Turning Page, Spring Practice

[bamaslammer]

Ok, How exactly can you have a spring game with one scholarship tailback (Johns). My understainding is Darby and Casteel are probably not going to be available, so are they going to run walkon's or are they going to just chunk the game and have a controlled scrimmage.

Are they going to concentrate on passing with no running backs available and a rusty Croyal and an inexperienced JPW.

 

[uafan4life]

Well, you've also got Theo Towndsend, who according to reports was ahead of Johns at the end of the season but for the redshirt.

 

[37bamagrl]

somebody tell me about theo townsend....

 

[rtrcam]

somebody tell me about theo townsend....

He is a freshman RB who wears #29. He is listed at 5-9, 175 lbs. As has been mentioned, the coaches were impressed with him to the point that he almost saw playing time in the Music City Bowl. But, since he would have lost his redshirt year, they decided not to play him. He'll most likely get a lot of work in spring practice, and depending how the incoming freshmen qualify, he may be in the thick of things in the fall.

 

[37bamagrl]

Ok well if Coach Shula is liking this kid (and it just wasn't a reflection on how DESPERATE we were at RB at the end of the season)...if he is going to get some playing time...and we have a healthy Darby, Castille, and have Aaron Johns & Townsend. Do we see the true freshmen?

somebody told me the other day on here that Aaron Johns is the only tailback we signed last year ??

 

[IBCandW]

Johns was the only RB signed in 2004...but

Bama had walk-ons and transfers like Vic Horn, Brandon McAway, Theo
Townsend, Mookie Chaney, and Rashad Johnson. Vic broke his leg last
year and is still coming back from that. McAway had some injury probs
but should be ok for Spring ball. I look forward to seeing Townsend as well.
Should be an interesting Spring for Bama in establishing more depth.

 

[37bamagrl]

so was he a walkon or a transfer? and if a transfer, from where?

 

[JessN]

Here's the entire tailback depth chart heading into spring practice:

1) Kenneth Darby -- Will be available in a limited capacity, at least. Everyone knows about his abilities.

2) Tim Castille -- Probably won't be available for spring. Trying to keep his weight down at the moment so he can stay at TB, but it's going to hinge on whether his speed was affected by his injury. For some, it is, for others, it's not.

3) Aaron Johns -- The only 100% healthy scholarshipped tailback going into the spring. Needs conditioning work if he's going to play in the fall in this offense.

4) Theo Townsend -- The coaches actually started to send him in during the Auburn game but pulled him back at the last second, literally. Almost played in the bowl game, too. He's a little guy, a walk-on from Brentwood Academy in Nashville. In the fall, he had worked himself onto a couple of the kick coverage units and I thought he was going to play, but apparently something changed. He is very tough, and will take it inside more than Johns will. In my opinion, the only difference in the two of them is the scholarship. He'll probably play on special teams this year, if nothing else.

5) Brandon McAway -- Played RB in high school, moved to WR his first year here, redshirted, and came out of spring last year right behind Castille and Darby, but Johns and Townsend went by him in the fall. Then, he got hurt. He's another little guy, decent speed, but isn't an inside runner. He may get moved to another position, because RB is going to get crowded.

6) Victor Horn -- He was on scholarship at Auburn as a LB/SS. Played RB in high school. Transferred here last year, then broke his leg badly leading up to the opener and may not be ready for the fall. He's 6'2", about 230 right now with decent speed. If I knew he was 100% healthy heading into spring, I'd say he stood a good chance to crack the depth chart at RB or FB. We'll see. This will be his last year.

7) Damien Jones -- Moved from WR to SS to DE last year, then moved to RB/FB before the bowl game. I think he'll land at FB this year before it's all said and done. He's 6'2", 240 right now with good speed; the question is whether he clicks as a running back.

8) Mookie Chaney -- RS freshman walk-on, good size, no idea on speed. We'll see how he does in the spring.

9) Rashad Johnson -- Ditto.

 

[ihatefulmer]

And who said we didn't have any TB's

 

[IBCandW]

Good rundown JessN!!
I did not know that Damien had been moved to FB. I just hope our coaching
staff can find some way to get him on the field in 2005.

