Bama Places 4 On 75th Anniversary All-American Team
Earlier today the Football Writers Association of America announced its 75th Anniversary All-American Team. Four Crimson Tide players made that list. And four great players they are! Former Bama lineman John Hannah and the great linebacker Derrick Thomas are first-team selections, with offensive lineman Barret Jones and linebacker Lee Roy Jordan making the third team. The FWAA, founded in 1941, has selected an annual All-America team since World War II came to a close right on up to the present-day.
"Big John" Hannah was a member of the 1972 FWAA All-America Team. According to Sports Illustrated, as many others, he is the greatest offensive lineman of all time. That same year Hannah earned the Jacobs Trophy, recognizing him as the best blocker in the SEC. He is a member of both the college and pro football halls of fame.
Derrick Thomas was selected to the 1988 FWAA All-America team. That same year he took home the Butkus Award. In 1988 Thomas put 27 sacks on quarterbacks, and that was after the previous year breaking the University of Alabama record with 18. He still holds the single game, season and career records for sacks with a total of 52 during his time with the Tide.
Barrett Jones is the most recent recipient of the FWAA All-America Team representing Alabama, earning the honor for two years. He made it in 2011 as a left tackle, then again in 2012 as a center for the Crimson Tide. Jones is Bama's only recipient of the William V. Campbell Trophy for his work in the classroom. He also holds the Wuerffel Trophy for his contributions to the community.
Lee Roy Jordan won the FWAA All-American designation back in 1962. He was MVP of the 1963 Orange Bowl garnering 31 tackles against the Oklahoma Sooners en route to a Bama 17-0 win. Jordan was voted Alabama's Player of the Decade for the 1960s, and was also a member of the Tide's Team of the Century.
Congratulations to these four representing the University of Alabama.
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16 Practices Down, 12 To Go Before Start Of Season
Photo Credit: RollTide.com
The 2015-16 academic year began yesterday at the University of Alabama with students going to classes for the first time. And then later in the afternoon, members of the Crimson Tide football team reported for a two-hour practice session in full pads on the Thomas-Drew Practice Fields.
This was the 16th practice of camp of 28 before Bama's opening game on September 5th with the Wisconsin Badgers at the AdvoCare Classic at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. Kickoff will be at 7 p.m. CT, and will be aired on ABC television. Chris Fowler, Kirk Herbstreit and Heather Cox will be on hand providing the play-by-play and commentary.
Alabama has its second instrasquad scrimmage of the fall this Saturday. It will be interesting to see if Saban's rant on the quarterbacks stepping out and "taking the bull by the horns" will cause at least one of them to do so. Practices this afternoon and Friday are slated for 3:30 p.m. prior to Saturday's 1 p.m. scrimmage.
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Tide Basketball Loses Services Of Top Recruit
Photo Credit: RollTide.com
In a disappointing turn of events, the wing player that head basketball coach Avery Johnson worked so hard to secure, won't be enrolling at the University of Alabama after all. Four-star guard/wing player Kobie Eubanks was not cleared by the NCAA and will not enroll at Alabama. He was the top-rated player in Bama's most recent recruiting class.
Johnson said, "We are disappointed for Kobie and his family. Unfortunately, Kobie wasn't cleared by the NCAA and we couldn't get him admitted to the University of Alabama. He has a bright future and we wish him well."
To say this is bad news for Bama is an understatement. The Crimson Tide landed Eubanks after a real recruiting battle over highly-touted programs such as Kansas to secure the outside shooter who was so badly needed. Scout rated the 6' 5", 215-pound Eubanks as the 19th-best shooting guard in the class, and the 63rd-best overall player.
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Football Injury Report
The Crimson Tide football team has sustained a couple of more injuries. Left tackle Cam Robinson was in a non-contact jersey yesterday for practice. Word is that it's a sprained shoulder and will hopefully only be a few days until he's able to have contact again.
It appears that Parker Barrineau will be out for a week or so following an off-the-field injury. Alabama head coach Nick Saban said, "Parker Barrineau cut his toe in an incident in the shower or the bathroom or some kind of way. He hit it on the door or the door fell on him or closed on it or something. Actually, it required surgery to sew it back up."
And of course there's senior quarterback Jake Coker. To say the Alabama-faithful were worried several days ago when he was injured would be an understatement. However, it appears he is doing nicely as was back on the field yesterday afternoon once again throwing the football.
"We don't expect him to be out another day or two," Saban said. Bama has previously issued a statement saying that Coker had a minor foot injury. Saban clarified that a bit saying it was a toe injury.
