie and Marks the same time as Anderson.
 

CrimsonForce

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Dec 20, 2012
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I keep hearing he has three-year talent. In that case, a RS year is just a waste...
I agree with your logic but there is precedent for a RS with CNS. CNS used the RS on Jamarcus Russell at LSU and he went on to be the #1 pick in the draft..
 

KrAzY3

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I keep hearing he has three-year talent. In that case, a RS year is just a waste...
Well, we heard that about Chris Black to.

I think a lot of it will come down to how the other QBs look. If none of them really assert themselves, the odds of Hurts redshirting has to go down.
 
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gtgilbert

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Well, we heard that about Chris Black to.

I think a lot of it will come down to how the other QBs look. If none of them really assert themselves, the odds of Hurts redshirting has to go down.
Injuries set black back. He was ahead of coop before the injury.
 

KrAzY3

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Injuries set black back. He was ahead of coop before the injury.
In practice

I think the comparison is really interesting though, because if you do pretend that Hurts/Barnett compares to Black/Cooper (if only we could be so lucky), then who is who? In terms of Black, injuries did set him back but by Cooper's 5th game he eclipsed what Black did in three years (not counting 2012 where he didn't play) at Alabama. Does that say anything bad about Black? Not really, but Black is on his 5th year in college and at this point he's fallen off the radar of scouts and would need a good season to make get drafted at all. Injuries aside (none of which to my knowledge have permanently impaired him) that's a long way from 3 and done.

That gets back to looking good in practice vs. on field performance. The main reason Cooper even played (meaningful minutes at least) that year was because of injuries. I think this says something about some player's ability to step up when it matters most. Clearly, if Cooper looked like, well... Cooper, in practice, not only would Black not have been ahead of him, but he's have been the primary target from the first game on.

That brings us back to Barnett and Hurts (not trying to leave out Bateman but he's not a freshman). On one hand, we could argue that Barnett is Cooper in this scenario. Perhaps Hurts looks better in practice but when it comes down to it, Barnett might be the early round NFL draft talent and we could see that on the field. On the other hand, Hurts could play that role, he might start slow, he might not have won the starting job in practice, but once he gets a shot he could become dominant.

That's all speculation. We just don't know. Both could be Cooper, both could be Black, they could fall somewhere in between.
 

RTR91

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Nov 23, 2007
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Saban on SEC teleconference: "I think our players and coaches are excited about the challenges in this game (vs. USC)."
Saban on Calvin Ridley returning punts: "He's explosive as a returner. We're excited to see how he does in that role."
Saban said he enjoyed being in the press box as an assistant coach working under Bill Belichick, but sees advantage of being on the field.
Saban on dependability of this year's team: We have a lot of guys that are very dependable ... but we probably don't have enough right now.
Saban said the time between fall camp and the first game is "very adequate." Alabama will practice more for USC than its next seven foes.
Saban on QB situation: We are looking for consistency and the guy that does that the best will give us the best chance to win
Saban on Cam Robinson, Hootie Jones: "Those guys have done extremely well. They've done everything that's been required of them."
Saban on Juju Smith-Schuster: "He's a fabulous player. Not only does he play well as a receiver, he's physical...he blocks."
Saban on USC WR JuJu Smith-Schuster "He's kind of a Dez Bryant-type of receiver and he's certainly going to be a challenge for us."
 
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