Tag: kendrick blackshire

10 players with the most to prove in Alabama’s A-Day game

Roll Tide Wire breaks down which 10 Alabama football players have the most to prove in Alabama’s A-Day game on Saturday.

Alabama finished last season with an 11-2 record and a Sugar Bowl victory over Kansas State. This may sound like a successful season, but not for the Crimson Tide program.

The expectation for the Tide each season is that they reach the conference championship as well as the College Football Playoff. Anything less is a disappointment among the Alabama faithful.

With several key players from a season ago headed to the NFL, there will be some new faces at key positions.

Roll Tide Wire takes a look at 10 players that have the most to prove in Alabama’s A-Day game on Saturday.

Five defensive players who need to play well in Friday’s scrimmage

Five defensive players who need to play well in Alabama’s first scrimmage of the spring!

[autotag]Nick Saban[/autotag] and the Alabama football team will hold its first scrimmage of the spring on Friday afternoon before having the weekend off for Easter.

Coach Saban and the Tide generally don’t allow much information to be released from the closed scrimmages but there are always some little hints sprinkled throughout Coach Saban’s comments afterward.

With the scrimmage just a few hours away, Roll Tide Wire thought it would be a good idea to look at five players from each side of the ball that need to step up and perform well in the first game-like situation of the spring.

Here are five players from the defense:

Position Breakdown: Alabama’s ILB’s ahead of spring practice

A deep dive into the Alabama inside linebacker room ahead of spring practice.

We are now just a couple of weeks out from [autotag]Nick Saban[/autotag] and the Alabama football team taking the practice field to begin spring ball.

As is the case each offseason, there are many questions that need to be answered before the Tide hit the field to start the 2023 season.

As spring practice creeps closer, we are going to break down each position group on both sides of the ball. We have already looked at the quarterbacks, running backs, defensive line, tight ends, and outside linebackers.

Today we will direct our attention to the inside linebacker room which will be replacing a ton of experience here in 2023.

Let’s dive right in!

CFB analyst explains in detail why Alabama has the best LB room in the nation

Alabama Football has the two best linebackers in the country

Alabama Football has produced a plethora of superstars under [autotag]Coach Saban[/autotag] in the past decade. From a receiver room that featured [autotag]Jerry Jeudy[/autotag] [autotag]Henry Ruggs[/autotag] [autotag]DeVonta Smith[/autotag] and [autotag]Jaylen Waddle[/autotag] to a running back room that had [autotag]Derrick Henry[/autotag] [autotag]Alvin Kamara[/autotag] [autotag]T.J. Yeldon[/autotag] and [autotag]Kenyan Drake[/autotag], it is safe to say that Saban is used to working with loaded position groups.

However, the 2022 Tide linebackers may be the best unit that Tuscaloosa, and college football for that matter, has ever seen.

247 Sports’ CFB analyst, Josh Pate, discussed the position group today as he said, “I think Alabama has the two best linebacker’s in college football in [autotag]Will Anderson[/autotag] and [autotag]Dallas Turner[/autotag].” The duo amazingly accounted for 20 sacks in 2021 as both were true underclassmen.

Behind the two superstars, is former five-star [autotag]Chris Braswell[/autotag] who would be a premier pass rusher at any other school, says Pate. The Tide also return their leading tackler from the 2021 campaign in [autotag]Henry To’oTo’o[/autotag] and he is joined by veteran [autotag]Jaylen Moody[/autotag]. Having these four on the field at the same time will be a headache for every single opponent this year.

In the waiting, are highly rated recruits such as [autotag]Deontae Lawson[/autotag] [autotag]Kendrick Blackshire[/autotag] and others. However, the real prized possession is IMG Academy’s [autotag]Jihaad Campbell[/autotag] who will likely fill Anderson’s role in 2023.

From starters to what’s coming down the pipeline, we will look back in a few years and certainly discuss the surreal amount of talent in this position group.

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Contact/Follow us @RollTideWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Alabama news, notes and opinion. You can also follow Sam Murphy on Twitter @SamMurphy02.

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WATCH: Ohio State five-star QB commit Quinn Ewers flashes O-H to Alabama commit in Texas high school playoff game

After upsetting an Alabama commit’s team in the Texas state semifinals, 5-star Ohio State QB commit Quinn Ewers celebrated with an O-H.

Five-star Ohio State quarterback commit Quinn Ewers is a fast learner, already figuring out how to classically greet a fellow combatant now that he’s pledged to become a Buckeye.

Ewers and his Southlake Carroll team squared off against Alabama commit Kendrick Blackshire and his favored Duncanville squad in the Texas 6A semifinals. Ewers’ team wasn’t given much of a chance at upsetting the powerhouse program, but behind his leadership and 167 yards passing and two total touchdowns (one passing, one rushing), the Dragons pulled off the 34-27  upset.

Afterward, Ewers and Blackshire met for some pleasantries, but knowing that the two programs each has decided to attend are squaring off Monday night, the class of 2022’s top QB and overall prospect flashed an O-H to the ‘Bama pledge.

It all looked like it was in good fun, but it’s great to see a future Buckeye that belongs to the nation’s top-rated 2022 class at the moment begin to get a little scarlet and gray in his blood.

With the win, Southlake Carroll and Ewers will be playing for a state championship against 13-0 Austin Westlake next Saturday.

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BAMA BEAT: Tide land Brockermeyer twins, Ferguson and Blackshire

Clint Lamb and Brett Hudson, through The Tuscaloosa News and TideSports.com, sit down to discuss Alabama’s surge on the recruiting trail.

