I lucked into a sideline pass for the spring game and saw a side I’ve never seen before. A few observations. 1) Sabanisms: -to the defense after they were confused and called a timeout - “What the hell are we doing!?! There’s only 2 things we can be in!!!” -to the ref after his second flag on the first series of the game- “What the hell are you doing!?! We are just trying to get it over with!!!” Saban was acting like he hated everything about the spring game. I don’t think he likes having to practice in front of the crowd and cameras. 2) Pat Fisher downed his own 2 yard punt. That was intense man. Who’s that punter from Carencro that is coming? 3) When Michael Clayton came out in his Bucs hat, he went and found Spears and they exchanged an emotional man hug. That was the highlight of the day for me. It was like they reached the end of a long road together. Clayton walked across the field and Saban shook his hand, that was cool too. 4) Mauck, Hunt, Bradie James were all down there hanging out behind the west side bench. Jordy was begging for interviews like a little chihuahua. Bryce Wyatt should be a pro wrestler. 5) Early Doucet is friggin huge, man. I had no idea he was all bowed up like that. Looked like he was about 6’2, 225-30. Yes that big. He has a neck like a linebacker. There were about 20 recruits down there in name tags but I didn’t know who anyone was. There were lots of signees too. 6) Overheard Steve Schneider on the phone telling someone that the golden girls were hot. And he was right…they were hot. 7) Players whose sheer size alone was startling: Barrington Edwards, Joe Lawrence, Mario Stevenson, Corey Webster, Jamarcus Russell. On the flip side, Nick Child looks like he is in junior high. Lawrence is Jack Hunt with about 20+ pounds of muscle. He was with the trainer a lot with a knee issue. Edwards is a valuable player with a great attitude. I hope he gets his shot here with the ball. He is a special teams demon, we all know that. Stevenson looks like the real deal man. He is tall and can cover. He is in the Webster/Daniels mold. 8) and the qb’s – they all looked pretty unpolished but that doesn’t mean much. The receiving corps is depleted this spring & I remember how bad Ro looked in the ’01 spring game before he became a tiger legend that season. Randall is clearly the most composed. He wasn’t exactly impressive but he showed he was the best we have at this moment. I think he can do what Mauck did for us. Remember that Mauck was good for at least one inexplicable pick a game last year. Randall is bigger, stronger, faster, and has a better arm than Mauck. He will get the job done and will be able to make throws and plays that Mauck could not make. Jamarcus will be a superior player before he is done here I believe. His touch needs some refining but his mid range balls over the middle are awesome. He throws some effortless rockets out there. I wish they would have given him some more shots deep. Flynn was rather unremarkable. He missed some open guys and looked like he had some game management issues like Russell. He probably just had an off game. The way these units were thrown together you can’t really expect a well oiled machine. Anyway, right now it has to be (IMO) 1) Randall 2) Russell 3) Flynn. All those Randall hating know-it-alls will deny they ever were 3 times before the final whistle blows in the Auburn game.
Randall has never impressed me, but....I feel like he is capable of making plays, then for some reason or another doesnt. It will be interesting, to say the least. Thanks for the report. Im starting to get excited again. Football season is comin'. Also, the Tiger bats really came alive against some great UT pitching this weekend. If the damn basketball team would just catch up...
That hug between Mike and Marcus was pretty cool. The other guys were coming over giving fives and shaking his hands and then Marcus walked up and they had a huge bearhug. I guess there's nothing like seeing your best friend having his dreams realized.
There was an article during the season that talked about how close Clayton (Florida St) & Spears (Miami) came to leaving the state after high school. I don't think we win the national championship if that happens. How big is B. Edwards these days? I'd like to see him take Devery's spot as the deep man returning kicks as a reward for his play last year. I guess there are probably a lot of other candidates for that spot. Xavier Carter? If no QB's pan out, how about Early running the wishbone with a backfield that includes Vincent, A. Broussard, & Addai or Carey? I know it would never happen but I think it would be cool as a change of pace when/if the offense is struggling. Whatever QB emerges will be fine. Time to work with the 1st team O-line, receivers, & Jimbo will bring out their full potential. With the talent on offense and a Saban-coached D, I honestly feel any of the 3 could lead us to back-to-back (might as well dream big again) National Championships.
Their will be another hug next year...Spears is projected top 15 and with another good season...top 10.
