Tag: Alabama Crimson Tide

Cyrus Jones underwent open-heart surgery this week

Former Alabama cornerback Cyrus Jones underwent open-heart surgery this week in Denver, Colorado. 

Former Alabama cornerback Cyrus Jones underwent open-heart surgery this week in Denver, Colorado.

According to the Baltimore Sun, an anomalous coronary artery is a heart defect that causes an artery to grow in the wrong place. It’s the condition that affected UCLA basketball player Shareef O’Neal, the son of Shaquille O’Neal. Shareef O’Neal missed his freshman year after being diagnosed.

Jones was drafted by the New England Patriots in the second round of the 2016 NFL Draft. In 2018, he bounced back and forth from the Baltimore Ravens to the Patriots until finally staying with the Ravens in late 2018. That year, Jones had a HUGE 70 yard punt return for a TD against the Oakland Raiders in week 12 which earned him the AFC Special Teams Player of the Week.

On November 12, 2019, the Ravens released Jones. One day later, the Denver Broncos claimed him off waivers. And then on November 26th, Jones was placed on the reserve/non-football injury list.

For the Ravens this season, Jones had 12 returns for 113 yards as well as 4 tackles.

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Dont’a Hightower explains what makes Bill Belichick, Nick Saban special

Dont’a Hightower was fortunate to play under Bill Belichick and Nick Saban in his football career. 

Dont’a Hightower was fortunate to play under Bill Belichick and Nick Saban in his football career.

This has transpired into two college national championships and three Super Bowl rings at the age of 29. He still has time to rack up more accolades and he’s become the ultimate leader for the New England Patriots defense. Hightower was drafted by the Patriots in 2012, so the coaching techniques from Belichick and Saban are engrained in him.

He spoke to reporters on Thursday and discussed the newest documentary that aired recently, ‘Belichick & Saban: The Art of Coaching’.

“I thought it was really good,” Hightower said, transcribed by NESN. “I thought that it spoke a lot about what those guys meant to each other and how much of an effect they have on not just one another, but their families, as well, and just kind of understanding what football is.

“A lot of times people just see the — no disrespect — but the (Sean) McVays of the world. They see the razzle-dazzle stuff. A lot of times, you don’t necessarily understand and appreciate — obviously not in this circumstance with Bill and Nick — but understand and respect the hard work that comes with starting from the bottom and understanding how things work. A lot of guys get things handed to them. Those guys really started from the bottom, whether it be a (grad assistant) or on special teams.”

These guys have a combined 12 championships as head coaches and they’re still in pursuit for more. They’ve been friends for over four decades and they’ve both changed the dynamic of collegiate and professional football.

“I couldn’t have been blessed enough to play for two better head coaches,” Hightower said.

Hightower and the Patriots are currently 10-3 and preparing for the Cincinnati Bengals after losing two consecutive games.

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BAMA BEAT: Non-Playoff bowl games + players potentially skipping (Ep. 279)

Clint Lamb and Brett Hudson sit down to discuss Alabama football playing in its first non-Playoff bowl game since 2013.

Cecil Hurt and Clint Lamb, through TideSports.com and The Tuscaloosa News, produce a podcast called “The ‘Bama Beat”, which features all the latest news and analysis surrounding the Alabama Crimson Tide.

In this episode, Lamb and Brett Hudson sit down to discuss Alabama football playing in its first non-Playoff bowl game since 2013. During the discussion, the two dive into players potentially skipping the bowl game for the NFL draft while also touching on potential Playoff expansion.

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Five Alabama Football Players Named on the SEC All-Freshman Team

On Thursday, Alabama had five freshman named to the SEC All-Freshman Team, the most among all 14 SEC programs.

On Thursday, Alabama had five freshman named to the SEC All-Freshman Team, the most among all 14 SEC programs.

Freshman offensive linemann Evan Neal, defensive limeman Christian Barmore, linebackers Shane Lee and Christian Harris, and walk-on punter Ty Perine were the five freshman named to the list.

Here is the entire list of the players named to the all-freshman team:

OFFENSE

TE
Jalen Wydermeyer, Texas A&M

OL
Wanya Morris, Tennessee
Darnell Wright, Tennessee
Kenyon Green, Texas A&M
Evan Neal, Alabama

WR
George Pickens, Georgia
Treylon Burks, Arkansas

QB
Bo Nix, Auburn

RB
Isaiah Spiller, Texas A&M
Jerrion Ealy, Ole Miss

AP
Jerrion Ealy, Ole Miss

DEFENSE

DL
Christian Barmore, Alabama
Zacch Pickens, South Carolina
Nathan Pickering, Mississippi State
Travon Walker, Georgia

LB
Shane Lee, Alabama
Christian Harris, Alabama
Henry To’o To’o, Tennessee

DB
Derek Stingley, LSU
Demani Richardson, Texas A&M
Kaiir Elam, Florida
Jammie Robinson, South Carolina

SPECIAL TEAMS
PK
Cade York, LSU P
Ty Perine, Alabama

RS
Jerrion Ealy, Ole Miss

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All-Decade Power Rankings: Alabama rules college football Top 25 for the 2010s

Alabama, Clemson, Ohio State and Oklahoma are the obvious choices. But who else had a great decade in the 2010s in college football?

