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Tide Prepares For First Spring Football Scrimmage
Alabama Defensive Coordinator Jeremy Pruitt
Photo Credit: RollTide.com
The first scrimmage of a planned two spring scrimmages (not including the A-Day Game scrimmage) will be this Saturday, April 2nd inside Bryant-Denny Stadium, and will also be the first opportunity to not only see the 2016 version of the Alabama Crimson Tide football team in action, but also how the defensive signal-calling will be handled by new defensive coordinator JEREMY PRUITT after the departure of long-time defensive coordinator and new Georgia head coach Kirby Smart. Well, the "seeing" won't be the general public, but will be the head coach having the opportunity to view the progress and cohesiveness of his new staff and team.
There have been several shifts in positions for the coming year. One of the biggest is junior pass-rusher RASHAAN EVANS. He's been working with the inside linebackers this spring. Evans, remember, played on the outside in 2015, and was called upon by the coaches to go into games on crucial third down situations to add needed speed off the edge.
What many are wondering about for the upcoming season is how the change in defensive coordinators will affect the play of the defending national champion's defensive. How will things change as to how signals are given or sent to the field, or the strategies implemented for various situations. One word being tossed about already by players is "energy."
Outside linebacker RYAN ANDERSON made the comment that "he (Pruitt) brings a different kind of energy"...to the players and the process overall. Anderson further stated, "He's definitely more of a player's coach. A lot of the guys are more willing to sell out for the guy because he's willing to do it for us. It's a different style."
Pruitt has the defensive credentials for coaching a national championship defense. Remember, after leaving Alabama following the 2012 title, Pruitt helped win another BCS National Championship as the defensive coordinator of the Florida State Seminoles in 2013. He then headed to Georgia last year, but after the firing of then-head coach Mark Richt he became available and was snatched up by Alabama head coach NICK SABAN to lead the Crimson Tide defensive beginning in 2016.
Pruitt has a more aggressive approach to defense than Smart. In fact, in the run to the national championship in 2013 with FSU saw Pruitt calling blitzes 60 percent more than those used by Smart with the Crimson Tide. And last season with Richt and the Georgia Bulldogs? Pruitt's defense ended the season No.1 in pass efficiency defense as well as the No. 1 defense against explosive plays allowed. Compare that to the national championship Tide coming in at seventh and ninth in those same categories.
One of the things the defensive unit has already learned and appreciate has been articulated by Anderson very succinctly, "He (Pruitt) puts his players first. We all appreciate that."
Here is the remainder of the Crimson Tide's spring practice schedule:
- Wednesday, March 30 (3:30 p.m. CT)
- Friday, April 1 (3:30 p.m. CT)
- Saturday, April 2 (TBD)
- Monday, April 4 (3:30 p.m. CT)
- Wednesday, April 6 (3:30 p.m. CT)
- Friday, April 8 (3:30 p.m. CT)
- Saturday, April 9 (TBD)
- Tuesday, April 12 (3:30 p.m. CT)
- Thursday, April 14 (3:30 p.m. CT)
- Saturday, April 16 (2 p.m. CT) A-Day Game scrimmage
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Bama Baseball Crushed 10-1 By Auburn
Photo Credit: RollTide.com
The University of Alabama baseball team was crushed 10-1 by Auburn last night in the annual MAX Capital City Classic at Riverwalk Stadium in Montgomery. The loss moves the Tide to 15-9 overall on the season.
"Part of [last night's] loss can be attributed to when your opponent does a really good job," stated Alabama head baseball coach MITCH GASPARD. "They slapped us around early, and we could never get our footing. When
we went to the bullpen, it seemed like they greeted every guy with a
hard-hit ball. Offensively, when we did get a few guys out there in the
first three innings we couldn't produce a big hit. We had our spots
there early to do it, but we couldn't deliver."
The Tide bats were never able to get on track to put men over home plate. The lone Bama score came in the top of the second inning. HUNTER WEBB was hit by a pitch allowing a runner to score as he was advanced to first.
