Karl Dunbar New Crimson Tide DL Coach?
Karl Dunbar
Nothing is official until an announcement by Alabama head football coach Nick Saban, but a twitter account that could belong to NFL assistant coach Karl Dunbar has announced he has joined the coaching staff at the University of Alabama.
I, myself, have perused the account, named @UACoachDunbar, and observed Crimson Tide recruits and commitments being followed. The profile on the account reads, "Defensive Line Coach at The University of Alabama." Should the account be legitimate then Dunbar would be filling the vacant defensive line coaching position vacated by Bo Davis, who resigned concerning potential recruiting violations.
The Twitter account of @UACoachDunbar reads:
I, myself, have perused the account, named @UACoachDunbar, and observed Crimson Tide recruits and commitments being followed. The profile on the account reads, "Defensive Line Coach at The University of Alabama." Should the account be legitimate then Dunbar would be filling the vacant defensive line coaching position vacated by Bo Davis, who resigned concerning potential recruiting violations.
The Twitter account of @UACoachDunbar reads:
Blessed to be part of The Process #RollTide [link url="https://t.co/GPGDUhV7v2" ]https://t.co/GPGDUhV7v2[/link]— Karl Dunbar (@UACoachDunbar) May 9, 2016
Several of the Alabama football assistant coaches follow the account.
Though Saban and the university have not confirmed the hire, it is reported that Dunbar was/is in Tuscaloosa, having been seen yesterday, according to a report by Travis Reier of BamaOnLine.
Until this past March, Dunbar was the defensive line coach for the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League. He was the strength and conditioning coach at LSU under Nick Saban from 2000-2001. He left for the NFL and then returned to the Tigers to coach the defensive line under Les Miles in 2005.
Dunbar played professional football with the New Orleans Saints and the Arizona Cardinals. His coaching stints include the Chicago Bears, Minnesota Vikings, New York Jets and most recently the Buffalo Bills.
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Andie Daniell Is ITA Southern Region Rookie Of The Year
Graphics/Photo Credit: RollTide.com
The awards keep stacking up for Alabama women's tennis freshman Andie Daniell. The young lady now has been named the Intercollegiate Tennis Association's Rookie of the Year for the southern region. This means that Daniell is now one of 12 eligible for national rookie of the year honors to be announced on Tuesday, May 24th.
Alabama women's tennis head coach Jenny Mainz said, "Andie has done a commendable job of battling at the top of our lineup as a freshman. She has proven that she can compete with anyone in the country and is
consistent with the way she competes. We’re optimistic that Andie will
continue leading Alabama to national prominence."
Daniell has had an outstanding season for the Crimson Tide, being named the Southeastern Conference Freshman of the Year and
Second Team All-SEC selection and an All-Freshman Team selection. Daniell led the Tide with 20 singles victories as well as another 16 victories in doubles throughout the
2015-16 season. Nine of her singles wins came against nationally-ranked
opponents, the highest of which was against LSU’s Joana Vale Costa, ranked 20th at the time of the match. Daniell split time throughout
the dual match season at No. 1 and No. 2 singles. She reached a high of 31st nationally in March.
Daniell is the first Alabama freshman to make the field of 64 since Alexa Guarachi in 2010.
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ESPN Releases 2016 Football Power Index
The ESPN sports network has released its 2016 Football Power Index. The FPI, according to ESPN, is a measure of team strength that is meant to be the best predictor of a team's performance going forward for the rest of the season, or in this case prior to the start of the season. FPI represents how many points above or below an average team is. Again, according to ESPN, projected results are based on 10,000 simulations of the rest of the season, or again in this case the entire upcoming season, using FPI, results to date (whatever that is this time of year), and the remaining schedule (the entire 2016 schedule).
In this first release of the FPI, ESPN is showing the University of Alabama football team at number six. In the top 30, the Southeastern Conference has 10 of the 14 universities listed, of which Alabama is third. Those Southeastern Conference schools, in order of "power" are: LSU (2), Tennessee (5), Alabama (6), Ole Miss (7), Georgia (10), Texas A&M (15), Auburn (18), Florida (19), Mississippi State (26) and Arkansas (27). The other four SEC schools and their positions are South Carolina (44), Vanderbilt (50), Missouri (51) and Kentucky (56).
The Southeastern Conference by far has the most schools listed in the top 30 with a total of 10. Next is the Big 12 with 6 schools making the list, with the highest being Oklahoma at number three. The Pac 12 was next with 5 schools listed, the highest being USC at number eight. The Big Ten had only 3 schools in the top 30, with Michigan the highest, coming in at number 11.
Here is a look at the top 30 in the ESPN 2016 Football Power Index:
1. FSU
2. LSU
3. Oklahoma
4. Clemson
5. Tennessee
6. Alabama
7. Ole Miss
8. USC
9. Oklahoma State
10. Georgia
11. Michigan
12. Louisville
13. UCLA
14. Washington
15. Texas A&M
16. Baylor
17. OSU
18. Auburn
19. Florida
20. Notre Dame
21. UNC
22. Stanford
23. Nebraska
24. Texas
25. Pitt
26. Mississippi State
27. Arkansas
28. West Virginia
29. Oregon
30. TCU
Incidentally, the Projected Wins vs Losses category has Alabama winning 8.9 and losing 3.3, so go figure.
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Saban Says To Relax...But Grow
UA Head Football Coach Nick Saban
Photo Credit: RollTide.com
Photo Credit: RollTide.com
University of Alabama head football coach Nick Saban has a process, as everyone knows. He has a way of doing things...and a way he likes for his players to do things.
Classes have recently ended at the University of Alabama, giving the members of the Crimson Tide football team three weeks at home, should they choose. At least they get three weeks away from the university and the grind of day-to-day workouts and academics.
