ALABAMA NOTEBOOK: Tide makes big plays at practice Sunday

Ken Rogers
Media General News Service
Published: August 3, 2008

TUSCALOOSA — Between morning interviews with the media and afternoon autographs with the fans, Alabama did practice on Sunday.

It was just Day 3 of camp, and drills and fundamentals in shoulder pads and helmets were the order of the day.

But it did have its highlights. John Parker Wilson, working seven-on-seven against the first defense, lofted a deep pass for freshman receiver Julio Jones, who was guarded step-for-step by Javier Arenas along the right sideline. The ball hit Jones in stride, drawing a big cheer from the crowd.

Freshman quarterback Star Jackson hit Travis Sikes on a nice deep ball against Robby Green, prompting another nice response from the stands.

Linebacker Cory Reamer stepped in front of a deep slant pass from Wilson intended for Mike McCoy and picked it off.

Wilson came back and found Jones and McCoy on consecutive throws for touchdowns.

It was a fast-paced workout, with little standing around and few people on the ground. The Tide worked through a series of eight-minute periods during the two-hour practice.

And there was plenty of Saban. From getting on Rashad Johnson for going through the motions on a drill to giving pointers about pursuit angles to a freshman to throwing passes against the secondary to checking his detailed notes, Saban never stopped moving — or talking — during the workout.

Fan Day
A couple thousand cheered as the first players came on to the field around 2:12 p.m., 18 minutes before practice began.

Punter Heath Thomas drew applause for a couple nice kicks during warm-ups.

The crowd grew as practice neared its conclusion, to an announced 7,750 who braved sweltering heat. Fans lined up outside of the South end zone for the 45-minute autograph session.

There was still a 60-yard wait for Saban’s autograph with six minutes left in the period.

Saban praises Steele
The Tide head coach improved the titles of a couple assistants in the off-season, but the scheme pretty much is unchanged.

“I think we have a really good defensive staff, and I don’t think that any of the changes that we made are affecting anything that we do,” Saban said.

Still, associate head coach and head defensive coach Kevin Steele has earned his new title.

“Kevin Steele is as good a coach as I’ve ever been around — probably is as ready to be a head coach anywhere in the country as anybody we’ve ever had,” Saban said. “He’s mature. He’s been a head coach before (at Baylor).”

Kirby Smart, who now has the defensive coordinator title, works closely with Steele.

“Kirby’s mature enough at this point in his career to take on a little bit more responsibility,” Saban said. “Those two guys work extremely well together.”

Steele reminded writers that he and Smart worked together at Florida State when Smart was a graduate assistant.

He also joked about the upgraded titles.

“There’s enough work around here, I’ll promise you,” he said. “If you’ve got anybody else who wants to come along and get a title, we’ll give them a title and put them to work because there’s plenty to do.”

Hanks in black
Saban said slot receiver Darius Hanks, who has earned rave reviews from his teammates, was in a black (no-contact) jersey, but went through the two-plus hour workout.

“Hanks is in a black shirt because he had a shoulder injury in the spring,” Saban said before the practice.  “He had surgery right after spring practice. He is cleared to practice. No one had any contact, but he would not have had contact if we were in shoulder pads, shells or whatever.  We will go in shoulder pads and shells today.”

Lowe missing
Jonathan Lowe, the nephew of Woodrow Lowe and the son of Eddie Lowe, who both played at Alabama, wasn’t invited to fall camp.

Lowe, from Phenix City, played in 10 games last year as a kick returner and backup running back.

“We didn’t invite him back to fall camp,” Saban said. “I haven’t discussed whether he wants to come back after school starts or not. We just picked the 105 players we thought were ... He didn’t stay here this summer and didn’t work out. We had several other players who didn’t do that. But we just thought these were the guys we needed to invite to camp. We made the decision to move on.”

Stallings remembered
Saban began Sunday’s press conference by noting the passing of John Mark Stallings, the son of former Alabama coach Gene Stallings, who died Saturday at age 46.

“John Mark was certainly someone I grew to love in a very short period of time, in terms of his passion and spirit for the University of Alabama, as well for life and how he affected so many people in this community,” Saban said. “The Stallings family will always be a great part of the tradition of the The University of Alabama. Our thoughts and prayers are with them on this Sunday morning.”

Visitation will be held today from 6 to 8 p.m. at Sparrett Funeral Home, located at 425 South Church Street in Paris, Texas.  The funeral service will be held on Tuesday at 5 p.m. at Lamar Avenue Church of Christ, located at 3535 Lamar Avenue in Paris.  Burial will follow at the Stallings’ Hike-A-Way Ranch.

For more information, contact the Sparrett Funeral Home in Paris at 903-784-4333.

Alabama director of athletics Mal Moore said he was headed to Texas to be with the family.

“I’ve been around a lot of people in my life, but no one who could make people feel as loved as John Mark,” Moore said. “He was quite an ambassador for the university when he was here.”

Moore was a student and Gene Stallings an assistant on Bear Bryant’s staff when John Mark was born.