Fortunately there have been no major injuries to report.
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2015-16 Men's Basketball Schedule
Photo Credit: RollTide.com
The much-anticipated 2015-16 Basketball Schedule for first year head coach Avery Johnson and the University of Alabama men's basketball team was released yesterday evening. Bama will face South Carolina, Mississippi State, LSU, Kentucky, and Auburn in home-and-home games this season.
The Crimson Tide carries a 30-game slate this season, with 18 against Southeastern Conference opponents, and 12 out-of-conference games. (None conference games were released earlier in the month.)
2015-16 Alabama Crimson Tide Basketball Schedule
11/0615 vs. Trevecca Nazarene Tuscaloosa, AL. TBA
11/13/15 vs. Kennesaw State Tuscaloosa, AL. TBA
11/17/15 at Dayton Dayton, OH. 12 p.m. CT
11/20/15 vs. Louisiana-Lafayette Tuscaloosa, AL. TBA
11/26/15 vs. Xavier Orlando, FL. 11 a.m. CT
11/27/15 Wichita St. or USC Orlando, FL. TBA
11/29/15 TBD Orlando, FL. TBA
12/04015 at Southern Miss Hattiesburg, MS. TBA
12/13/15 at Clemson Clemson, SC. TBA
12/16/15 vs. Winthrop Tuscaloosa, AL. TBA
12/21/15 vs. Oregon Birmingham, AL. TBA
12/29/15 vs. Jacksonville State Birmingham, AL. TBA
01/02/16 vs. Norfolk State Tuscaloosa, AL. TBA
01/0716 at Ole Miss Oxford, MS. 8:00 p.m. CT
01/09/16 vs. Kentucky Tuscaloosa, AL. 5:00 p.m. CT
01/13/16 vs. South Carolina Tuscaloosa, AL. 8:00 p.m. CT
01/16/16 at Vanderbilt Nashville, TN. 5:00 p.m. CT
01/19/16 at Auburn Auburn, AL. 8:00 p.m. CT
01/23/16 vs. LSU Tuscaloosa, AL. 1:00 p.m. CT
01/26/16 vs. Tennessee Tuscaloosa, AL. 8:00 p.m. CT
01/30/16 at South Carolina Columbia, SC. 8:00 p.m. CT
02/02/16 at Mississippi State Starkville, MS. 8:00 p.m. CT
02/06/16 vs. Missouri Tuscaloosa, AL. 2:00 p.m. CT
02/10/16 vs. Texas A&M Tuscaloosa, AL. 6:00 p.m. CT
02/13/16 at Florida Gainsville, FL. 4:30 p.m. CT
02/17/16 at LSU Baton Rouge, LA. 8:00 p.m. CT
02/20/16 vs. Mississippi State Tuscaloosa, AL. 1:30 p.m. CT
02/23/16 at Kentucky Lexington, KY. 6:00 p.m. CT
02/27/16 vs. Auburn Tuscaloosa, AL. 4:00 p.m. CT
03/02/16 vs. Arkansas Tuscaloosa, AL. 8:00 p.m. CT
03/05/16 at Georgia Athens, GA. 1 or 3 p.m. CT
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Kenny "Snake" Stabler Nominated For Pro Football Hall Of Fame
Yesterday it was announced that former University of Alabama quarterback Kenny "Snake" Stabler was being nominated by the Seniors Committee for the Pro Football Hall of Fame's Class of 2016. Stabler passed away on July 9th of this year.
The Foley, Alabama native went on to stardom as a quarterback for the Oakland Raiders after graduating from UA. He became the starting quarterback for Oakland in 1973, with Stabler leading the Raiders for the next five seasons to no less than the AFC Championship, and winning the Super Bowl for the 1976 season.
Stabler won numerous awards and accolades during his pro football career. He received The Associated Press NFL MVP Award in 1974, the 1976 Bert Bell Award as the NFL's Player of the Year, played in four Pro Bowls, and was the All-Pro QB in 1974.
Stabler was a finalist for Hall of Fame selections for numerous years but never received the necessary votes to be inducted. Years he was a finalist were 1990, 1991, and 2003. He is one of four quarterbacks who has been a finalist without having earned induction into the prestigious organization.
This year Stabler is going via the Senior Committee, who considers the qualifications of players who have been retired for 25 or more years. He will need to earn at least 80 percent of the Selection Committee's vote for election.
Stabler passed away just under six weeks ago due to colon cancer at the age of 69.