Up next for Bama is a three-game series with Georgia slated for Thursday through Saturday. Thursday's game is scheduled for 6 p.m. CT, Friday at 6, and then the final game on Saturday will be at 11 a.m. CT. All three games will be broadcast on the SEC Network.
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Alabama Softball Ranked 6th/7th Nationally
Photo Credit: RollTide.com
The Alabama Crimson Tide Softball team remains in the top 10 in the national rankings this week. Bama remained at number six for the fourth-consecutive week in the USA Today/NFCA coaches' poll, and advanced one position to seventh in the ESPN.com/USA Softball media poll.
The first six in the coaches' poll remains the same from last week, but James Madison moved to seventh while LSU dropped one position to eighth. Washington and Texas A&M fell out of the top 10 to 11th and 12th, while Florida State and Georgia moved into the ninth and tenth slots. Most of the media poll was similar with the exception of James Madison jumping the Tide to sixth when LSU fell to tenth.
The Southeastern Conference has nine schools in this weeks top 25, more than any other conference. Those schools are: Florida (1/1), Auburn (3/3), ALABAMA (6/7), LSU (8/10), Georgia (10/9), Texas A&M (12/11), Kentucky (14/12), Missouri (15/15) and Tennessee (17/16). South Carolina is receiving votes outside the top 25 in the coaches’ poll, and the Mississippi State Bulldogs are receiving some love in the media poll.
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Men's Track & Field
Kord Ferguson Named SEC Freshman Of The Week
Tide Track & Field Athlete Kord Ferguson
Photo Credit: RollTide.com
The Southeastern Conference yesterday announced that Alabama track & field's KORD FERGUSON is the SEC Men's Freshman of the Week.
Ferguson currently leads the Tide in both the shot put and discus, and is ranked inside the top 20
nationally in both events. Last weekend at the Florida State Relays, the redshirt freshman recorded a new personal-best toss of 61-3 1/2 (18.68m) to claim
the shot put title, which is good enough for 16th in the nation so
far in the outdoor season.
The young man also ranks second in the NCAA in the discus behind a throw of 193-6 (58.98m) at the John Mitchell Alabama Relays to open the season.
This is the first outdoor SEC Men’s Freshman of the Week accolade earned by a member of the Alabama men’s track & field squad since 2014 when current junior HAYDEN REED did so.
The Crimson Tide track & field teams will be sending athletes to the Florida Relays in Gainesville, Florida March 31-April 2 and the Stanford Invitational in Palo Alto, California on April 1.
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Haylie McCleney Senior CLASS Finalist
Alabama Senior Haylie McCleney
Photo Credit: RollTide.com
Alabama senior softball player HAYLIE McCLENEY has been named as one of 10 finalists for the 2016 Senior CLASS award. The award is presented each year to honor student-athletes who use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as community leaders.
Fans of the Crimson Tide and Haylie are encouraged to go to www.seniorclassaward.com to vote on the award's official website. Fans are allowed to vote for up to three candidates once per day on your computer or mobile device. Voting is scheduled to run through May 9th and fan votes will be combined with those of the media and Division I head coaches to determine a winner, which will be announced during the 2016 Women’s College World Series.
The Senior CLASS award stands for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School. It is awarded each year to a senior student-athlete that best exemplifies the four areas of excellence: community, classroom, character and competition.
McCleney is a senior exercise science major and holds a 4.0 cumulative GPA at Alabama and is a two-time Academic All-American. She was named the Academic All-America Team Member of the Year for Division I softball last season. McCleney is only the second player in program history to earn First Team honors as both an All-American and Academic All-American in the same season, doing so as a sophomore and junior.
Those from Bama who have previously won the award are CHARLOTTE MORGAN in 2010 and KAYLA BRAND in 2013. KAILA HUNT was a finalist for the Tide in 2014.