 

[rolltideas]

JessN

Did you give that list to Clemson?

 

[TIDE-HSV]

My thought exactly...

going to be a lot of "I told you so's to J. Davis."

 

[37bamagrl]

wow! we do have rbs....i've never heard of some of those guys, and i usually know most on the team....never heard of victor horn, would of thought i would of heard about someone transferring from Awbarn. maybe i just don't remember.
of numbers 5-9, i've heard of Damien Jones....and maybe McAway.

and since i haven't heard much about them is it fair to think there is a good shot of these true freshman jumping them in the depth chart? except for maybe horn...

 

[Bama Lee]

wow! we do have rbs....i've never heard of some of those guys, and i usually know most on the team....never heard of victor horn, would of thought i would of heard about someone transferring from Awbarn. maybe i just don't remember.
of numbers 5-9, i've heard of Damien Jones....and maybe McAway.

and since i haven't heard much about them is it fair to think there is a good shot of these true freshman jumping them in the depth chart? except for maybe horn...

Victor Horn played his High School football right here in my home town of Huntsville, AL (for Butler HS, I think). He originally committed to the Barn, then learned first hand of their ill-repute, and then transferred to Alabama. In other words, he saw the light and came home to Momma. This kid is very very talented

 

[JessN]

wow! we do have rbs....i've never heard of some of those guys, and i usually know most on the team....never heard of victor horn, would of thought i would of heard about someone transferring from Awbarn. maybe i just don't remember.
of numbers 5-9, i've heard of Damien Jones....and maybe McAway.

and since i haven't heard much about them is it fair to think there is a good shot of these true freshman jumping them in the depth chart? except for maybe horn...

What you have to remember is that several players on that list are walk-ons, and there's usually a reason they don't have a lot of scholarship offers. They're decent, but unspectacular players trying to chase a dream.

Assuming all signees qualify and come to UA in the fall, I feel only Darby and Castille are "guaranteed" to maintain their spots on the depth chart, and that's assuming both recover from their respective injuries. Mike Ford, for one, is already more physically ready to play in the SEC than Aaron Johns unless Johns becomes a weightroom warrior in the fall.

I look for Johns and Townsend to have some kind of role with the team in 2005, even if it's just on special teams. I don't expect it from the other guys on the list, with the possible exception of Horn. If he gets healthy before fall, he'll at least play on kick coverage.

 

[bamaman64]

Victor Horn

I think if you check you will find that Horn went to Huntsville High.

 

[jdpas29]

with a name like Mookie Chaney, he needs to get a shot at some playing time. Awesome football name!!! :smile:

 

[Really Big Bama Fan]

What you have to remember is that several players on that list are walk-ons, and there's usually a reason they don't have a lot of scholarship offers. They're decent, but unspectacular players trying to chase a dream.

Jess,
So do the walk-ons usually just end up on the scout team? Do they ever get enough repetitions in practice to step in quickly, or are most of them far behind the starters like the Brodie/Spencer situation last year?

 

[JessN]

Not always. Theo Townsend, for instance, would have played the last two games of the season had we not been trying to redshirt him. The reason the UA coaches wanted to redshirt him was they felt he had enough ability to help for four years down the road. It would not be a shock to me to see him get in the playing rotation this year.

The key for any walk-on is to get noticed, and once noticed, to perform. Waine Bacon would probably have remained buried in the depth chart under DuBose, but Franchione got here, saw something he liked, gave Bacon a chance, and Bacon made the most of it. Now, he's playing in the NFL.

But that's a very big exception to a very universal rule. Ninety-nine percent of those guys just aren't good enough to compete in the SEC. That's not a slam, it's just reality. We've had several situations in recent years where a starter and/or back-up has been injured, and a walk-on would be elevated to play during a practice scrimmage, and it was very obvious to everyone the dropoff in talent.

View any contribution you get from walk-ons as gravy, not something to be expected. The best service they perform is giving the team a quality scout team to practice against and make the starters and top backups better.