Thursday, March 31, 2016

Spring Football Practice Six In The Books; Coleman, Kessens To Transfer From Men's Basketball Program; Bama Baseball Battles Georgia In 3-Game Series; ESPN Preseason Power Rankings



____________________


Spring Practice Six Complete For Bama Football


Alabama Head Coach Nick Saban
Photo Credit: RollTide.com/Amelia B. Barton



Spring practice number six is in the books for the Alabama Crimson Tide football team. Bama practiced in full pads yesterday afternoon outdoors on the Thomas Drew Practice Fields in beautiful Tuscaloosa.

A couple of players were seen working on the stationary bikes at practice yesterday. Wide receiver RAHEEM FALKINS has a leg injury and linebacker SHAWN JENNINGS with a knee problem were limited in their practice.

KEITH HOLCOMBE was indeed at practice on Wednesday. the dual-sport athlete (linebacker and baseball) worked hard, then left to drive to Athens, Georgia to meet up with the baseball team for the three-game series with the Bulldogs that begins tonight.

Already coming out of early spring practice is the optimistic outlook about the depth, not merely depth, but game-ready depth, available along the Crimson Tide's offensive line. That's a great thing, of course, in that many times the offense is running behind the defense in development. That may still be the case this year, breaking in a new starting quarterback as well as running back, but most remember early in last season when there was a lack of cohesion along the line in stopping the pass rush and so on. Of course, it was quickly corrected and that very line became the nation's best.

Alabama head coach NICK SABAN has handed out a few compliments. He has mentioned that LESTER COTTON is doing well at both the left and right tackle positions, and also KORREN KIRVEN coming on strong for the Tide.

Then there's junior college transfer CHARLES BALDWIN. Now this is a big man. Saban believes this young man can contribute right away once he learns Bama's offense and style of play. Saban said, "He's got a lot of ability. He’s got a lot to learn. He’s got a long way to go. We’re going to continue to work with him, to get him to do things right, to get him to buy into doing things the way we need him to do them so he can have success here."

The Tide has one more practice tomorrow before their first of two scrimmages to be held this Saturday. (The A-Day is a scrimmage itself, but gets separate billing since it's a more lavish affair.) The scrimmage this Saturday will be held inside Bryant-Denny Stadium, but will be closed to the public. It will give the coaches an opportunity to check the early development of both the veterans and rookies, and how they are fitting into the process, learning their assignments and their abilities in a near-game-as-possible scenario.

The second scrimmage of the spring practice season will be the Saturday before the A-Day Game. The A-Day Game itself will be held Saturday, April 16th at 2 p.m. CT inside Bryant-Denny Stadium. The game is once again free to the public. The A-Day Game will also be televised live this year on ESPN.


Alabama Wide Receiver Calvin Ridley
Photo Credit: RollTide.com/Amelia B. Barton


Tide Defensive Coordinator Jeremy Pruitt At Work
Photo Credit: RollTide.com/Amelia B. Barton



-----------------------------------------



Coleman, Kessens To Transfer From Men's Basketball


Photo Credit: RollTide.com



The University of Alabama men's basketball team will be losing two players via transfer according to Alabama head basketball coach AVERY JOHNSON. In a statement yesterday, Johnson reported that sophomore guard JUSTIN COLEMAN and redshirt junior forward MICHAEL KESSENS will be transferring.

During his sophomore season, Coleman participated in all 33 games for the Tide, seven of which were starts. He averaged 7.8 points per game, as well as leading Bama in assists (3.3 apg) and free throw percentage (.890). 

Johnson stated, "Justin and I met [Tuesday] afternoon and discussed his future with our program. After talking it over with his family, Justin felt it is in his best interest to transfer from the University of Alabama. Justin is a terrific young man and I wish we had the opportunity to work with him more. I would like to thank him for all the hard work he has put in during the past year and want to wish him the best of luck." Coleman is a native of Birmingham, Alabama.

Kessens is a slightly different story in that he is set to graduate this May with his degree in business administration. He also played in 33 games this past season, 21 of which were starts. He averaged 3.7 points per game and 3.5 rebounds.

"Mike is set to graduate this May with an undergraduate degree from the University of Alabama and will explore his options of either playing professionally in Europe or use his fifth year of eligibility at another school,” Johnson commented.  "I loved his energy he gave us throughout the season and he was a joy to coach. We certainly wish him the best in whatever career path he chooses."


-----------------------------------------


Bama Baseball Battles Georgia In 3-Game Series


Graphic/Photo Credit: RollTide.com



The Alabama baseball team heads to Athens, Georgia for a three-game series with the Georgia Bulldogs at Foley Field that begins tonight and continues through Saturday. Start time for tonight's contest is 6 p.m. CT. The Friday game will also begin at 6 p.m. CT. The series finale on Saturday is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. CT. All three games will be broadcast live on the SEC Network.

Tonight will be the 141st meeting between the two schools with Alabama holding a slim 70-68-2 series lead. 


-----------------------------------------


ESPN Preseason Power Rankings




Leave to ESPN to stir up a little controversy to "liven up" their news/sports. They have released their preseason power rankings for college football. Well, try to figure how they came up with these. Here are their top 15 in order:

1. LSU
2. Florida State
3. Oklahoma
4. Clemson
5. Tennessee
6. ALABAMA 
7. Ole Miss
8. USC
9. Georgia
10. Oklahoma State
11. Michigan
12. Louisville
13. Washington
14. Texas A&M
15. Notre Dame

Really, I have nothing to say about this. Like mama said, "If you can't say something nice..."