Clint Lamb and Brett Hudson sit down to discuss Alabama’s huge surge on the recruiting trail, which includes the additions of the Brockermeyer twins, Terrence Ferguson and Kendrick Blackshire within the last week. The two then start to look at the 2021 class as a whole, where it’s coming together and areas the Tide still need to address.

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BREAKING: Alabama lands commitment from 2021 4-star ILB

Four-star linebacker Kendrick Blackshire out of Duncanville (Tex.) has chosen to commit to the University of Alabama.

Alabama continued to gain significant momentum on the recruiting trail on Tuesday night with the commitment of four-star inside linebacker Kendrick Blackshire.

Multiple outlets broke the news as the Duncanville High School standout broke the news on his Instagram account. Among those break that news was Sam Spiegelman with Rivals.com.

What made the commitment more fun is that it came on the same day as the birth of Blackshire’s grandmother, which the 6-foot-2, 245-pound linebacker pointed out on Twitter earlier in the day.

Blackshire is an interesting addition for the Crimson Tide, as he’s the third off-ball linebacker commitment for the 2021 recruiting cycle — joining Deontae Lawson and Prattville’s Ian Jackson.

According to the 247Sports composite rankings, Blackshire is rated as the No. 152 overall prospect, the No. 7 inside linebacker and the No. 26 player from the state of Texas.

Gabe Brooks, a recruiting analyst for 247Sports, had this to say when evaluating Blackshire’s high school tape:

A bulked-up specimen with virtually college-ready size at linebacker as a high school sophomore. Powerful lower body with impressive upper-body build. Has made plays as traditional inside linebacker, off the edge, and playing with a hand on the ground. Could provide personnel flexibility in college. Diagnoses quickly and closes fast in pursuit, especially relative to size. Productive with 180 tackles in freshman-sophomore seasons in Texas’ largest classification. Owns size and strength to play off blocks in the run game. Not asked to drop and cover too much, but gets good depth when needed. Has missed significant playing time because of injury. Missed junior season with ACL. Reliable tackler, but can improve breakdown ability and arriving power. Fairly agile laterally relative to size, but lower-body mass can cause some stiffness. Physical ceiling could be limited because of such advanced bulking early in development. Long-term positional home not cut and dried, but could potentially fit almost any linebacker variation. Among the top defensive prospects in Texas for the 2021 class. Possesses long-term NFL Draft potential.

Stay tuned for more recruiting updates from Roll Tide Wire, part of the USA TODAY Sports College Wire sites!

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WATCH: Alabama LB target hints at coming commitment

Four-star linebacker Kendrick Blackshire has been considered a heavy Alabama lean for awhile now. Could a commitment be coming soon?

Kendrick Blackshire out of Duncanville (Tex.) is one of the hottest Alabama targets on the 2021 recruiting trail, and rightfully so. It’s a label the physical linebacker has earned.

The four-star prospect could fill a major need for the Crimson Tide with Dylan Moses and Joshua McMillon expected to be entering their final seasons in Tuscaloosa.

On Monday night, Blackshire dropped a video via his Twitter account that hinted at a potential commitment coming soon. Check it out below:

According to the 247Sports composite rankings, Blackshire is rated as the nation’s No. 152 overall prospect, No. 7 inside linebacker and No. 26 player from the state of Texas.

The Crimson Tide has long been considered the leader to land the 6-foot-2, 245-pounder’s services, and it would be a welcomed addition to a class that has been picking up steam as of late. In fact, Alabama would more than likely land itself in the top 10 for 2021 with a commitment from Blackshire.

Here is what Gabe Brooks with 247Sports has to say about the Duncanville High School standout:

A bulked-up specimen with virtually college-ready size at linebacker as a high school sophomore. Powerful lower body with impressive upper-body build. Has made plays as traditional inside linebacker, off the edge, and playing with a hand on the ground. Could provide personnel flexibility in college. Diagnoses quickly and closes fast in pursuit, especially relative to size. Productive with 180 tackles in freshman-sophomore seasons in Texas’ largest classification. Owns size and strength to play off blocks in the run game. Not asked to drop and cover too much, but gets good depth when needed. Has missed significant playing time because of injury. Missed junior season with ACL. Reliable tackler, but can improve breakdown ability and arriving power. Fairly agile laterally relative to size, but lower-body mass can cause some stiffness. Physical ceiling could be limited because of such advanced bulking early in development. Long-term positional home not cut and dried, but could potentially fit almost any linebacker variation. Among the top defensive prospects in Texas for the 2021 class. Possesses long-term NFL Draft potential.

Stay tuned for more updates on Blackshire and Alabama recruiting from Roll Tide Wire, part of the USA TODAY Sports College Wire sites!

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Tennessee offers highly touted Texas linebacker

Tennessee offers highly touted Texas linebacker.

Tennesse has extended an offer to 4-star linebacker Kendrick Blackshire out of Duncanville, Texas. Blackshire is a top prospect in the 2021 recruiting class.

With impressive size at 6-foot-2, 250-pounds, he could make an instant impact on the college level, Blackshire is the No. 4 inside linebacker on the 247Sports Composite, and the No. 22 prospect in the state of Texas for his class.

Alabama, LSU and Oklahoma have been heavily recruiting Blackshire, who also holds offers from programs such as Auburn, Florida, Michigan and several others.

With a commitment, Blackshire would be the highest rated player in Tennessee’s 2021 class. The Vols are fairly top-heavy at inside linebacker in 2020 with sophomore Henry To’o To’o leading the charge, and will certainly be looking to add depth in the coming seasons to a young unit.

Securing Blackshire would be a huge step in that mission, but the 4-star’s recruitment has a long way to go.