AJ McCarron's Future at the Capstone

[AlexanderFan]

CNS has been quoted as saying he wants an "explosive" passing attack, and that he wants to throw it down-field more. He's made these remarks more than once. That's not really compatible with the old "grind it out" philosophy. Despite this year's results, he's not really happy with the offense as it was at the end of the year...

One day Earle they wil listen. If CNS wasn't interested in improving the QB play he would just stroll down to TCHS and give a scholly to the QB so he could hand off. CNS wants to utilize every part of the field, especially the deep vertical passing game.

For the old school crowd who wants to throw 8-10 times a game look no further than Georgia Tech. They destroy weaker opponents and struggle against teams with similar talent and solid technique. The game has changed with these jumbo athletes like RM who weigh 250lbs and can fly around the field. You must make defenses respect every facet of your offense to dominate.

Finally, JMac has gotten the most out of both QBs he has coached here at UA. There is no denying AJ's potential > GMac's current level of play. I honestly don't think there's much room for improvement in his game. If AJ continues his quantum leaps in adjusting to the game speed (keep in mind he runs against one of the fastest defenses in the country day in, day out) it will be nearly impossible to keep him off the field.
Posted via Mobile Device

 

[THE BAMA IRISHMAN]

Bright!!

 

[Fury]

I totally understand what you are saying but we are looking at different services.
I follow Rivals and they don't process players that way. If you look at their top 100, the 5 and four star drop off is different from year to year.

How does it make sense any other way? "Yeah he was a five star but it was from year so and so. He was more like a four star from this years recruits and a three from two years ago.

I guess that's why I follow Rivals

Rival's rank cutoff for 5-stars is a tenatively around "30." It gives a couple extra or takes a couple extra from year-to-year, but that is their base number.

'09 it was 33
'08 it was 30
'07 it was 29
'06 it was 28
'05 it was 28

 

[GMacFan]

A. J. McCarron and the Running Backs

My friend Mike Roote brought this very question up a couple of days ago. As the down marker guy, Mike stood very close to A. J. McCarron a few years ago on the sideline when St. Paul's Episcopal of Mobile participated in a jamboree at Ivan Jones Stadium in Foley.

Mike said that McCarron couldn't have weighed over 165 pounds at that time (his junior year). St. Paul's went on to win the 4A state championship that year with McCarron at quarterback. Mike says, "Whatever they tell you (about McCarron), subtract about fifteen pounds and you've got his weight."

I am one of those who thinks McCarron has a bright future. And, I think he will weigh maybe 220 before he hangs up his pads for the last time.

But I will tell you this. It was Woody Hayes, who said, "There are three things that can happen when you pass the ball, and two of them are bad." Hayes was the coach who was known for his "three yards and a cloud of dust" runniing attack at Ohio State.

Well, if you stand back and look at Bear Bryant's career at Bama, even though he had the likes of Joe Namath and Kenny Stabler at quarterback, the Bear's Alabama teams ran the ball. Even Namath and Stabler ran the ball -- and they have the knees to prove it. Those Alabama teams that won big ran the ball. Namath or Stabler either one was lucky to ever throw the ball fifteen times in a game at Alabama. Then, as the sixties closed, Bear went to the Wishbone, declaring that he would never have another quarterback who couldn't run the ball. That meant they wouldn't throw much, and they didn't.

Mike brought this point up, that if you want to win championships, run the ball, keep it on the ground. That's what Alabama did this year for the most part, and Alabama won a national championship doing it. Looking at what Bama has coming back next year, we have TWO runners who might have a shot at the Heisman. For that matter, we also have a wide receiver who is in that league, but, as Mike points out, McElroy was a "game manager" this year. That means that usually he wasn't counted on for his passing.

I love the great quarterbacks that have come down the pike at Alabama. But when Alabama has won a national championship, the quarterbacks might as well have been window dressing. It may be that way when McCarron takes over.