Saban, in Atlanta a few days ago concerning that upcoming three weeks and his players, said, "It's kind of their downtime. It's kind of their off time. It's where they go home and it's their vacation before we come back."
Saban told the players, "It is time for you to relax but you can still grow. It doesn't mean you have to work out every day. It doesn't mean you have you have to kill yourself, but you can still grow in terms of how you think, the choices and decisions that you make in terms of what's going to benefit you in being a better player and better competitor next year."
When the team returns at the start of summer classes at the end of the month (not necessarily that they will be taking classes), it will be time for the summer conditioning to kick in. That's where strength and conditioning coach Scott Cochran and his program/process gets underway prior to the start of the 2016 football season.
This time of year, however, coaches aren't allowed to participate in any football-related training by mandate of the NCAA. That means it's all up to the players themselves. Perhaps not "all", but certainly it's up to the players to handle instruction and such within the team, up until preseason camp that begins in early August.
Saban commented, "I think the summer time, when they come back after Memorial Day is certainly a time when leadership has a chance to flourish because the coaches aren't around as much. The coaches aren't allowed to be out there when they're working out. So that's a time when leadership certainly has an opportunity to flourish."
Classes have recently ended at the University of Alabama, giving the members of the Crimson Tide football team three weeks at home, should they choose. At least they get three weeks away from the university and the grind of day-to-day workouts and academics.
Saban, in Atlanta a few days ago concerning that upcoming three weeks and his players, said, "It's kind of their downtime. It's kind of their off time. It's where they go home and it's their vacation before we come back."
Saban told the players, "It is time for you to relax but you can still grow. It doesn't mean you have to work out every day. It doesn't mean you have you have to kill yourself, but you can still grow in terms of how you think, the choices and decisions that you make in terms of what's going to benefit you in being a better player and better competitor next year."
When the team returns at the start of summer classes at the end of the month (not necessarily that they will be taking classes), it will be time for the summer conditioning to kick in. That's where strength and conditioning coach Scott Cochran and his program/process gets underway prior to the start of the 2016 football season.
This time of year, however, coaches aren't allowed to participate in any football-related training by mandate of the NCAA. That means it's all up to the players themselves. Perhaps not "all", but certainly it's up to the players to handle instruction and such within the team, up until preseason camp that begins in early August.
Saban commented, "I think the summer time, when they come back after Memorial Day is certainly a time when leadership has a chance to flourish because the coaches aren't around as much. The coaches aren't allowed to be out there when they're working out. So that's a time when leadership certainly has an opportunity to flourish."
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Crimson Tide Men's Tennis Duo Honored
Graphic/Photo Credit: RollTide.com
A pair of student-athletes representing the Alabama men's tennis team have earned two of the five Intercollegiate Tennis Association regional awards. Tide senior Becker O'Shaughnessey was honored with the ITA/Arthur Ashe Leadership and Sportsmanship Award. Freshman Mazen Osama was named the Southern Region Rookie of the year for his outstanding year. Both are now up for national honors to be announced on Tuesday, May 24th.
Alabama men's tennis head coach George Husack said, "It's always a good thing to be recognized by your peers, and I applaud
our region for selecting Becker and Mazen for these awards. It's humbling to see that an Alabama player is being honored for an
award named after one of the game's all-time great athletes and
humanitarians in Arthur Ashe. Becker made his mark by excelling on and
off the court, while his sportsmanship, leadership and character stood
out in his college career aside from his statistics. Mazen made a
significant impact during his freshman campaign, and we look forward to
see his growth and maturity as a student-athlete continue to develop
throughout his time at Alabama."
The 2016 Alabama men's tennis team captain, O'Shaughnessey, captured over 80 victories throughout his career in singles and another 70 in doubles for the Crimson Tide. He was ranked nationally in both categories. During his four years with Bama he earned several athletic and academic honors, including doubles All-America honors and the ITA Southern Region Player To Watch Award back in 2014. The young man is a three-time member of the SEC Academic Honor Roll, a three-time ITA
Scholar Athlete, a two-time member of the All-SEC
Second Team and was a member of the 2013 SEC All-Freshman Team.
Osama has received quite a few honors himself as a member of the Alabama men's tennis team. He recently earned All-America honors in doubles and was named Second Team All-SEC and All-Freshman Team, and was the only freshman in the league to play primarily at No. 1 singles and doubles throughout the season. Osama led the Tide with 13 singles victories in dual match play and another 17 wins in doubles. He entered the national singles rankings in January after being No. 1 on the Oracle/ITA Division I Men's National Newcomer/Freshman of the Year list in September. He also had a very successful dual match season in doubles with Crimson Tide sophomore Korey Lovett, reaching a program-high ranking of No. 4. The pair went undefeated in their last 11 regular season matches, beating eight nationally-ranked opponents during that run.
Osama and Lovett will represent the University of Alabama in the 2016 NCAA Singles and Doubles Championships beginning May 25th at the Case Tennis Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Osama has received quite a few honors himself as a member of the Alabama men's tennis team. He recently earned All-America honors in doubles and was named Second Team All-SEC and All-Freshman Team, and was the only freshman in the league to play primarily at No. 1 singles and doubles throughout the season. Osama led the Tide with 13 singles victories in dual match play and another 17 wins in doubles. He entered the national singles rankings in January after being No. 1 on the Oracle/ITA Division I Men's National Newcomer/Freshman of the Year list in September. He also had a very successful dual match season in doubles with Crimson Tide sophomore Korey Lovett, reaching a program-high ranking of No. 4. The pair went undefeated in their last 11 regular season matches, beating eight nationally-ranked opponents during that run.
Osama and Lovett will represent the University of Alabama in the 2016 NCAA Singles and Doubles Championships beginning May 25th at the Case Tennis Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
