Morris And Coker Two To Beat For Starting QB?
Alabama head football coach Nick Saban won't be meeting with the press again until Thursday, but one can reflect on what he's already said when it comes to what's happening with the team. And the starting quarterback job.
Saban has already told us that..."the quarterback decision is going to get made by what the players do on the field, who performs the best, who does the best job of leading the team, making good choices and decisions, taking care of the ball. "That's how it's going to get decided. We're sort of monitoring that every day."
Out of the five quarterbacks, it appears the starting position comes down to senior Jake Coker and junior Alec Morris. That's to take nothing away from sophomore Cooper Bateman, redshirt freshman David Cornwell or true freshman Blake Barnett. All are good quarterbacks and have shown some good skills during practices. But it is what it is.
Several reporters believe that Morris might even have taken a slight lead in the quarterback race. Reports from AL.com says so anyway. Regardless, the season opens in less than two weeks and no great separation has taken place between Morris and Coker...or the other three for that matter. Don't be surprised if no decision has been made by the time the initial depth chart is scheduled to be released, which is this Monday incidentally.
The Crimson Tide opens its season Saturday, September 5th in Arlington, Texas. Kickoff is at 7 p.m. CT and will be aired by ABC.
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4-Star Linebacker & 5-Star Safety Looking At Tide
Tyree Horton -Photo Credit: 247Sports
A pair of highly sought-after recruits have placed Alabama on their "lists."
The number one JuCo outside linebacker in the country according to 247Sports may be commited to FSU, but he plans official visits to several big-name schools. Four-star recruit Tyree Horton will be taking visits this fall to Alabama, Tennessee, Florida and Auburn according to a recent tweet. Since recruits are allowed five official visits during their final year it is pretty much a given that the fifth visit will be to Florida State, although he didn't tweet a fifth.
Horton is a Florida native but is currently at Highland Community College in Kansas.
Also considering the Crimson Tide is Nacogdoches, Texas five-star safety Brandon Jones. He has tweeted out his top six list of schools, which of course includes the University of Alabama. The others tweeted out by the number one safety in the 2016 recruiting class are LSU, Texas A&M, Texas, Baylor and Oregon. These are in no particular order, and it's believed that he is leaning toward the Aggies.
Brandon Jones
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Bama Soccer Defeats Troy In Home Opener 1-0
The University of Alabama bounced back from their season-opening loss to defeat the Troy Trojans 1-0 in the Tide's home opener at the Alabama Soccer Complex. The only goal of the game was scored by Bama sophomore Alexis Mouton. Senior goalkeeper Emily Rusk did her job keeping two of Troy's eight shots from scoring to record the shutout.
Alabama head coach Wes Hart said, "I'm very proud of our team tonight (Sunday). I was pleased with the way we played. In the first half we kept possession well, but unfortunately we were not able to score. After halftime, we attacked with purpose and were eventually rewarded for it."
This was Hart's first win as the new head man at UA. He is Bama's fourth soccer coach since the inception of the program and joined the Tide on April 9th.
"The crowd tonight (Sunday) was absolutely incredible," Hart said. "They definitely played a role in the win. We fed off of their energy and I am so grateful for their support. I hope we entertained them enough to get them back out on Friday for our game vs. Wake Forest."
Alabama will host Wake Forest this Friday, August 28th at 7 p.m. CT. Then it's on to Cookeville, Tennessee for a match with Tennessee Tech on Sunday, August 30th. That game, too, is slated to begin at 7 p.m. CT.
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Maya Jensen & Erin Routliffe In U.S. Open National Playoffs
Photo Credit: RollTide.com
University of Alabama will be well represented in the 2015 U.S. Open National Playoffs today through the 28th. Two-time NCAA Doubles National Champions Maya Jensen and Erin Routliffe are in New Haven, Connecticut looking to win a spot in the U.S. Open. The playoffs feature 16 winners and/or top available finishers from all 14 U.S. Open National Playoffs Sectional Qualifying Tournaments held throughout the United States. This afternoon Jansen and Routliffe will open with Carol Finke and ReeRee Lee in the tournament's opening round.
This is the sixth annual U.S. Open National Playoffs. The process began with thousands of competitors and narrowed them to 32 singles players and 16 men's doubles, women's doubles and mixed doubles teams. While all are at different stages of their careers, all have an equal shot to make the U.S. Open.
Jansen commented, "What an unbelievable experience. Erin and I are itching to get out there and get this thing going. We understand how fortunate we are to be here and that's largely due to the resources we've had to prepare us at UA. We're excited to represent the Crimson Tide on this stage."
Routliffe added, "This entire experience is very humbling. Maya and I have had so many incredible experiences over the last two years, and this is just another unforgettable moment that we'll share together. We are both hungry to compete and are looking forward to playing against some elite competition."
The winner of the Women's Doubles Championships advances to the main draw of the U.S. Open Women's Doubles Championship held August 31 through September 13 at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.
Jansen and Routliffe are just the third doubles team in NCAA women's tennis to win back-to-back national titles, with those coming in 2014 and 2015 for the duo. Their record for the 2014-15 season was 32-4, the most wins by a doubles pairing in the history of Alabama women's tennis. They have a two-year record of 57-8, the third-best slate in Alabama women's tennis history.
Congratulations, Maya and Erin! Roll Tide!
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O'Shaghnessey & Brewer Claim Doubles Title
Photo Credit: RollTide.com
Two University of Alabama paired up this weekend to win the doubles title this weekend at the Game, Set, Be The Match Mens' Open In Birmingham, Alabama. Senior Becker O'Shaughnessey and junior Hayes Brewer defeated the top-seeded pairing of Ryler DeHeart and Rahim Esmail to claim the title. The victory came with a final score of 6-3, 6-2.
This is the second doubles title for O'Shaughnessey this summer. He also was victorious in the singles and doubles matches and took the titles at the Georgia State Men's Open. He also was able to reach the singles semifinals at the Lifetime Athletics Men's Open as well as the ITA/USTA National Summer Championships.
Brewer captured a pair of doubles titles at ITA Summer events during the offseason, including the Tuscaloosa event with teammate Langford Hills.