Joe Namath has told this story, that Coach Bryant once told him before the Orange Bowl -- (I take it he was talking about the 1965 game, not the 1963 game) -- "Joe, you better get ready to pass the ball. We may throw it TWENTY times this game." Joe grins when he tells that, because he once passed for 400 yards in one game for the New York Jets. There were games when Joe Namath didn't pass thirty times for the Jets.

Nick Saban seems to be built in the mold of Hayes and Bryant. You want to win a championship? Even multiple championships? Keep the ball on the ground. Run those big backs over that defense until the fourth quarter, and you will exhaust that defense. It works every time, if you have the backs and the line to do it.

For that matter, Namath completed 17 of 28 passes in Super Bowl three, but did not pass the ball in the fourth quarter and did not complete a TD pass the whole game. Joe spent much of the night salting away the 16-7 Jets victory over Baltimore by handing the ball off to big Matt Snell, the running back who had played for Woody Hayes at Ohio State.

The rushing game is and always will be the heart and soul of the Alabama offense, I don't think anyone doubts that. But in order for our tried and true running game to survive in the modern era our passing game has to evolve. If we face a truly great defense that is able to shut our passing game down they will be confident loading the LOS.

The Auburn game is the best example of the danger of not having a viable passing threat. Auburn limited our running game pretty badly the first quarter by crowding the line, and despite our superior blocking and backfield it wasn't enough to overcome an entourage of Tigers at the LOS. Then we began passing more, and, lo and behold, Trent flourished. Bottom line there is a direct corelation between the success of the running and passing games. In this era you cannot be successful in one without the other, you can't be one-dimensional and win the big ones. If you look back on our best victories from the previous year, balanced yardage as opposed to yardage that favors pass or run, almost always results in more points even when the yardage totals are close.

Our passing game has to be more than just an afterthought; it must be potent so that it forces the other team to respect it. Texas didn't and shouldn't have respected our passing game, because it was their niche and their DB's were handling man-to-man with ease. Of course they weren't nearly physical enough to halt the downhill slashing of the two best backs in college football, but that won't be the case every time. We're going to face teams that have lock-down secondaries and a line capable of stopping the run sometime in the future, and a semi-developed passing game won't be enough. A truly threatening passing game, which I'm confident Saban and co. will build, will do wonders for our running game.

 

[chris]

when st.pauls won the state in '07 a.j. had barron & matchett to hand it to and destin hood to throw to. he did quite well! if he stays healthy he WILL be the next AA QB from 'BAMA! :biga:

 

[4Q Basket Case]

I'm laughing because we, the fans, do this EVERY YEAR.

Seriously...

AJ, Star, Sims, or whoever else Saban and Co. decide to put under center will be the right person for their role. And I agree with AllStar Willis here; you can't just give the leadership keys to someone and say, "Ok. Your turn." That person has to be ready and people have to TRUST said person. That's why we have a great coach. He knows when the guys are ready. And if they aren't and leadership is going to be thrust upon them, they will be prepared by the coaching staff.

Let us remember Rolando McClain didn't necessarily want to be the vocal leader of the defense; it was thrust upon him. The team trusted him and he FLOURISHED in the role.

The team trusts Greg's leadership. The other guys will have to earn the trust and prove they are ready to lead. Until that time, this is Greg's job. Aj or whoever they decide on will be great in time.

Hope I didn't hijack this thread.

Roll Tide!!
ChattTide

You didn't hijack it...you're absolutely right.

I think GMac is the most valuable (as in, not the best, but rather the most irreplaceable) player on the team.

Yet and still, I guarantee you this: When GMac is no longer the starter, whether that's because he exhausted his eligibility, got hurt, or got beat out, there'll be a dozen threads talking about how great he was.

There was never a truer joke: How many Alabama fans does it take to change a light bulb? Five. One to change the bulb, and four to stand around and talk about how great the old one was.

 

[VegasTide]

There was never a truer joke: How many Alabama fans does it take to change a light bulb? Five. One to change the bulb, and four to stand around and talk about how great the old one was.

