[BamaGal4ever]

ALAMAMA COULD DRAW LARGEST CROWD EVER FOR A SPRING FOOTBALL GAME

Tuesday, April 17, 2007 *Guest Author*
LindysSports.com

The spring football game to end all spring football games will be played next Saturday in Tuscaloosa when the Alabama Crimson Tide winds up its spring drills with the annual A-Day Game. Bryant-Denny Stadium on the Alabama campus holds 92,138 fans. It might not be enough.

Spring football games as a whole are not important, even those that have been televised on cable the past few years. When it is a team divided and playing itself, what can you actually discern? If your offense looks good, your defense looks bad and vice versa. It might be important for individuals who are trying to impress coaches and make a depth chart move, but it won't really tell you anything about to how a team will play in the fall.

Fans have tried to make spring games more important than necessary because by the time they are played, the college fan has gone two to three months without a football game. They are ready to see anybody in pads knock heads. There's nothing wrong with that. But deep down those same fans know spring games are nothing more than reasons to return to the campus and spend an afternoon pretending to get the inside scoop on the upcoming football season.

There are times when they might actually see future greatness from someone they really don't know. When that person then becomes a star in the regular season, the fan that was at the spring game can say, "I knew it." While that doesn't happen often, there is always that hope. For coaches, spring games are another opportunity to look at players in game situations, usually the last time before two-a-days in the fall. The coaches don't care about seeing a team divided; they are watching individuals. For the players, spring games usually mean the end of spring football, which is usually a relief for one and all.

Spring games have often been free to the public at some places and at other times there have been small admission charges. There is no admission charge at Alabama on Saturday, but if the folks at Alabama want to make some serious coin, they should charge a hefty fee for the game. They also might want to make sure they have plenty of concession stands open and prepare for a regular crowd because I have a feeling the Crimson Nation is going to be there in record numbers.Everybody wants to get a look at the new and hopefully improved Nick Saban version of the Crimson Tide. The funny thing is, it will not only be the fans that want a first look at Alabama. It will likely be the largest gathering of media to ever attend a spring football game as well, thanks to Saban's barring of the media from actual practices and scrimmages. The media, even the beat writers who have to cover the team on a daily basis, is just as curious as Joe Fan.The question is just what does everyone expect to see? After four years of watching Mike Shula's Tide teams, which were characterized by sloppy, undisciplined play, people are hoping to see a team that plays with a crispness that has been missing. They don't want to see numerous false starts, late hits, fumbles and interceptions. They have seen enough of those things the past four years. They want to see a team that plays with a purpose, even if it is just a spring football game.

In short, they want to see a team that plays like every play matters. They don't have to see players with the talent of a Heisman Trophy candidate, but they want to see players who give their best effort for every second of every play and if the players make a mistake it is a mistake made by aggressive play and not a mental lapse.
And, Alabama fans are expecting to see just that.

When Saban was hired, expectations at Alabama changed dramatically. Saban is a proven coach. He has that national championship notation on his resume, which is a first for Alabama since Gene Stallings walked away following the 1996 season. Even though most Alabama fans will say they expect it to take two or three seasons for Saban to be able to challenge for championships again, they really are holding out hope that it won't take that long at all. They don't exactly believe Saban walks on water just yet, but they expect him to soon. So Saturday will be the chance for every fan to see for himself and to be able to say in future years that they were there when Nick Saban unveiled his version of the Crimson Tide. Then, this fall should Alabama challenge for the SEC championship or even the SEC West title, they can say, "I knew it."

[Stoney]

I wonder what the TV ratings will be like?

[cliffbamafan]

I dont know about yall,but Ill be there.(CANT WAIT!)

[Stoney]

Cliff don't forget your camera... and if you can get your picture taken with Saban.

[BamaGal4ever]

Originally Posted by Stoney

Cliff don't forget your camera... and if you can get your picture taken with Saban.

My nephew went to the Braves game Wednesday night and he got his pic taken with Kyle Davies. Go for it, Cliff!

[cliffbamafan]

Originally Posted by BamaGal4ever

My nephew went to the Braves game Wednesday night and he got his pic taken with Kyle Davies. Go for it, Cliff!

Hey im gonna try but I hope yall realize how many people will be there!

[Stoney]

Originally Posted by cliffbamafan

Hey im gonna try but I hope yall realize how many people will be there!

Yeah not nearly enough!

[BamaGal4ever]

Crimson Tide Practice Notebook



By Dan Sellers
Special To The Tuscaloosa News

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Football practice 4/19

The University of Alabama football team wrapped up its final regular practice of the spring Thursday afternoon and now all that remains is the annual A-Day game, which will be played Saturday at Bryant-Denny Stadium at 1 p.m.

Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban said he has used different scrimmage styles during spring games, but getting the players on the field in a competitive atmosphere is the most important thing.

“Regardless of the format, it’s a game-like situation, where you can see which players go out and perform better on the field,” Saban said.

“I always try to choose the best [format]. When you have a lot of depth, I think splitting the squad is the best one. I’d much rather have a competitive game. If we were looking for show dogs, we’d put all the show dogs on one team and let them show. If we’re looking for hunting dogs, you put them in a competitive situation, and see which ones can find the ducks.”

Saban’s “splitting the squad” refers to the players holding a draft and essentially choosing their teams. He said he has used that format the most in the past, but will not use that style Saturday.

“At this stage, the best thing for our development as a football team is to play our good players against our good players,” he said. “We’ll put the first offense and second defense on a team, and we’ll put the second offense and first defense on a team.”

Saban said there would not be any live kicking, but the specialists would see some work Saturday.

“We’re not going to try to block kicks,” he said. “We want to let the specialists execute what we want to do. To try and get execution on special teams, we are going to try and let the guys we think are going to play in those positions, whether they’re first or second team, play those positions.”

Injury update

Saban said seven players would “probably” miss the scrimmage, while four others will remain limited in contact work. Saban said freshman safety Justin Woodall has been in and out of practice with an ankle sprain and could miss the scrimmage.

Junior defensive back Eric Gray, freshman wide receiver Jake Jones, freshman defenive lineman Charlie Kirschman, sophomore tight end Travis McCall, sophomore wide receiver Aaron McDaniel, senior wideout Tyrone Prothro and sophomore offensive tackle B.J. Stabler will probably not participate.

Sophomore quarterback Jimmy Barnes, sophomore wideout Will Oakley, junior offensive tackle Chris Capps and freshman defensive tackle Lorenzo Washington will be involved on a limited basis.

Freshman defensive tackle Byron Walton, who sported a black jersey for 13 practices, was out of black Thursday, and Saban said he will take part in Saturday’s scrimmage.

A-Day benefit for Enterprise

In response to the deadly tornado that struck Enterprise on March 1, donations will be taken up at the entry gates Saturday.

Donation stations will begin taking collections at 11 a.m. and will end at approximately 1 p.m. Those wishing to donate to the Fund should do so via personal check or cash at any of the donation stations in the stadium.

“Terry and I try to give back as much as we can,” Saban said. “She did something like this at Miami for our game after they had [Hurricane] Katrina for Louisiana, which the Dolphins cooperated with.”

Checks should be made payable to United Way of West Alabama designated for the Enterprise Tornado Relief Fund. Funds collected Saturday will be specifically designated as contributions to the Enterprise Tornado Fund, insuring that all funds raised will go directly to those in need of assistance.

“I think having compassion for people and the circumstances they are in is something our fans are interesting in contributing to,” he said. “As an institution, we can do something to try and be helpful in that community.”

[Stoney]

According to Fox Sports 93K + showed up and the police had to be called in to shut the gates. Many fans were forced to listen to radio in the parking lot as they tailgated. Saban looked good in his suit "Bear" would have been proud.

[Lefty Noob]

Originally Posted by Stoney

According to Fox Sports 93K + showed up and the police had to be called in to shut the gates. Many fans were forced to listen to radio in the parking lot as they tailgated. Saban looked good in his suit "Bear" would have been proud.

Yeah, that's what Tuck was saying over in the NASCAR chat. Biggest crowd ever to see a spring game. You folks sure are fired up. Did you go, Stoney? Just wondering which Tide players we should all be keeping an eye on heading into this fall.

[Stoney]

Originally Posted by Lefty Noob

Yeah, that's what Tuck was saying over in the NASCAR chat. Biggest crowd ever to see a spring game. You folks sure are fired up. Did you go, Stoney? Just wondering which Tide players we should all be keeping an eye on heading into this fall.

Naw, I had to fly into Charlotte on company buisness. Dang job keeps getting in my way of being a football fan. There was a small blurb on the NFL Network showing Saban and the tens of thousands of Alabama fans. Heck you would have almost believed Bear was coming back the way people rushed the stadium. Alabama football is back.......... you can believe that. You guys just think I'm a rabid fan wait until they actually kick off the season. Then the loonies come out.... yeah brick throwing monday quarterbacks who second guess everything. Yeah those guys, they are out there.

[Lefty Noob]

Originally Posted by Stoney

Naw, I had to fly into Charlotte on company buisness. Dang job keeps getting in my way of being a football fan. There was a small blurb on the NFL Network showing Saban and the tens of thousands of Alabama fans. Heck you would have almost believed Bear was coming back the way people rushed the stadium. Alabama football is back.......... you can believe that. You guys just think I'm a rabid fan wait until they actually kick off the season. Then the loonies come out.... yeah brick throwing monday quarterbacks who second guess everything. Yeah those guys, they are out there.

