Former Bama stars helping Tide prepare
Alabama’s football support staff has grown so large under coach Nick Saban that it also includes former players on the scout team.
To help the Crimson Tide prepare for last Saturday’s 10-0 triumph at LSU, John Parker Wilson emulated Tigers quarterback Danny Etling and Trent Richardson played the role of star tailback Leonard Fournette. Wilson guided Alabama to a No. 1 ranking in 2008 before a loss to Florida in the Southeastern Conference title game, while Richardson rushed for 1,679 yards for the 2011 national champions and finished third in the Heisman Trophy voting.
“I think all the players coming back and wanting to contribute to the program shows their gratitude and appreciation of what they were able to accomplish here,” Saban said after Wednesday’s practice in a news conference. “I just love it that they all want to come back.”
Wilson and Richardson weren’t the first former standouts to come back to offer assistance. Blake Sims, who quarterbacked Alabama to the 2014 SEC title and a berth in the inaugural four-team playoff, played the role of Texas A&M quarterback Trevor Knight before the Crimson Tide hosted the Aggies on Oct. 22.
Aggies coach Kevin Sumlin admitted on Wednesday’s SEC teleconference that he was impressed by Alabama’s unique practice method.
“It says, like a lot of things with Nick, that he’s a cutting-edge guy who’s always looking for ways to not only increase production from his current team but keep former players engaged,” Sumlin said. “A lot of people looked at it and said, ‘Can you do that?’ He’s already been through the ‘Can you do that?’ phase.
“It’s another example of how he approaches the game and the creative people he surrounds himself with. He’s got a lot of really good players on his team, and he’s got a lot of really good former players, too, who can do those types of things.”
How does Alabama do it?
The NCAA stipulates that student-athletes in order to practice must be enrolled in a “minimum fulltime program of studies,” but the governing body made an exception to practice rules in March 2011. The exception, or NCAA bylaw 14.2.1.6, states “a former student at the certifying institution may participate in an organized practice session on an occasional basis, provided the institution does not publicize the participation of the former student at any time before the practice session.”
Saban said he talked to both the SEC and the NCAA before
“It says ... that he’s a cuttingedge guy who’s always looking for ways to not only increase production from his current team but keep former players engaged.”
moving forward with using former players.
“I hate I didn’t think of it first,” Ole Miss coach Hugh Freeze said. “It’s thinking out of the box, and just this week I’ve tried to find out the exact rules that allow you to do that and the parameters for which you have to operate. We’ll start formulating our list of former players to do that also, since it’s permissible.”
Said Auburn’s Gus Malzahn: “I didn’t know anything about it. We stick with whoever’s on our team.”
Are more former Tide players being used to prepare against Mississippi State? Why, of course.
“We’ve got some guys coming back this week, too, that we’re anxious to see,” Saban said.
All clubbed up
Alabama senior inside linebacker and leading tackle Reuben Foster wore a club on his left hand due to an injured finger. Saban said Foster would wear a smaller club during Saturday’s contest.
“I don’t think it will affect his game at all,” Saban said.
What election?
A day after Donald Trump stunned Hillary Clinton to win the presidential election, Saban was asked to offer his thoughts.
“To be honest with you, I didn’t even know yesterday was Election Day,” he responded. “It was so important to me that I didn’t even know it was happening. We’re focused on other things here.”