Good stuff :biggrin:. The truth is that none of us will know until it actually happens. Maybe AJ is a star now, but Sims comes in and proves to be the star?? Either way, we're in good shape...

 

[crimsonbleeder]

CNS has been quoted as saying he wants an "explosive" passing attack, and that he wants to throw it down-field more. He's made these remarks more than once. That's not really compatible with the old "grind it out" philosophy. Despite this year's results, he's not really happy with the offense as it was at the end of the year...

Right on Earle! And the key is Saban doesn't want a potent, explosive passing game just for the sake of having one or forcing it...he wants it to be a viable, dangerous option WHEN THE GAME IS APPROPRIATE...

Heck, we all better know that having both options as feared and respected ways of gaining yardage is much better than having just one...

 

[TommyMac]

Coach Saban will always place a lot of emphasis on a power running game because he wants to make a defense pay a physical price that will pay huge dividends later in the game. I don't know what kind of pass/run ratio he is looking for, but I suspect that what he's mainly looking for is for us to be able to pass when we want to, rather than when we have to. Both McCarron and Sims should be extremely dangerous going downfield out of play action. you can be sure that he's not recruiting guys like them to just dick and dunk.

 

[Honden]

You're over thinking it, Alabama is a national championship level program now, even if a QB starts one year he can easily launch an NFL career assuming he has the skills. As long as AJ and Sims are not in the same class they will both get their chance.

However recruiting never ends, only the best will rise to the top. If you wanted the easy road you don't play for Nick Saban.

And if it is a chance to play for a BCS title, then you WANT to play for Nick Saban.

 

[CrimsonEyeshade]

Coach Saban will always place a lot of emphasis on a power running game because he wants to make a defense pay a physical price that will pay huge dividends later in the game. I don't know what kind of pass/run ratio he is looking for, but I suspect that what he's mainly looking for is for us to be able to pass when we want to, rather than when we have to. Both McCarron and Sims should be extremely dangerous going downfield out of play action. you can be sure that he's not recruiting guys like them to just dick and dunk.

If we're looking for an offensive prototype, we should look no farther than the Florida game.

We did not pass to set up the run, or run to set up the pass. We attacked with both. We put Florida on its heels from the opening throw to Julio to Greg taking a final knee. Almost 290 yards in the air, more than 200 on the ground.

For some reason, perhaps because we were so primed to play the Gators, our receivers created space and Greg found them with all sorts of throws. Mark and Trent did the rest. If I were A.J. or Phillip watching that game, I would have felt really pleased with my decision to come to Alabama.

On another thread, Markeith Ambles criticizes our boring offense. Kid must have been at the mall that day. Or he's mouthy -- and blind.

 

[CapstoneTider]

Rival's rank cutoff for 5-stars is a tenatively around "30." It gives a couple extra or takes a couple extra from year-to-year, but that is their base number.

'09 it was 33
'08 it was 30
'07 it was 29
'06 it was 28
'05 it was 28

From reading this, it appears it's a little bit of both as proved by the discrepancy in five stars year to year. When did the four stars drop off?
I would rather it not be be based off of just one class due to the fact that it a five star represents a player that can come in in start as a freshman, he is not just competing against his particular class. Maybe you see it differently.

Bottom line. A great coach can coach what they consider a three star to a four star.

Rivals.com has assembled the top team of recruiting analysts in the nation with both national and regional experts based all throughout the country. With those strengths, players at a number of different positions will be ranked once a month from June until February.


The rankings are compiled after countless hours of film evaluation, personal observations and input from professional, college and high school coaches.


In the finished product, players are ranked a number of different ways but the most important ways are numerically by position, qualitatively by stars and a new ranking system that grades players on the expected impact they will make in college.


Players are ranked numerically on a national level at their positions. The numerical ranking at each position varies depending on the depth of the talent at the position.


Players are also ranked on their quality with a star ranking. A five-star prospect is considered to be one of the nation's top 25-30 players, four star is a top 250-300 or so player, three-stars is a top 750 level player, two stars means the player is a mid-major prospect and one star means the player is not ranked.


