New Mizzou SEC Respect shirts!
"EVERY DOG HAS HIS DAY"
Photos from around the SEC from the 1st week of practice:
RB Mike Blakely WR Quan Bray Brian VanGorder RB Jovon Robinson Linebackers DB Jonathan Jones & RB Onterrio McCalebb
Lemonade and Gimel President going at it during drills Kiehl Frazier and Scott Loeffler Clint Moseley Jonathan Wallace and Scott Loeffler
Freshman RB's Todd Gurley (3) and Keith Marshall (4). Gurley is 218 lbs, Marshall 216 lbs Freshman OLB Josh Harvey Clemons makes a pick. JHC is 6'5, 206 lbs and currently working with the safeties until he can gain weight (probably plays a SS/Spur type position a la Alec Ogletree his freshman year) Gurley on a run. John Jenkins (6) is at 358 lbs and might be the biggest fricking individual I've ever seen function at a high level on a football field
Freshman Fullback Quayvon Hicks
football facility coming along
Daryl Collins Donte Rumph and Mister Cobble Larry Warford, Andre Woodson, John Gruenschlaeger (walk on) and Matt Smith. CoShik Williams
Joker with Mookie Blaylock's sons
Notes from Alabama's first week of practice:
–Running back Eddie Lacy looked good and ran well. As you might recall, he had off-season surgery on his toe, which bothered him almost all of last season. Even with the injury, he finished with 674 rushing yards with seven touchdowns. He added 11 catches for 131 yards. –Quarterback AJ McCarron threw well. It’s hard to judge based on 20 minutes of pitch-and-catch drills, but he did look as confident and strong-armed as you would want a returning starting QB to look. He threw to about a half-dozen different receivers. He was one of only two quarterbacks to practice this morning, as Phillip Ely was the other. –Cyrus Kouandjio, who looks every bit of the 6-foot-6 and 311 pounds he is listed as being, looked good. He played in the first eight games last season as a freshman before going down with a knee injury, which required surgery. The Crimson Tide isn’t in full pads, but he seemed to be moving well. He is the projected starting left offensive tackle. –Almost no newcomers were at this morning’s practice. They are slated to practice this evening at 7:30 p.m. Cornerback Deion Belue, a junior college transfer, was part of the morning workout. The Deshler High graduate signed with Alabama in 2010 but spent the past two years at Northeast Mississippi Community College. He is expected to help the secondary immediately.
Some returning players weren't there, but we shouldn't jump to conclusions. Newcomers alone won't give the coaches many players to coach tonight, so we might see some familiar faces tonight. For instance, we didn't see Blake Sims on the field this morning. He missed most of the spring with a hip injury that he suffered while playing pickup basketball. He would have been a running back in the spring. Now that backup quarterback Phillip Sims has transferred to Virginia, it remains to be seen which position Blake Sims will play. He was a quarterback in high school. Stay tuned. Senior nose guard Jesse Williams created a sensation recently when tweets reported that he had lifted 600 pounds on the bench press. He looks quite muscular, but he already was a hulk. Returning starter AJ McCarron and new backup Phillip Ely were the only quarterbacks out there. Freshman Alec Morris will get plenty of attention tonight. Tana Patrick worked with the outside linebackers. He spent much of the spring as an inside linebacker. Outside linebacker Jonathan Atchison had biceps surgery last fall and still is wearing protection on that upper arm. Seven defensive linemen took turns in drills: Williams, Damion Square, Quinton Dial, Ed Stinson, Brandon Ivory, Jeoffrey Pagan and William Ming. Alabama tore up three of its four practice fields after spring practice. Now there are three fields with natural grass and none with artificial turf. The only artificial surface is in the indoor facility. The Tide was practicing on its two new fields this morning. The turf is brand new, but it looks and feels as if has been there for a long time.
Dan Mullen has a policy about not commenting on injuries....here's a video of him getting pissed off when asked regardless of his no comment policy....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=za93wLH4t2o&feature=youtube_gdata_player
South Carolina's Williams-Brice Renovations.....
Before: (in between S Stadium Road and National Guard RD is the Farmer's Market The scoreboard renovation is also coming along very nicely: And a before and after rendering, for those that haven't seen.
10. Robert Lester, Alabama, FS, Sr. (4.54 40-yard dash) — A rangy 6-foot-2 hard-hitter in the Crimson Tide secondary, Lester assumes a leadership role this season on a defense depleted by the NFL Draft. It’s almost mind-boggling how a player so strong has such great speed. With a stellar final season, Lester locks himself into a high-round pick. Lester reminds me a lot of Dre Kirkpatrick.
9. Bacarri Rambo, Georgia, FS, Sr. (4.52) — Along with Jarvis Jones, Rambo’s makes up one of the SEC’s nastiest defenses. The Bulldogs seems to have all the tools to make a BCS run this season and Rambo will help spearhead the effort. He’s a first-team preseason all-conference selection despite being forced to serve a four-game suspension for a failed drug test. You remember, the marijuana-laced brownies.
8. Tyrann Mathieu, LSU, CB, Jr. (4.51) — The Honey Badger. Known more for his moves on special teams and stripping ability as a corner, Mathieu is also fast off the snap and one of the league’s fastest defenders. As LSU’s most dynamic player, Mathieu will get plenty of time in the spotlight this season and could make a run at the Heisman Trophy with his wheels.
7. Justin Hunter, Tennessee, WR, Jr. (4.49) — One of many weapons on the outside for returning quarterback Tyler Bray, expect Hunter to hit double-digit touchdowns as a junior. He’s tough to defend for any undersized corner and nearly impossible to catch from behind.
6. Damiere Byrd, South Carolina, WR, Soph. (4.46) — A football and track star in high school, Byrd can cover 40 yards in just over four seconds. He’s been timed at 10.41 in the 100m and is clearly Steve Spurrier’s fastest player. Byrd is up there with West Virginia’s Tavon Austin and Oregon’s De’Anthony Thomas as one of the fastest players in all of college football in the open field.
5. Bradley Sylve, Alabama, CB, R-Frosh. (4.44) — Coaches can’t wait until Sylve sees the field this season. A member of my “Just Missed The Cut” rankings in 2011, Sylve has solidified himself as one of Alabama’s top speedsters with a solid spring. He’ll be a household name in due time.
4. Ace Sanders, South Carolina, WR, Jr. (4.43) — Sanders is only 5-foot-7, so he looks faster than reality, but paired with fellow waterbug teammate Damiere Byrd, the duo creates quite a threat for South Carolina’s offense. Sanders is a guy that can turn a 5-yard hitch into a 50-yard touchdown with a quick turn of the hips.
3. Andre Debose, Florida, WR, Jr. (4.40) — Debose once ran a 4.26 prior to his sophomore season but most scouts recognize him in the 4.39 to 4.41 range, so we’ll keep him here. Florida’s all-purpose has blazing speed any way you look at it and will be a factor on offense and the return game this fall. When he made the catch, Debose averaged 27 yards per reception as a sophomore.
2. Branden Smith, Georgia, ATH, Sr. (4.39) — Smith is one of 49 finalists on the preseason Paul Hornung Award watch list, a honor given to college football’s most versatile player. Smith starts at corner but sees action on offense and special teams for the Bulldogs. Smith takes over for 2011 Hornung winner Brandon Boykin in a fast UGA secondary. He may have the quickest first step in the SEC, one of the reasons Smith’s so deadly.
1. Onterrio McCalebb, Auburn, RB, Sr., (4.38) — McCalebb IS Auburn’s running game this season after the dismissal of oft-troubled bruiser Michael Dyer. As one of his team’s — and the conference’s — fastest players, McCalebb makes any defensive coordinator re-think his scheme when the Tigers have the football.
Just Missed The Cut
LaDarius Perkins, Miss. St., RB, Jr. (4.42) — Perkins rarely got to showcase his speed in the open field last season but did manage 422 yards and two touchdowns on 87 carries. An extended role in the Bulldogs’ offense this season should highlight Perkins’ getaway ability from defenders.
Raymond Sanders, Kentucky, CB/RB, Jr. (4.42) — One of the gems in Kentucky’s 2010 recruiting class, it has taken awhile for the Wildcats to see production from the speedster. Sanders had arthroscopic knee surgery last season and could move to the secondary, away from a crowded backfield that returns its four leading rushers this fall.
Knile Davis, Arkansas, RB, Jr. (4.43) — Blazing speed for a guy 6-1, 226 pounds is unfair, but it remains to be seen whether or not Davis can return to 2010 form. The Hogs’ co-starter along with Ronnie Wingo Jr. is coming off a severe ankle injury that caused him to miss all of last season. Will he lose a step? Time will tell
Victor Hampton, South Carolina, CB, Soph. (4.49) — Hampton steps in as the probably full-time starter at cornerback this season after departed veterans C.C. Whitlock and Stephon Gilmore. He showcased his speed numerous times as a freshman last season for the Gamecocks.
Bama Day 3 cordinator interviews....
Nussmeier(New O.C.):
quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
–On quarterback AJ McCarron: “Obviously, we want to be balanced on offense. The goal is to put our playmakers in the best positions to make plays. We’ll use a variety of things, whether it be shifts, motions, formations, whatever it is to create advantages for us, hopefully.”
–On McCarron’s confidence: “As far as AJ’s confidence, I think that holds true any position and you see it in every sport. When players believe and they have confidence and they have swagger, it usually leads to success.”
–On wrinkles in the offense: “Obviously, we want to be balanced on offense. The goal is to put our playmakers in the best positions to make plays. We’ll use a variety of things, whether it be shifts, motions, formations, whatever it is to create advantages for us, hopefully.”
–On coming to Alabama: “This is a special place. I feel very, very fortunate and blessed to be a part of this program here and the University of Alabama, everything it represents. Having grown up in the Pacific Northwest, even that far apart from the region, you still know about Alabama football. Even as a young child I remember Alabama football.”
–On what he tells quarterbacks: “I talk to our guys all the time about don’t worry about the depth chart, don’t worry about who we’re recruiting; worry about yourself and getting better each and every day. I think that’s very, very important at the quarterback position.”
Smart:
–He is grateful to Nick Saban for being able to have some stability in his career: “Alabama’s a special place to be. I’ve been here, I guess, going on six seasons. This is my eighth season with coach Saban. Very fortunate to be able to come to Alabama with him from Miami and it’s been a great place to have a family. Very excited about it. Coach Saban has built something really special, I feel like. I’ve been very fortunate to be a part of it, from the perspective of recruiting, perspective of growing as a coach and perspective of being able to live in the same place for a while. It’s hard to do in our profession. My first eight years of coaching, I lived in six places. My last six years of coaching, I’ve been in one place.”
–This year’s defense: This defense is different than last year’s, as you all know. I’m sure you’ll talk about it. That defense is gone and we’re not holding these guys or making any comparisons to that defense. These guys are being compared to the goals we have every game. Our goal is to win the game, that’s what we’re comparing these guys to. If you win the game, we stop the run, we stop the pass — every goal we had last year, we had the same goal — so they’re being held to the Alabama defensive standard, not 2011 defense standard.
–On the young cornerbacks: “We want Deion Belue to keep progressing. Jabriel, Bradley Sylve both keep progressing. Geno Smith, one of our new guys, is going to be able to help us. Travell Dixon has done a good job. We have the bodies there, we have the body types we want, we just have to give those guys some experience.”
–On the pass rushers: “I would say Adrian Hubbard is a guy who can fit in that role. He got to play a little bit last year. The Arkansas game, he got thrown into the fire when C.J. Mosley went down. We put Hightower at C.J.’s position and we put Hubbard in Hightower’s position, so Hubbard’s been in the fire. We’ve had packages we never actually used where he was an integral part of those packages. We think he’s a talented pass rusher. I certainly hope he can help us. As far as the rest of them, Xzavier Dickson is a guy that can come on, Anthony Orr is going to be a good pass rusher for us. We have a couple of freshmen who we’ll find out a little bit about today, see if they can be pass rushers. D.J. Pettway has been doing a good job in pass rush. Those are some names, we’ve got to keep developing those guys.”
–On new offensive coordinator Doug Nussmeier: “He and McElwain both came from similar backgrounds, so there’s a lot of carryover there. They do a good job in the passing game, very innovative. Kind of have an answer for everything you do, so it’s always a chess match when you get to go out there.”
–He mentioned that his dad coached Alabama defensive back Dee Milliner’s dad in high school. (I had that incorrect in a previous version of this post.)
Tailback spot still 'wide open' at UGAPublished: August 5, 2012 By Seth Emerson — semerson@macon.com ATHENS – There is a pecking order at tailback for Georgia, but it’s not a very firm one.By virtue of their experience, Senior Richard Samuel and sophomore Ken Malcome are ahead of freshmen Keith Marshall and Todd Gurley. But all four are getting snaps with the first-team offense, and head coach Mark Richt said the race is “wide open.” “I don’t know when and where, if (the depth chart is) going to move around,” Richt said after Saturday's practice. “Usually we’ll at least wait until we have a day in pads or we’ll wait until after the scrimmage to re-rack it a little bit.”The tailback spot has been the most tumultuous for Georgia the past few years. For a second straight year, the two leading rushers (in terms of yardage) left the program without ceremony. (Isaiah Crowell and Carlton Thomas this year, Caleb King and Washaun Ealey in 2011.)But even without Crowell, the SEC freshman of the year, the Bulldogs feel they have enough firepower. The trick now is finding the right combination, since some form of committee seems inevitable."It can be a special running back (committee) with me, Todd, Richard and Keith," Malcome said. "I think this year people will see that Georgia is back in the running game. A lot of people said we fell off, but even though we lost Isaiah we're full strength."Another wrench in the plans is that Samuel is still a factor at fullback, getting plenty of reps there. During early drills on Saturday, when the media was present, he was in the backfield with Marshall.“He’s kind of doing double-duty with that right now,” Richt said.Samuel has said he would prefer fullback, but will be fine with however it turns out."It was gonna tip more to tailback a little bit,” Samuel said. “But then during camp if coaches feel good about how the other running backs start to produce or how the fullback is filling out with Quayvon (Hicks) and Zander (Ogletree) … it all depends on how those guys pan out."
SEC Offensive Line......How Big are they????????????
ALABAMA:
LT Cyrus Kouandjio 6-7 322 LG Chance Warmack 6-3 320 C Barrett Jones 6-5 310 RG Anthony Steen 6-4 315 RT D.J. Fluker 6-6 335
AUBURN:
LT Greg Robinson (RS-Freshman) 6-5 315 LG John Sullen (Senior) 6-5 336 C Reese Dismukes (Sophomore) 6-3 300 RG Christian Westerman (RS-Freshman) 6-4 310 RT Chad Slade (RS- Sophomore) 6-5 320
TENNESSE:
4 A. Richardson | 6-6, 325, So., So 77 Kyler Kerbyson | 6-5, 305, So., Fr 70 Ja'Wuan James | 6-6, 324, Jr., Jr 67 Alan Posey | 6-6, 330, So., Fr 71 Dallas Thomas | 6-5, 305, Sr., Sr 68 Marcus Jackson | 6-3, 326, So., So 72 Zach Fulton | 6-5, 330, Jr., JR 78 Alex Bullard | 6-2, 309, Jr., TR 64 James Stone | 6-3, 308, Jr., Jr 57 Mack Crowder | 6-2, 275, So., Fr
LSU:
LT Chris Faulk 6'6" 323 lbs. LG La'el Collins 6'5" 321 lbs. C P.J. Lonergan 6'4" 305 lbs. RG Josh Williford 6'7" 332 lbs. RT Alex Hurst 6'6" 331 lbs
ARKANSAS:
LT Brey Cook- 6'7, 317 LG Mitch Smothers- 6'4, 296 C Travis Swanson- 6'5, 305 RG Alvin Bailey- 6'5, 312 RT Jason Peacock- 6'4, 305
OLE PISS:
LT- McCray 6'5 319 LG- Morris 6'5 322 C- Swindol- 6'2 300 RG- Hawkins- 6'3 315 RT- Burton 6'7 290
MISSISSIPPI STATE:
LT-Blaine Clausell 6'7 305 LG-Gabe Jackson 6'4 320 C-Dillon Day 6'4 285 RG-Tobias Smith 6-3 305 and/or Justin Malone 6'7 315 RT-Damien Robinson 6'7 315
TEXAS A&M
LT- Luke Joeckel 6 6 310 LG- Jarvis Harrison 6 4 320 C- Patrick Lewis 6 2 312 RG- Cedric Ogbuehi 6 5 292 RT- Jake Matthews 6 5 305
SOUTH CAROLINA:
Brandon Shell | 6-6, 331 Mike Matulis | 6-5, 274 A.J. Cann | 6-4, 309 Ronald Patrick | 6-2, 305 T.J. Johnson | 6-6, 319
KENTUCKY
Darrian Miller- 6'5 293 Kevin Mitchell- 6'6 287 Zach West- 6'4 312 Larry Warford- 6'3 343 Matt Smith- 6'4 296
GEORGIA:
LT Kenarious Gates (Jr) 6'5 328 lbs LG Dallas Lee (Jr) 6'4 300 lbs or Burnette C David Andrews (So) 6'2 295 lbs RG Chris Burnette (Jr) 6'2 313 lbs or John Theus (Fr) 6'6 309 lbs RT Watts Dantzler (So) 6'7 310 lbs
FLORIDIA:
LT Matt Patchan - 6'6" 304 LG James Wilson - 6'4" 327 C Jonatthan Harrison - 6'4" 299 RG Jon Halapio - 6'4" 325 RT Chaz Green - 6'5" 300
MISSOURI
LT Elvis Fisher 6'-5" 300 LG Travis Ruth 6'2" 295 C Mitch Morse 6'5" 300 RG Jake Meiners 6'6" 310 RT Justin Britt 6'6" 315
AS OF YESTERDAY FOR MIZZOU:
Guard Travis Ruth has torn triceps tendon and Tackle Taylor Chappell has a torn ACL. Ruth was barely hanging on to a starting spot. Chappell was 2nd/3rd team. True FR Evan Boehm will likely replace Ruth in the starting lineup
South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier could be a new trendsetter. He's been spotted wearing a new hat that reads "Spur's Lid"...