Nah, I didn't mean anything bad by it. Can't think of too many schools who'd turn out around 100k strong just to watch a spring practice game. I know you guys haven't had a whole lot to cheer about lately so it's good to see such enthusiasm. I just worry about some of those brick-throwing Monday QBs setting the bar too high for Saban. I think the team will show improvement this year but I don't think they'll be as good as some people seem to think they'll be.

If anyone has/finds leading performers from the game, would you post them?

[Stoney]

Originally Posted by Lefty Noob

Nah, I didn't mean anything bad by it. Can't think of too many schools who'd turn out around 100k strong just to watch a spring practice game. I know you guys haven't had a whole lot to cheer about lately so it's good to see such enthusiasm. I just worry about some of those brick-throwing Monday QBs setting the bar too high for Saban. I think the team will show improvement this year but I don't think they'll be as good as some people seem to think they'll be.

If anyone has/finds leading performers from the game, would you post them?

Jamar Taylor ripped the first string defense and scored against them.

[Tuck4Bama]

White Defeats Crimson in Record-Setting A-Day, 20-13 Release: 04/21/2007


By Scott Latta, UA Media Relations
TUSCALOOSA – In front of a crowd in excess of 92,138, the largest crowd in A-Day history, Alabama’s White squad defeated the Crimson squad 20-13 in the first public scrimmage under first-year Alabama head coach Nick Saban.
The White squad featured Alabama’s first-team offense and second team defense, and the Crimson squad featured the Tide’s second-string offense and first-team defense.
Alabama’s capacity crowd is well over the previous best for a Southeastern Conference Spring Day game, which is believed to have been set by Tennessee in 1986, with 73,000. It also nearly doubles this season’s previous best set by Florida at 47,500.
“I’d like to thank all of our fans, who made this a really special day today,” Saban said. “To have as many people as we had here today is a great self-gratification for the players. It shows what great passion and support we have at the University of Alabama and it certainly makes me feel great about being here as a coach.”
After a scoreless first quarter, the Crimson team got on the board first on a five-yard touchdown pass from freshman Greg McElroy to junior Matt Caddell. The score gave the second-string offense its first points of the day and capped an 11-play, 74-yard drive to make the score 7-0.
The White team answered on the following drive with a 17-yard touchdown from sophomore quarterback John Parker Wilson to junior DJ Hall. The extra point from junior Jamie Christensen tied the score at 7.
With just seconds remaining before halftime, Christensen kicked a 42-yard field goal for the Crimson team that capped a 10-play drive, for a 10-7 halftime lead. Christensen also kicked a 41-yarder to cap the Crimson team’s opening drive of the second half to extend its lead to 13-7.
The White squad took the lead for good on its next drive, this time with a 10-play, 70-yard touchdown drive that was capped by a 26-yard touchdown pass from Wilson to sophomore Nikita Stover, to take a 14-13 lead.
Freshman Leigh Tiffin added a pair of field goals, a 46-yarder and a 28-yarder, respectively, to extend White’s lead to 20-13.
“I think we did good today,” Wilson said. “Offensively, we took care of the ball. We handled it without turning it over. We were able to score some points offensively. It was a good day.”
Wilson finished the day 18-of-36 for 244 yards with two touchdowns. Hall, who was voted by the media as the recipient of the Dixie Howell Memorial Award as the game’s most valuable player, led the White team receiving with five catches for 87 yards and a touchdown. Stover had three catches for 58 yards and a touchdown and freshman Preston Dial had two catches for 33 yards.
On the ground, freshman Terry Grant led the White team with eight rushes for 47 yards. Sophomore Jimmy Johns had six carries for 26 yards.
Leading the Crimson squad, McElroy was 14-of-33 for 139 yards with a touchdown. Freshman Mike McCoy had three catches for 29 yards, freshman Roy Upchurch had three catches for 26 yards, and freshman Earl Alexander had three catches for 45 yards.
On the Crimson team, freshman Jamar Taylor had 10 carries for 44 yards, Upchurch had nine carries for 37 yards and sophomore Glen Coffee had four carries for 15 yards.
Freshman Marquis Johnson led the secondary with one solo tackle and six assists, with two pass breakups.
“I think we’re on pace,” sophomore defensive lineman Bobby Greenwood said. “We’ve got a lot of hard work to do this summer, but we’ve come a long way since the beginning of spring to where we are now, so I think we’re making real good progress.”
Saban, who said the game plan was toned down for the players in order to increase focus on performance, agreed.
“The discipline and execution was appropriate,” Saban said. “We dropped some balls, the tackling was pretty good for the most part and we didn’t make a lot of mental errors. The game was pretty simple, relative to the things that we did on the running plays, passing plays and defensive pressure that we had. It made the players focused, play with discipline, have fun, focus and compete.”
In addition to Hall’s most valuable player award, sophomore lineman Antoine Caldwell was voted by the media as the recipient of the Dwight Stephenson Award, which recognizes A-Day’s most valuable lineman.
“It feels good to win the Offensive Lineman Award,” Caldwell said. “I am blessed and glad I had then opportunity to win it. I am very impressed with how everything is going around here, and am very appreciative.
“The fan support today was amazing. I have always thought there are no other fans like that of Alabama. That’s why I love playing here. That is why I wanted to come here. They are always behind us no matter what we do, both home and away.”