The ranking system ranks prospects on a numerical scale from 6.1-4.9.

• 
  [*]6.1 Franchise Player; considered one of the elite prospects in the country, generally among the nation's top 25 players overall; deemed to have excellent pro potential; high-major prospect
  [*]6.0-5.8 All-American Candidate; high-major prospect; considered one of the nation's top 300 prospects; deemed to have pro potential and ability to make an impact on college team
  [*]5.7-5.5 All-Region Selection; considered among the region's top prospects and among the top 750 or so prospects in the country; high-to-mid-major prospect; deemed to have pro potential and ability to make an impact on college team
  [*]5.4-5.0 Division I prospect; considered a mid-major prospect; deemed to have limited pro potential but definite Division I prospect; may be more of a role player
  [*]4.9 Sleeper; no Rivals.com expert knew much, if anything, about this player; a prospect that only a college coach really knew about

 

[TommyMac]

If we're looking for an offensive prototype, we should look no farther than the Florida game.

We did not pass to set up the run, or run to set up the pass. We attacked with both. We put Florida on its heels from the opening throw to Julio to Greg taking a final knee. Almost 290 yards in the air, more than 200 on the ground.

For some reason, perhaps because we were so primed to play the Gators, our receivers created space and Greg found them with all sorts of throws. Mark and Trent did the rest. If I were A.J. or Phillip watching that game, I would have felt really pleased with my decision to come to Alabama.

On another thread, Markeith Ambles criticizes our boring offense. Kid must have been at the mall that day. Or he's mouthy -- and blind.

Probably another TO in the making. I don't think any of our kids were bored looked bored, especially after our last two games in Atlanta and Pasadena. :biga:

 

[uafootball92]

I'm not sure where AJ is actually classified (RS freshman, Sophomore, RS Sophomore) next year, but it seems, if he hasn't been redshirted yet, which I don't think he has, if we redshirt Philip Sims, there would be two years in between the two. After GM is done next year, AJ would start for two years or so, and Sims would be two years as well. Seems like a perfect rotation to me.

 

[BAMARICH]

Based on where this thread's gone, the most important thing I notice is that CNS is GOING to make sure our passing game improves... regardless of who happens to be taking the snaps. Whether it's GM, AJM, PS, or anyone else, I would bet on the side of it happening.

FWIW right now, I'd say AJM looks to have a great shot to do big things here. However, a LOT of intangibles have to occur for that to happen.

 

[Mystical]

I'm not sure where AJ is actually classified (RS freshman, Sophomore, RS Sophomore) next year, but it seems, if he hasn't been redshirted yet, which I don't think he has, if we redshirt Philip Sims, there would be two years in between the two. After GM is done next year, AJ would start for two years or so, and Sims would be two years as well. Seems like a perfect rotation to me.

AJ did get a red-shirt this year and will be a red-shirt freshman next year. Funny I keep hearing that AJ was moved up to the number 2 QB but Star was told he was the number 2 QB. I believe AJ has all the tools to be a great QB in the SEC. The only way GMAC does not start next year and for sure he will start the first game is if he get injured or plays his self out of a job during the season. I believe that Sims will run the scout team next year and end up with a red-shirt. Now he (Sims) may play his way off the scout team much like A.J. did but I believe that is where he will start. There will be a lot of pressure exerted toward moving A.J. up since he is an in state kid and will have the backing of the Mobile media for sure. I am pretty sure the rumor that he was moved up to the number 2 QB was started by a sportscaster in the Mobile market. Either way I trust the process and believe that no matter who the offensive coordinator is in the future, as long as Coach Saban is in charge, the guy that gives us the best chance to win will play. This is regardless of what the fans or the media may or may not want. Saying all that I think McCarron's future is bright at the Capstone.