The decade is coming to a close. A good time to see what schools accomplished what on the gridiron and where they ranked.

25. Texas A&M  (84-46)

Bob Levey/Getty Images

The Aggies brought us one of the most exciting players of the decade in Johnny Manziel. Not that it is as big a deal anymore, but they did make a bowl in every season. They are 5-4 in postseason games in the 2010s and have a Texas Bowl appearance upcoming. Texas A&M for all its success is on its third coach, Jimbo Fisher, of the decade.

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BREAKING: 4 Star OL, Javion Cohen, flips from Auburn to Alabama

On Wednesday, Javion Cohen, a 4 Star offensive lineman from Phenix-City, Alabama, decommited from Auburn and committed to the Crimson Tide.

On Wednesday, Javion Cohen, a 4 Star offensive lineman from Phenix-City, Alabama, decommited from Auburn and committed to the Crimson Tide.

This is a HUGE offensive pickup for the Crimson Tide.

Cohen makes the 24th commitment in the tide’s 2020 recruiting class,  and the 17th 4 star recruit in the 2020 class.

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Jaylen Waddle named SEC Special Teams Player of the Year

On Wednesday, Alabama’s Jaylen Waddle was named the SEC Special Teams Player of the Year.

On Wednesday, Alabama’s Jaylen Waddle was named the SEC Special Teams Player of the Year. The award was voted on my all 14 SEC coaches, who were not allowed to vote for a player on their team.

Waddle leads the country in punt returns averaging 24.9 yards per punt. So far this season, Waddle had 474 yards off of 19 punt returns and a TD. Waddle also returned 4 kickoffs for 152 yards, and a TD.

As if that wasn’t impressive enough, Waddle also contributed offensively, having 32 catches as wideout for 53 yards and 6TDs.

Waddle is the first player since Christion Jones in 2013 to win SEC Special Teams Player of the Year.

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CFB 150: Top college football dynasties

SportsPulse: USA TODAY Sports’ Paul Myerberg discusses three college football dynasties that stand out from the past 150 years.

SportsPulse: USA TODAY Sports’ Paul Myerberg discusses three college football dynasties that stand out from the past 150 years.

Bear Bryant and Nick Saban named greatest coaches in CFB History

Paul Bear Bryant and Nick Saban are the No. 1 and No. 2 coaches to ever coach college football according to the ESPN.

There’s no doubt that Paul Bear Bryant and Nick Saban are two of the greatest coaches to ever coach the game. But, thanks to ESPN’S Top 150 greatest coaches in college football 150 year history, it’s officially true.

In fact, Paul Bear Bryant and Nick Saban are the top two coaches to ever coach college football according to ESPN.

Paul Bear Bryant, who was voted the No. 1 coach of all time, coached at Maryland, Kentucky, and Texas A&M before ending his coaching career at Alabama from 1958-1982. In his coaching career at Alabama, he went 232-46-9.

According to the ESPN article,

“Bryant won two national championships at Alabama in the 1960s playing one-platoon football. He won three more in the 1970s playing several platoons, waves of players on each side of the ball. He won throwing the ball. He won running the ball. As the Texas philosopher/football coach Bum Phillips, a one-time Bryant assistant at Texas A&M, said, “He could take his’n and beat your’n, and he could take your’n and beat his’n.” He made players out of boys and head coaches out of assistants. As one of his favorite players, Crimson Tide lineman Jerry Duncan, said recently, “God, what a man.”

Nick Saban was right behind Bear Bryant in the No. 2 spot. And it’s no shock. Since Nick Saban’s arrival, Saban has been constantly compared to Bear Bryant, and the stats line up.

Saban has coached at Toledo, Michigan State, and LSU, before arriving in Tuscaloosa in 2007 to lead the Crimson Tide. Since his arrival, he’s gone 151-23 at Alabama.

ESPN had this to say about Nick Saban and why he was in the No. 2 spot:

“Saban didn’t start out as the greatest coach in the past 50 years. He won at Toledo and Michigan State but not enough to win a conference title. He came to LSU with a reputation of not staying anywhere too long. In five seasons, he won the Tigers’ first national title in 45 years. And then he left for the NFL. That lasted only two years, and when he returned to the college game, at LSU’s SEC West rival Alabama, the clock began ticking until he would leave again. After 13 seasons, five national championships and the most successful run in the modern game, it’s still ticking.”

It says a lot about Alabama’s football history to have the top two coaches of all time. One who left his legacy in Tuscaloosa in the form of houndstooth, and one who’s still creating his.

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