[Tuck4Bama]

'Bama Fills Stadium For Saban's "Debut Last Edited: Saturday, 21 Apr 2007, 8:44 PM CDTCreated: Saturday, 21 Apr 2007, 6:58 PM CDT









By JOHN ZENOR
AP Sports Writer
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP)-- Nick Saban is already filling Alabama's Bryant-Denny Stadium -- and then some. An overflow crowd of 92,138-plus fans attended the Crimson Tide's spring game Saturday, nearly doubling the school's A-Day attendance record and forcing university officials to start turning people away in the first half. That kind of turnout for essentially a scrimmage was yet another indication of how much Saban's hiring in January has stirred up a rabid fan base hungry for a championship.
"It shows the passion that people have for the University of Alabama, and it certainly makes me feel great about being here as head coach," Saban said.
The previous high attendance for an Alabama A-Day game was 51,117 at Birmingham's Legion Field in 1988. Admission was free.
The previous best for a Southeastern Conference spring game was believed to have been 73,000 at Tennessee in 1986, according to Alabama. The 92,138-seat stadium was full, and there were fans watching from the ramps also.
They saw quarterback John Parker Wilson lead the White team to a 20-13 win over the Crimson, led by the first-team defense. He completed 18-of-36 passes for 244 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
But the fans delivered more impressive numbers.
"It was awesome," Wilson said. "We were standing around there like, 'Man, there's a lot of people here.' We didn't expect that many people. To see that kind of support just makes us feel good."
Cornerback Simeon Castille said he would have been content to watch on TV instead of braving the traffic for an intrasquad game if he were a fan.
"I still can't believe it, really," Castille said. "It's a spring game and we have 92,000 people here."
By comparison, national runner-up Ohio State drew 75,310 at $5 a ticket for its own spring game on Saturday and champion Florida earlier pulled in 47,500.
The fans came wearing "Sabanation" and "Got Nick?" T-shirts, and started arriving several hours before the game. All this for a scrimmage by a team coming off a 6-7 season that closed with four consecutive losses and hasn't won a Southeastern Conference title since 1999.
Alabama lured Saban away from the Miami Dolphins after his second season in the NFL with an eight-year deal worth some $32 million. He drew heat for his repeated denials that he was a candidate for the job, making the fans' excitement that much sweeter.
"What we did today sends a message that there's a lot of support and enthusiasm for what's happening here right now," Saban said. "I certainly appreciate it. It makes me and my family feel good about being here.
"God knows we went through little bit to get here, but we're happy to be here."
Wearing a sports coat and tie, Saban paced around the field throughout the game, standing about 15 yards behind the line of scrimmage for each play and mostly content to be an observer.
"You see the body language. You see how guys react and respond," said Saban, who drew a standing ovation just jogging across the field before the game. "I thought that was better. What our guys have had to learn is that your body language tells the other guy how it's going. If I'm showing that I'm hurt, I'm showing the guy he's getting the best of me. It's kind of like a boxer's mentality."
The Tide's two biggest offensive weapons from last season had big games. Wilson found DJ Hall for a 17-yard touchdown late in the third quarter. Hall was the game MVP after catching five passes for 87 yards.
The game didn't shed much light on the tailback competition. Glen Coffee opened with the No. 1 offense and had four carries for 15 yards before leaving with what Saban described as a minor shoulder injury.
Last year's backup, Jimmy Johns, gained 26 yards on six carries. Terry Grant had 47 yards on eight carries along with five catches for 29 yards, and Saban said the speedy Grant could fit in well as part of a tandem with bigger backs like Johns and Coffee.
Backup quarterback Greg McElroy was 14-of-33 for 139 yards with a touchdown.
"Today was one of our better days this spring," Wilson said of the offense. "We took care of the ball. We didn't have any interceptions, we didn't have any fumbles. We moved the ball."