 

[MegaVars]

Nick Saban, dating back to his days at Michigan State and LSU, has always favored physical, athletic passing quarterbacks. Not necessarily a run-first quarterback, but a guy with a ton of athleticism who can beat you on the ground if necessary. I think that's why you've seen us sign guys like Star Jackson, Philip Simms and even Nick Fanuzzi under this regime.

From what I heard, initially CNS wasn't too high on Greg McElroy. He liked Star Jackson's physical upside better, and Jim McElwain talked him into giving Greg a shot. Obviously it worked out pretty well this year, but guys like McElroy and McCarron are not the prototypical "Saban" quarterback.

That being said, I've heard that McCarron might be the best pure passer we've seen in Tuscaloosa in some time, from both an arm strength and accuracy standpoint. It's hard to see not giving a guy like that a shot. But after this season I'll be willing to bet Simms gets as much consideration as possible, since he seems to be the more athletic of the two. Whenever possible CNS seems to want to put the best physical specimen on the field. It will be a very interesting battle. Either way I like our potential production at the QB spot for the next few seasons.

Whatever happened to Fanuzzi? Haven`t heard much about him since his transfer. I can`t remember where he went.

 

[TIDE-HSV]

AJ did get a red-shirt this year and will be a red-shirt freshman next year. Funny I keep hearing that AJ was moved up to the number 2 QB but Star was told he was the number 2 QB. I believe AJ has all the tools to be a great QB in the SEC. The only way GMAC does not start next year and for sure he will start the first game is if he get injured or plays his self out of a job during the season. I believe that Sims will run the scout team next year and end up with a red-shirt. Now he (Sims) may play his way off the scout team much like A.J. did but I believe that is where he will start. There will be a lot of pressure exerted toward moving A.J. up since he is an in state kid and will have the backing of the Mobile media for sure. I am pretty sure the rumor that he was moved up to the number 2 QB was started by a sportscaster in the Mobile market. Either way I trust the process and believe that no matter who the offensive coordinator is in the future, as long as Coach Saban is in charge, the guy that gives us the best chance to win will play. This is regardless of what the fans or the media may or may not want. Saying all that I think McCarron's future is bright at the Capstone.

That was no sportscaster rumor. Saban himself said that AJ was #2. You can always recognize who the #2 is. He's the one of the sideline with the headphones and clipboard, sending in the plays. The latter half of the season, that was AJ...

 

[Airborne Tider]

Whatever happened to Fanuzzi? Haven`t heard much about him since his transfer. I can`t remember where he went.

Fanuzzi transferred to Rice. He has done pretty well there.

 

[Ole Man Dan]

AJ did get a red-shirt this year and will be a red-shirt freshman next year. Funny I keep hearing that AJ was moved up to the number 2 QB but Star was told he was the number 2 QB. I believe AJ has all the tools to be a great QB in the SEC. The only way GMAC does not start next year and for sure he will start the first game is if he get injured or plays his self out of a job during the season. I believe that Sims will run the scout team next year and end up with a red-shirt. Now he (Sims) may play his way off the scout team much like A.J. did but I believe that is where he will start. There will be a lot of pressure exerted toward moving A.J. up since he is an in state kid and will have the backing of the Mobile media for sure. I am pretty sure the rumor that he was moved up to the number 2 QB was started by a sportscaster in the Mobile market. Either way I trust the process and believe that no matter who the offensive coordinator is in the future, as long as Coach Saban is in charge, the guy that gives us the best chance to win will play. This is regardless of what the fans or the media may or may not want. Saying all that I think McCarron's future is bright at the Capstone.

We all saw in the last couple of games that AJ. was wearing the head phones.
That makes him #2.
Star began the season #2, but he either slipped or was surpassed by AJ sometime around the Auburn game, or after...
(Lets not speculate how or why AJ was moved ahead of Star... It happened.)
AJ would have taken off his 'Red Shirt' if Greg had gone down.
Sims will likely be 'Red Shirted', but work his way up to #3 next year. Star could have something to say about that. There is still a rumor that Star may transfer, that could change the equation. I hope Star stays and competes.
:BigA: